swimming in the river

 When my mom was a young girl living near the Connecticut river in South Hadley her mom would always say, "Judy, don't swim in the river!"

 That was good advice at the time. Manufacturing firms were dumping all kinds on junk in the water.

 As the manufacturing firms are mostly gone and various regulations have discouraged companies from dumping waste, the water has gotten a lot cleaner. 

 Even so, some older folks will usually give a concerned look if they spy frolicking along the banks. 

 "I think i just swallowed some water," says the swimmer.

We'll have to wait and see what happens.

Ice Sounds

Around the Oxbow along Rt. 5 in Northampton, Mass, the ice begins to take form.

The morning sun creeps over the mountain.

The ice begins to growl as if it is hungry.

Pancakes, anyone?

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

-- Robert Frost

Pine Cone Paddleabout

A Trip into the Marsh Near Veterans Bridge, Rt. 202, Holyoke, Mass.

The Veterans Bridge connecting South Hadley and Holyoke.

We often drive over this bridge into Holyoke and look into the marsh. Here's a view from the other side.

The vegetation is thick. The foliage has a tasty looking texture. Could this be good with a little butter and garlic? Probably not.

Frogs croak and fish splash. Dragonflys hover. Not a soul in sight.

It's slow moving as the paddle pushes through the soup.

Paddling out of the marsh we head north to High Rock and Low Rock on the Holyoke side of the river. Locals often swim and jump off the rocks.

Someone left a thick rope to make it easier to climb up.

High rock. I've never jumped.

Low Rock

River Dog Paddleabout

An afternoon on the Connecticut River

We often launch our canoe from this spot.

We paddle into the sandy river's edge. We walk up the bank and into a sunny, green area. There are no footprints. As we walk through the bushes we get stung by the prickers. Ouch! We stay here for awhile and keep a lookout. 

Mt. Tom. The communication towers blink at us. I always get a good signal from here.  We paddle on. 

We see a shape in the distance. 

Branches break from trees along the banks and drift till they get caught close to shore. We like how they create shapes and personalities. This one will probably stay all summer. We'll call him Leopold!