Memorial Day Weekend 2008

A very beautiful Saturday morning beckoned, so I drove over the Walnut Street bridge down to Hudson Street. I actually wanted to check out Rorick's Glen and see how the river looked from there.

Unfortunately, Rorick's Glen is now unavailable to the average mortal. The bridge is gone, stolen by Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972, and the southside access is blocked with caution horses that announce it is private property.

I returned to Hudson Street and simply parked in my usual spot. This time, dogless and a little tired from a crazy workweek, I walked west along the bank, as far as I could.

I always say we are lucky that the Chemung River is accessible to us mere humans, but on the south side, that isn't necessarily so. The Department of Environmental Conservation does seem to control most of the shoreline, but doesn't make it available to us as well as is the north shore. Here and there, however, one can find a lovely little spot for some shady summer fishing.

Among the trees, and right along the roadside, there are beautiful views and some possibility for solitude. Don't count on cleanliness, though. The fishermen and late-night revelers have left a bit of a mess in their wakes.

All in all, though, the views are still breath-taking. Stalwarts who stayed the course after the flooding have a day to day reward of lovely Chemung River sights and ready access to pretty fair trout fishing.

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Little Pond

Already?

How could the grass have gotten so tall so soon? Can't even see Ellie in the picture! This is the way to the wooded part of the strand on the north side of the Chemung, still in Elmira, west side.

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Little Pond

Look at this little fellow!

Don't forget, you can click on the photos for closeups with lots of details!
Isn't he cute? He sat there and watched the river, ignoring me. I finally made kissing noises at him to cause him to look. All chubby and scruffy, he was too pudgy to be the lovely, sleek adult hawk we will find in a few weeks.
Strange bedfellows? I hope not. At first I thought I was seeing a common merganser and her mate. Just as soon as the drake turned into the sunlight, it was clear he was a mallard. No other ducks anywhere close. Just buddies, I guess.And finally, a green heron. Yeah, despite the reddish brown breast and neck, this is the common green heron. He refused to turn around for a shot of his back. He never took his eyes off me.

All in all, a very satisfying bird-watching week.

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Little Pond