Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Floods and Roses

We've been getting a lot of rain this spring, and the rivers are running just a wee bit high.

Friday, I took a lunchtime walk with a work friend down to the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers on the edge of downtown Binghamton.  It amazes me that a small city in upstate New York whose downtown has a number of vacant buildings (a couple of which have suffered fires in recent years) can have such natural beauty just a few hundred yards away.
The roses are out near a historic marker.  The Chenango Canal, which no longer exists, was a 97 mile canal.  This was near the southern end.

A number of roses bloomed nearby.  One, above, had two colors of flowers on the same plant.  I've seen this a couple of times before on rose plants, and I wonder how commonly this happens.  All I can tell you is that most of the roses were purple, and they had a lovely fragrance.
But not all was well with the river.  It was just starting to flood the park. (To the right, the Veteran's Memorial Bridge, built in 1923.)
Another view, with trees visible in the river.
There is a trail, the Chenango River Trail, that runs from Confluence Park up to Court Street, the main street in downtown Binghamton. (Court Street crosses the Chenango near where this trail deadends on Court Street.  To the west of the Chenango River, Court Street turns into Main Street).

The muddy river water was flooding the lowest end of the trail.

It's been 21 months since this river last flooded, and none of us want a repeat. Rain, rain, stay away! For a while, anyway.

I'd like to bring you one more rose picture - a rose after a rain.  Dare I say it, but I love raindrops on roses....

Just not floods.

Are flowers after a rain one of your favorite things?
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10 comments:

  1. Carolina HeartStringsJune 18, 2013 at 7:50 AM

    I can imagine the high waters bring back some unsettling memories. The roses are glorious though!

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    1. bookwormJune 18, 2013 at 5:37 PM

      Confluence Park is small, but at this time of year, it is stunning. We are fortunate to have a park like that just a few hundred yards from the main street in downtown Binghamton.

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  2. AmyGJune 18, 2013 at 6:24 PM

    Alana, What beautiful pictures! Although the flooding photos are a bit scary--yikes! I love the one with the raindrops on the rose. Lovely.

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    1. bookwormJune 18, 2013 at 8:10 PM

      I'm hoping, Amy, that we have a stretch without rain. The Chenango is prone to flooding. This amount of flooding isn't affecting anyone, but that could change with just one heavy rain. I pinned the rose picture onto Pinterest; will see if it gets any attention.

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  3. UnknownJune 18, 2013 at 6:32 PM

    Looks like you almost need a canoe. I hope it does not flood.

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    1. bookwormJune 18, 2013 at 8:11 PM

      Believe me, I hope not, too! It isn't doing much harm right now but we can be one heavy rain away from something worse. Cities who live by the river take this risk, and we are at the confluence of two rivers!

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  4. Kathy WidenhouseJune 18, 2013 at 7:00 PM

    Gorgeous flowers ... I bet when the rain moves out things are beautiful. Thanks for posting the lovely pics!

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    1. bookwormJune 18, 2013 at 8:12 PM

      Kathy, I hope you are right! I do think we are ready to turn some kind of corner- maybe on the first day of summer.

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  5. Francene StanleyJune 19, 2013 at 5:23 AM

    Right outside my window I can see raindrops on roses. The perfume wafting in is devine. More rain forcast for this afternoon with thunderstorms. Maybe we'll never get summer this year.

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  6. Sophie BownsJune 19, 2013 at 6:47 AM

    How beautiful are those flowers as well as the river? It looks like it might cheer up weather wise today, but for us it hasn't been too good!

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