Muddy Waters

Yesterday's post had shots of ducks all doing their thing in the clear Roanoke River taken last week. That very night there must have been some wild storms up in the mountains which made their way into the valley. I know it rained, but I didn't think it was so hard, so when I went for my daily walk in Salem I was surprised to see the state of the river.



It looked as if Willy Wonka had waved his hands across the water and turned the river into melted chocolate.



Normally I could see at least a couple of inches down, but this was thick and muddy. To get a better idea of the day difference look at these two shots taken in the same location a couple of days apart. Notice no reflections.





The river must have flooded over the banks based on the debris it left behind.







Although it receded, the Roanoke River was still moving very fast and I wondered how all the ducks made out. As I walked along I didn't see any in, or near the banks, of the river. When I had about given up I spied one momma duck, with three of her six ducklings. I don't know if the other three made it or not. They were pretty big so they might have had a chance. Hopefully they'll swim back home.



I fear the other mother duck might not have fared so well with her eight tiny babies. They were still so small they might have gotten caught up in the rough current. I looked and looked but I didn't see any of them, just the momma sitting all alone on this rock. She's looking and looking too. I wonder if she'll be more tolerant of the albino duck now.



What a difference a day makes. I know for sure mother nature will take care of the Roanoke River and in a couple of days it will once again be clear. I wish I could say the same for the Gulf of Mexico. I've been so upset by the oil spill. The beaches along the Gulf have always been my favorite and it's horrifying to think they may be unusable for years to come. What of the wildlife, the fish, the environment, the people? What of their livelihoods? I shudder to think what will become of them all. You want to see heartbreaking? Look at this dead dolphin filled with oil. Enough with the finger pointing...just stem the flow already! Lawsuits are not gonna do that. I wish the government would get its priorities straight and look to get real assistance. Does anyone believe the director of "The Titanic" is really going to help? I'd put more of my marbles with Costner's, ("Waterworld" flop) invention. And how sad is it that Hollywood is being looked at to come up with a solution for something of this magnitude? I wish this was a disaster movie and the closing credits were running already.

You'll notice in the upper right hand corner of this blog I'm now running a tally of how many gallons are spilling out. If you click on the live feed link you'll see what BP and our government is accomplishing in the way of stemming the flow. So far nothing. So very sad.