Heron on a Roof

As my daughter was blow-drying her hair she heard a loud fluttering sound and saw something huge fly past her window. She peeked through the blinds and was astonished to find a heron perched upon our neighbor's roof.

She called me to come quickly, "Your heron is here!" I didn't understand what she could be talking about. She pointed to the window and said, "Look out there." When I did and I saw what she was talking about I ran to get my camera. It's not every day you find a heron perched on a roof.

Unfortunately, when I began lifting the blinds so I could get a better shot he must have heard me, so he flew off. I haven't been to the Roanoke River in a couple of weeks. Maybe he's missed me, or maybe he found my pond and has been helping himself to some sushi. I'm well over a mile away from the river so I wonder if herons migrate further south and he saw the pond on his trek. Time to put the game camera back out.

Heron in a Tree

I've never seen this before...along the Roanoke River in Salem...a heron in a tree...

The Roanoke River in Salem

It's a beautiful day in Roanoke...a good one to grab a fishing pole. Some recent shots along the Roanoke River in Salem...

Trains, Heron & Ducks

Thought I would share some photos from my maiden vintage bike voyage. This is the bridge I have to cross to get to the Greenway...



For those of you who don't know, Roanoke was built on rails. Yup, it's a real rail town, tracks and trains are everywhere. Having lived a good many years in the shadow of the elevated trains of Brooklyn rumbling, rumbling, rumbling 24/7, I find the sound of a lone whistle blowing far away in the distance somehow comforting to me. Notice I said far away! Strange enough, this rail town does not have any passenger rail service here. Go figure...





Rather than transverse the route I usually do when I walk, I opted to catch up with the Roanoke River across the road. I was thrilled to see an old friend, who I haven't seen in months, the blue heron, was hanging out there. Since the Roanoke River is more narrow here than across the road where I usually spy him, I was able to get even better shots of him.







I've seen many little ducks along my walks, but never these large ones before. They are ducks, right?



I'm assuming this was almost a duck too...

The Blue Heron Returns

During my stroll along the Roanoke River in Salem I spied the blue heron again. It's been a couple of months since I last saw him. He certainly has grown...

The Blue Heron Returns

The blue heron is back along the Roanoke River in Salem. Looks like he, or she, has grown during the winter...

Autumn Shots I

Autumn is upon us...

The Rascal Returns

This weather has been perfect for strolling along the Roanoke River in Salem. I wish I had a camera that was capable of zooming in optically more than 3x. Since I don't, these are the best I can do for now, but Christmas isn't that far away, hint hint.

With the cooler weather approaching I have a feeling I won't be seeing this turtle...



or this blue heron for too much longer.



Alas, I fear I'm going to be seeing a lot more of this rascal who seems to have returned from his extended vacation. Wonder where he spent it? Bet the food wasn't as fresh as it is in this sushi bar...

When Greenways Go Bad

It had been way too long since I walked along the Roanoke River on a Sunday morning with my husband, so even though it was already 90 degrees I dragged him with me. It's probably been about a month since I was last on the Salem Greenway and I couldn't believe how much it's changed, and not all for the good.

The first thing I noticed is how low the Roanoke River is.



Normally the grass in the middle is covered by flowing water. Now it resembles a grassy marshland that would not allow any of the kayaks or canoes navigation.



I was happy to see the blue heron again.





And I was thrilled to see a white egret for the first time.



I tried to zoom in but I couldn't get close enough with the optical so this is the crappy image from the digital zoom...



That's him flying away...



I tried to get closer to it, but where there was once a clear view of the river, it's now covered with six foot weeds.



One of the stark differences between this month and the last time I walked along the Greenway was how unkempt it has become. Besides the fallen trees the weeds are almost impenetrable. The City of Salem had planted trees in the spring. They're in those plastic tubes that are being engulfed by grass. No mowing has been done in quite a while. Many of the trees have emerged from the top of the tubes and look like they're going to be smothered if they're not released soon. What's the point of planting trees if they're going to be forgotten? Naturally the grass around them needs to be mowed.





It looks like no progress has been made at all on the Greenway.



If anything, the Greenway is beginning to look like a dump with broken bottles,



and dog shit everywhere.



Disgusting. So now besides having to dodge bicyclists us walkers have to dodge dog piles. I saw many dog walkers, and wondered how many of them had any sort of plastic bags on them to pick up their dog's waste. I looked at the size of their dogs and tried to gauge which one dumped which load. Maybe Salem needs to place those little boxes along the path that contain plastic bags for the inconsiderate dog owners. I'm sure this little guy carrying a stick bigger than he is wouldn't think about leaving his waste right in the middle of the path. Too cute.



The picnic tables are now chained and grafitti has marred them. I'm really surprised that Salem, who "prides itself" on so many things has allowed this Greenway to go to pot. Amongst all the dirt, debris, overgrown grasses and weeds I found something interesting growing.





Two corn stalks can grow in this mess yet I can't get a decent vegetable from my garden!

Greenways are lovely until they're allowed to deteriorate. This one's not even a year old. C'mon Salem you can do better than this.