Labor Day Historic Bridge Walk

Oh the bridge walk was so much fun - they said "first annual" so if you missed it, come next year! Three Rivers is a fantastic town for walking, and not just the park; the streets are lovely too. Maps were provided for a variety of routes and a brochure with bridge photos was "Your Passport to the Bridge Walk" and was stamped by volunteers waiting by each bridge.

This is a photo of only a few of the volunteers:
Jo Barton and her daughter (Broadway Bridge over the St. Joseph)
Shirley Blum (5th St. Bridge over the Portage River)
Jan McEnroe (6th Ave Bridge just below the power dam)
Diane Foghino (who forgot a chair so was standing over by the Memory Isle bridge for hours!)
Map of the routes:


More pictures tomorrow.

Faced

A strangely amusing face was seen today in Meyer Broadway Park.

Art in the snow

The Plein Air Artists of West Michigan (http://www.paawm.org) came out to paint in Three Rivers' Scidmore Park this weekend -- gray, drizzly, snowy, cold... about a dozen artists were seen through the park, trying to feel the gray. Brent Spinks here working on his railroad bridge and river view. He said he was hoping a train would go by so he could put it in the picture.

Walkin' the dog

A cold but bright and sunny day, the evening sun reflecting off downtown buildings which are reflected in the river.

Much better!

This is the same tubing hill as in the January 2 photo - only with snow and full of children (and "big kids" too!)

A walk in the sun

I'll be inside today, toiling for Taxaide, but yesterday I took a wonderful walk in the deep powdery fresh snow and sparkling sunshine. My dogs loved it, burrowing under the snow for voles (they didn't catch any) and bounding through the drifts. I loved being outside in the sun!

This is the Memory Isle Bridge. I'm not sure why it is called Memory Isle or what it commemorates, but the island in the Rocky River was created when a dam collapsed a very long time ago. The bridge is the only way on to the island. The picture I wish I had gotten was a long line of Canada geese sitting in the river, fifty or more, lined up facing me. Swimming regally past them was a swan, like a general reviewing the troops. Camera misfire!

Waiting for Summer

A cheery reminder of warmer days to come, the closed popcorn stand in the grey and snowy park waits for the summer children.

Big Ice

Stepping out of the car at Meyer-Broadway Park, I discovered that the snow had melted and refrozen so that everything was slippery and slick. The dogs didn't care, and I kept to snowy areas where I could break through the crust. An empty park and a nice quiet walk - when a couple of van-loads of Amish teenagers showed up and tore off to the top of the big, icy tubing hill. Some didn't even bother with the tubes, just threw themselves down on the ice and rocketed to the bottom. Faster than a speeding buggy!

SnowSlide

Children will not be sliding down the slide today.

See more monochromes -click over to The Monochrome Weekend, presented by Aileni.

Blue skies and lots of light

After the big snowstorm a sunny day is dazzling.

Find links to this week's Skywatch Friday participants and see skies around the world: http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Bad Hair Day

The llamas - or are they alpacas? at the Three Rivers' petting zoo have been trimmed; now they look like giant poodles.

Monochrome on Monday

The shadow of the child's ride in the park seems as much a reflection as a shadow. Or like one continuous, odd sculpture.

See more from the world of monochrome at The Monochrome Weekly. (Find "monochrome" in the tag cloud to see mine.)

Latvian Garage Sale

The Three Rivers area Latvian community had a garage sale this weekend, in the park at the Ciems Latvija subdivision. Just the usual garage sale stuff, but in Latvian, and with the most delicious homemade breads and pastries, sold by people speaking Latvian. Tarts, cakes, cheese and fruit concoctions, pork in aspic, I bought some of each, but the most amazing was the Latvian rye bread. Dense and chewey, with a slight lemony tang and a little caraway. I'm going back for more!

The sun was very bright but the huge trees around the park structure make is seem cool and dim. I'm not sure what the sign over the entrance says, by the music notes, it's probably from a song. "Skaista mana brai a seta/Tik celai vietina/Garezera, Ciema un Latvija"

Sunset

Wispy clouds glow in the setting sun; two deer watch from the hilltop. Taken Thursday evening in Meyer-Broadway Park, Three Rivers.

(More skies to watch at Skywatch Friday)

Bioswale

I just found the Three Rivers educational bioswale, which also serves to filter water running from the park's lawns and the Petting Zoo. I first spotted the beautiful wildflowers, then saw the sign. I'll have to go back to try for the flower photos again, the ones I took weren't very good. Here's what the sign says:

A bioswale is a low-gradient basin system, which contains a dense cover of vegetation and is used to maintain and clean runoff. The gentle grade of the land slows the water flow, while the soil and vegetation filter storm runoff, removing 30% to 80% of pollutants such as petroleum products, excess nutrients, metals and sediments that may be found in stormwater.

It is an environmentally sensitive approach to pollution control that adds natural beauty to the community and provides a haven for many mammals and birds.

The bioswale in Scidmore Park is designed to minimize sediment and street runoff as well as animal pollution. The water collects at one end of the bioswale and is filtered by native plants and soil, which reduce the amount of pollutants entering the Rocky River. Native Plants have large root systems which make them great filtering agents.

Studies have shown that 70% of water entering streams, rivers, and lakes have been carried there from storm water runoff. Bioswales can be built at a residential level and can have a large impact on water quality in a community.

Sycamore

The sign attached to this tree in Scidmore Park says "Sycamore" - but it is about 15 feet off the ground! Did they put it up there, or did the tree grow?

Grotto

A waterfall tumbles into an abandoned grotto, spookily overgrown with big trees. Fifty years ago a bear lived here.

Bridges

A footbridge by a gnarled old tree passes over a stream that runs into the Rocky River. Downtown is just visible in the background.

Art Market

A jazz group plays during Three Rivers' monthly arts festival/market, held in Scidmore Park. Warm sunshine, good music, and artwork! Paintings hanging behind the band are by watercolorist and printmaker Larry-Michael Hackenberg.

Big Old Cannon

My father used to joke that every town square in the midwest had a cannon in it. He didn't know why, but supposed they were military souvenirs. When we moved here I was surprised to find it was true, lots of cannons! Old ones, new ones. A few years ago the military repossessed some of the newer ones, saying they had been obtained illegally. But this one is legal -- and has been hanging around Three Rivers since 1847! A nice big new two sided historical marker, topped with the city logo, has been recently put up by the cannon in Scidmore Park.

When I stopped to take the picture, an elderly man was encouraging his grandson to climb on the cannon. The old man probably had done the same as a boy.

The marker says--

THREE RIVERS TOWN CANNON
Before the Civil War local militias in Michigan were supplied with arms and equipment donated by the Federal Government under the Militia Act of 1808.

During the Mexican War (1845-47) the army's new artillery system was very successful and well reported in the press. In 1847 the State of Michigan chose to draw an accumulated share of military equipment in cannons. The State in turn loaned each cannon to a town which agreed to train men to use and maintain it.

This cannon was made by Ames Mfg. Co. of Chicopee, Mass and serial numbered 323 by inspector Jas. W. Ripley on August 26, 1847. It was part of a shipment of seventeen 6 pounder guns, with carriages and full equipment sent in late 1847 to Michigan, still a "frontier" state.
(Continued on other side)

State records after the Civil War show a bronze 6 pounder gun on loan to Three Rivers. It was probably used in Michigan for training during the Civil War. Local history indicates it was frequently fired for ceremonial events.

By 1888 the cannon was too obsolete for serious military use. The State ordered it back to Lansing for disposal. Instead, the village was allowed to purchase the bronze gun tube for 12 1/2 cents a pound according to the local newspaper of February 10th.

The cannon continued to be used for local ceremonies and celebrations until retired for safety reasons. It remains a local landmark.

At the bottom it says "marker given in memory of Matt J. and Mary L. Switlik.