The mighty Ottawa River is about to be declared a Canadian Heritage River on National Rivers' Day, June 14th, 2009. Without this magnificent river (that has the 3rd largest volume of water in North America) Samuel de Champlain might never have made his way west, nor lost his Astrolabe near Cobden, Ontario. The fur trade may not have opened the routes between England and the New World, the War of 1812 might never have... etcetera, etcetera and blah! de blah.
It all happened...this is not a history lesson. ( or at least, not intentionally).
And here I am today. On the banks of what I consider to be the most fabulous river I've had the pleasure of living beside. But there is a wee , er we, problem. It's rising today. Beyond what we have seen in the past 15 years we've been here. Thirty feet of reliable, beautiful sandy beach? Gone. The photo of our place taken a few weeks ago, shows a patio and a few steps...taken from further out on the beach. Today? April 27th? the water is lapping at the patio. Bonfire pit? See the log sticking up out of the water? No fires any time soon.
This afternoon was absolutely amazing. When I arrived home from work...winds from the south, gusting to 50 kph, and it felt like I was on the beach...in Maine, or Cuba...wherever there's an
ocean...on a cheerfully warm day. Except. I wasn't. I'm here in the "valley" and it's April 27th and its + 27 degrees C. And that's just not ...rightI meant this to be quirky and funny,
but really? As they say "WTF"?THAT being said, the image to your left is of a root system, presumably from the oak trees about 200 feet away, or the pines which are closer. In either case, the water has wiped away the sandy protection, left the roots exposed, and well cleansed. This isn't the first time they have been exposed, and won't be the last.
I vacillate between trying to be relentlessly cheerful (which I am actually) and a doom'n'gloomer...I love the drama that the river is providing six feet away, and I hope that everything's gonna be alright. Really. Seriously. OK.
