Susquehanna River, Central Pennsylvania, July 2008, photo © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
old brown river winds
444 miles
to Chesapeake Bay
mile wide and foot deep
current flows to family
then turns South again
for J. and diddy
who love the Susquehanna
rest gently and heal
-posted on red Ravine, Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
-related to posts: haiku (one-a-day) , Out Of Chaos Comes Hope, and Vote For Punxsutawney Phil!
QM, Wow! You really did get a great shot while we were traveling across the bumpy South Bridge! I never expected it to be this good! But, I should have known that you are a pro when you take photos!
Hope your trip is going well! We were all so tired, I was concerned about you & Mom all day.
You might have heard that J is being moved out of ICU to another floor!!!! During my visit today there were 3 different therapists working with him. His menu got changed to soft food & for lunch was stuffed shells, steamed veggies & applesauce! Can you believe it? Beats what I’m having tonight-Hamburger Helper. Or I might opt for a BLT on wheat toast. I’m taking advantage of eating the things I like, as I am forbidden by J to bring Hamburger Helper into the house!
Awesome haiku & photo.
Enjoy you visit down South! We are doing fine!
Hugs, kisses, & love to both you & Mom & the rest of the family there.
D
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A soothing photograph, QuoinMonkey.
I wonder, do you know what Susquehanna means? I presume a Native American name–maybe the daughter of a chief? That’s just a guess.
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QM, I got a call that J is being moved to the north tower on the same floor. A friend of his checked the new room out & guess what! He has a perfect view from his window of our beloved Susquehanna River! Isn’t that awesome?
Love, D
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Really a difficult perspective to capture – the view from the road, to get the water, the sky, the skyline…very nice. And J has a view of the river – I grew up in Bucks County – I always loved the name, Susquehanna. Had a Barbie-type doll I named Susquehanna, sister to Sacajewa! (who had the braids).
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I am so happy and grateful to hear of the rapid recovery J. is making! I’ll bet that first meal really tasted good to him. How wonderful that he has a view of the river. Water views are so soothing. The haiku is lovely, and, of course, the photo is excellent.
I hate to show my ignorance, but what city is that in the background of the photo? That is some wide river!
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Just checking in quickly after a long day on the road. We made it safely to Georgia. Trip was peaceful and we made good time. Happy to be here. It’s rainy, steamy and humid. Uncle B. and W. are doing great. Looking forward to Liz arriving tomorrow!
diddy, you recognized the photo from our trip home across the river a few days ago! I was happy with how the handheld shot came out. You never know when you’re going 65mph how it’s all going to come out.
I’m so happy about J. YES, I heard the news earlier today and Mom and I were greatly relieved. It’s hard to believe the turn-around that has happened. Hope you are doing well, too. Thinking of the two of you.
lil, me, too. I always loved the name Susquehanna. I forgot you grew up in Bucks County. I think I remember you mentioning it now. Love that you named your Barbie Susquehanna. 8)
oliverowl, thank you. The city in the background is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The river really is wide. And I bet the wide angle adds to the perspective. I love to look at city skylines. I’ve gotten a few from the car on this trip home. One of Philly, too, after arriving. It was a clear blue day.
Sinclair, a couple of things I found online about the Susquehanna River:
-before European conquest, the Susquehannock, an Iroquoian tribe lived along the river and gave the Susquehanna its name
-the word is Algonquian and means muddy current
-the river was named Sasquesahanough on a 1612 John Smith map
Thanks to all for the comments. Much appreciated.
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BTW, diddy, the Hamburger Helper comment is hilarious. I read all the comments on this post to Mom and we were chuckling over the J. and the Hamburger Helper. I still can’t believe how much he’s eating already. Amazing. 8)
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QM, I’m so glad to hear you’ve arrived, safe & sound! Talked to Liz earlier this evening, and she is rarin’ to go!
Those Indian names…tongue twisters. Difficult to spell, too. Reminded me of William Clark. He spelled mosquito 16 different ways in his journal during their expedition! In fact, he was a very creative speller of lots of words.
Have a GREAT TIME!!
Love,
Marylin
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two tributes in one–nice
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QM, well hopefully now you & Mom can relax & enjoy your visit. I’ll bet you ARE looking forward to Liz’s arrival! I hope you have a terrific time!
How cool that lil grew up in Buck’s county & named her Barbie after my favorite river.
As you know, after I am cremated half of my ashes are to be blown into to wind of this wonderful river & I too have have loved the name.
Can’t wait to see your other photos from this trip.
Well, I can’t visit J until noon & I am chomping at the bit! I can’t wait to share this post with J..
p.s.- Perhaps on the way back you & Mom can pick up some roadside boiled peanuts that I can freeze for J’s return home?
oo, my love to you also! I will be writing soon!
Love to all, D
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marylin, Liz arrived safe and sound. She’s grinning from ear to ear and so happy to be here. We are quite tired tonight, heading to Darien tomorrow. Thanks for the well wishes! Cool tidbit about William Clark.
Scot, thank you!
diddy, Daddy came to the airport to meet Liz, Mom, and I and took us to breakfast. We ordered grits for Liz smothered in butter and cheese. She’s not big on them. And you won’t believe it, but I also asked Daddy to take us over to get some boiled peanuts. We headed across the river to a little stand in S.C. Delicious. (Liz wasn’t crazy about those either!) I think they are an acquired taste.
BTW, I didn’t know you could freeze the boiled peanuts. We will try to get you some to bring back on the drive home! It’s onward to the Savannah area tomorrow. Sure wish there were more hours in a day!
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This is a beautiful shot, QM. What a great river. Nice to hear, too, that J. has a view of it. And diddy, so wonderful to hear
that J. is doing so well.
lil, a Barbie named Susquehanna? Did you nickname her Susque? And now you’re near Burque. Que pasa con los ques? (smile)
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QM, as I am a northerner, I must that I liked grits & boiled peanuts from the start,but can understand why Liz had some misgivings.
YB, the Susquehanna River truly is wonderful & our camp is about 10 miles south of the photo & is on a wonderful island. D
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This post made me jump up and go, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Why?
Yesterday I was sent a rough draft by my dear, fly-fisherman friend in which he talks at length about the Susquehanna.
I wish I could show all he wrote. I think North of Harrisburg?? Halifax??? Maybe? The river is still alive but it’s been almost destroyed to the south by waste and agricultural run off, poor management and chemical pollutants below. And it’s such an old river, the appalachians formed around it in a unique way. And we know the appalachian mountains are ancient, because parts of that mountain range continues on other continents, from a time when our land mass was connected to others. Pangaea.
I guess it used to be the spot for a fisherman to catch small mouth bass, but no longer. A few hundred years of civilization have all but destroyed a 250 million year old river.
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amuirin,
The Susquehanna River is my 2nd home & has been since I moved to the Harrisburg area in 1979. Your friend could easily be talking about the Halifax area. I used to have an old Airstream camper that I kept at a campground in Duncannon Pa, which is south of Halifax and is at a point where the Juniata River & Susquehanna meet & the flow from there is strictly the Susquehanna. I spent many week-ends in a canoe & 13 hour trips up & down the Susquehanna fishing for small mouth bass. They used to be plentiful & you are right on with your last paragraph. We have a camp on an island near Goldsboro PA, about 10 miles south of Harrisburg. The fish are few & far between. We see so few & haven’t had any luck fishing in the past few years, aside from the occasional catfish & carp. I found it interesting that you know about the changes that have occured over time. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains & agriculture & mining are a big part the problems that have occured as is Three Mile Island nuclear plant, although I am sure they deny it. One thing that we notice are dead carp floating near that area. D
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amuirin, that’s quite a synchronicity with the photograph and this Susquehanna River post. Really cool to hear that people are writing about the changes in the river that have happened over the years. I pay attention to the rivers I live near and used to do the same when I lived near the Susquehanna. But I’ve been away from that area quite a few years.
And that’s why I’m glad diddy (my sister-in-law) made her comment (#15) about the changes in the Susquehanna.
diddy, I’m so glad you saw amuirin’s comment and chimed in. I didn’t know the fishing was in such dire straits along that river. It’s sad to realize that you can’t catch many fish near the Harrisburg area. Is the fishing still plentiful near Duncannon and Halifax? Or is the whole river affected?
I wondered, too, if the fishing was low this year because all the rivers seem to be lower than usual. Maybe that is adding to it. I know the Savannah was hitting rock bottom in the last photographs I took of her before I returned to PA.
When I hear that they are thinking of letting go of things like the Clean Water Act and other environmental protections, I want to pull my hair out. I wonder if people realize that it’s that very preservation of our land, water, skies that is the reason they are even as healthy as they are today.
Daddy was talking last week about how Alaska is so picky about their water because most of it has to be trucked in and stored in storage tanks. I wanted to ask him more about that but didn’t get the chance. Is it because most of the water is frozen? Or that they don’t want to tap into all their resources. He’s a mountain of knowledge about that area since he travelled there a few months ago.
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Hi QM, hi diddy,
Halifax does sound familiar. I didn’t have his writing in front of me, but he talks about the Susquehanna a lot, and 3 mile Island, too. I liked hearing another perspective from a local.
Odd to be here, in Oregon, thousands of miles away and feel this sort of vested interest in a river I’ve never laid eyes on, but that’s probably one of the key elements of conservation: To come to care about eco-systems outside your immediate area of reference. Thanks to these photos, your comments, and my friend the fisherman, now I feel like the Susquehanna is a familiar friend to me, and I care about its outcome.
Kind of a cool thing that’s developed both there and here, in our local watersheds- fisherman have become some of the major conservationists of the areas. They start out with a vested interest in fish populations, of course, but then get really involved in pushing land-owners and business men to conserve, because they love the rivers, the streams, the whole ecosystem of our coastal areas. Drawing people in is the big thing, once they start to learn about the problems, and what’s at stake there’s no trouble keeping the passion going.
Like Spock said in The Voyage Home: “Hunting a species to extinction is illogical.”
Oy Vrai.
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QM, I was in awe at Amurin’s comments, as I have checked out her blog in the past & knew she was from far away. The fishing in the Duncannon area probably is not as affected as the Harrisburg area. The water is quite fast running there due in part because it is where the Juniata & Susquehanna join forces. It is full of channels & you will not see any big boats there. I think the area where our camp is has been affected in large part because of recreational boats & jet ski’s. Thank goodness our camp is on the quit “no wake” side of the island! That’s where all of us older folks tend to thrive!!! The boys & their girlfriends are there now through Sunday. I’m happy for them but sad for J & myself. 😦 But to answer your question about water levels, the Susquehanna stays pretty steady there until spring, when flooding becomes an issue.
BTW, J is now using a cane to get around! Can you believe that? His edema is also getting better, due to an added script of lasix. However he is still carrying about 40 lbs. of excess fluid.
Love to you & Liz & many thanks to Amuirin for bringing me back to this post. D
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diddy, thanks for all the added info on the Susquehanna. I am glad the boys are there through the weekend. I know how much you and J. miss going over to the island. (I love that there is a “no wake” side of the island.)
I’m so glad the edema is getting better. Very worrisome. I continue to pray and send good energy to you and J. and all the family and friends who are supporting you at this time. It is a great gift to have people like these in our lives. Very humbling. Much love and big hugs to all of you, too.
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amuirin, you bring up the great point of how fisherman have become conservationists as they want to keep the rivers and lakes alive and thriving. It’s often that way with hunters, too, especially those who still hunt to put extra food on the table.
I think it’s so great that you feel connected to the Susquehanna now through the writing of your fisher friend, diddy, the haiku, and this river post. I think that’s what it takes for all of us — to feel a connection to other places across this country and the world where we want to keep the ecosystems alive. It has to become personal.
I love Oregon, your neck of the woods. It’s been a long time since I’ve travelled there, but I know there are mountain rivers and streams all over the place, as well as the great Pacific Ocean. We’re all connected by the rivers and oceans that flow between us. It’s a good feeling to me.
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