WiseAcre Gardens

Grasse River Ice At Morley it’s ‘ice out’ and the only signs left of it are along the shoreline. It’s quite a difference from a week ago when the ice was thick enough for foolhardy snowmobilers to venture upon. Looking downstream from the Morley bridge After a couple of ‘warm’ days the ice decided to break up the party and head north. I decided to follow and see if I could bring back some images good enough to share.

Looking upriver by the little local store, Jo’s Place

Looking downriver at the point by the old Morley Grist Mill.

Getting to the river’s edge was a problem. The river bank is actually higher than the area behind it and the low ground had been flooded and frozen over.

The real problem lay in ice forming during fluctuating water levels. Even as I approached the snow I was walking on produced hollow sounds. It’s certain that the ice itself was suspended and easy to see the last layer of ice was thin. No way was I willing to risk breaking through.

I had no choice but to head upriver to where the river didn’t overflow the banks. Along the way I found an ice flow where snow melt had frozen on it’s way downhill to meet the river.

Looking down toward the river. You can’t make out water running from the photo and even in person it was hard to see. I only realized it when I crossed the ice and found it to be exceptionally slippery.

This is the point where I could get to the the river’s edge. But first I had to take one more photo before I gave the ice jam in the river it’s due attention. I couldn’t resist getting down and capturing the dripping water from the ice flow.

Finally, I get to the river.

I’ve only chosen to post what I consider the best 3 for use as a desktop backgrounds. I have more photos but figured this post was long enough. Besides I’m starting to be concerned about server storage. I never thought I’d be posting this much. I may go to wallpaper by request since I’m probably wasting space by saving so many large images that will never be used.

The sky looked promising from the hole I live in. The clouds were striking and there was plenty of color in the sky. So hoping to get a nice sunset photo I went down to the Morley bridge. Strange how a mile and a few minutes changes things and by the time I got on the bridge the color had faded.

Still it wasn’t a wasted trip since I did get a decent photo of the river. I next tried to get a different perspective on the old Morley mill by walking out on the river ice. That plan too was thwarted. The recent warm weather had foiled my plans. So all I was left with was a shot of the ice and snow from the river’s edge. It looks like I’ll have to wait for summer and wade the river before I can get a photo of the mill from the spot I was thinkinf of.

At least I got a pic of part of the mill. These old gears were removed long ago and left to rust.

Having got my photo fix of the day I went home to upload the photos on my computer. In the process I checked the weather and learned that the full moon was about to rise. Back out I went and just in time. I managed to get a couple of shots before the moon was hidden by the clouds.

In case you’re wondering – this is the photo I’ve set as my desktop background.

click on any image for a larger size (1024 x 768) and you can use it as desktop wallpaper.

Madrid is a town divided. The old stone bridge has been closed for months. At first it was closed to heavy trucks but when further defects where found in May it was closed to all but pedestrian traffic.

Built in 1882 the bridge spans about 400 feet with nine stone archs. It’s hard to believe but the bridge was completed in 3 months at a cost of $17,000.

Considered a historic landmark plans are to repair the bridge and preserve it’s appearance. There may be problems since the arch sections are dirt filled and no one seems to know just what to expect when work begins and the dirt removed.

I looked and found no information about when the dam was built. The only historic reference I found with a quick search was the mention of the stone being quarried for the bridge at one end of the dam. I can only assume the current dam was present when the bridge was built.

Oh Really?

As usual the photos are linked to larger images (1024 x 768) for a closer look or to use as desktop backgrounds.