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...

Trees Along the Roanoke River

Spring trees along the Roanoke River...















Above the trees...

Garst Mill Greenway

Walking along the same trail day after day, week after week, month after month, can get boring so I went back to Garst Mill the other day. The trail is much shorter than the Roanoke River Greenway in Salem but it was a nice change of pace...

Sssssssimply Beautiful Weather

It was such a glorious weekend everyone was out along the Greenway. Unfortunately my camera batteries decided to die so I couldn't take as many shots as I wanted to. But my phone came in handy for these two...





Sssssssimply beautiful weather these past couple of days...Today promises more of the same. Days like these make me wonder if there is any place in the United States that has a temperature climate like this most of the time. It would be great for my bones. Any suggestions?

Reflections Along the Greenway

Sunday was a beautiful day for a stroll along the Roanoke River in Salem. After today's pleasant forecast I don't imagine there'll be too many more warm days left. The only flowers left blooming were these, which I think are weeds...



I noticed the tree leaf colors aren't as spectacular as they have been in the past but they're still bright enough to get some interesting reflections-in-the-water shots...









Although I wish the weather would remain as glorious as it's been, according to the locals this little fellow's color and thick woolly body mean we're in for a cold winter. I hope it doesn't come too soon...

Swinging in the River

This is the first time I've ever seen anyone use the ropes to swing into the Roanoke River...



Since it rained last night and the river probably has some sewage seepage, I don't know how good of an idea it was. But from the looks of it, they were having a blast. Hopefully they didn't swallow any water.

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.

Sunday Stroll

My husband and I weren't the only ones out for a stroll along the Roanoke River this fine Sunday morning. This is the first time I was able to get so close to Mama Duck and her ducklings. They're grown quite a bit since the last time I saw them...