Posts Tagged ‘river’
in the shelter of the covered bridge – drip line
clear and amber water of the South Oromocto River
~
~
Drip line
~
slices river into upstream
and down, opaque and transparent,
dead calm and riffle, dark and light.
As water and air are cut
by meniscus, erratic in rain,
as her voice slips past present tense,
concentric rings expand. Three trout
~
and gravels, perpendicular
rocks, embedded in amber. Rain
disconnects today from yesterday,
slips from the roof of the covered
bridge, slides from edge, corrugated
steel, sheet of rain, crosses river
linear, liminal, shore to shore.
~
~
Copyright 2015 Jane Tims
~
Bell Bridge, South Branch Oromocto River
harvesting colour – Rough Bedstraw
~
~
Rough Bedstraw
Gallium asprellum Michx.
~
along the sleepy river
green shoreline, plumped and pillowed
rough bedstraw, river trick
~
river and shoreline beckon
you to bed down, settle down
get a little shut-eye, tough
stuff bedstraw, mattress thick
~
shoreline a bedroom, rough
bedstraw, green mattress, blue sky
bedspread, blue river tick
~
~
orchard along the Saint John River
~
Published as ‘Rough Bedstraw, Canadian Stories 17 (99),October/November 2014
Copyright 2014 Jane Tims
ghost girl
In Fredericton, there is a relatively famous road, called Waterloo Row. It is famous for its beautiful old homes and is featured in the Canadian version of the game Monopoly. For me, the road represents a favorite part of my former morning commute.
~
Especially in fog, Waterloo Row presents some lovely vignettes, including ghostly images of the St. John River, with the old bridge, now a footbridge, vanishing into the mist…
~
~
older homes, some of whom are reputed to be haunted…
~
~
and a bench along the river footpath, haunted by a young girl who sat there almost 34 years ago, considering her future…
~
~
I see her sitting there whenever I drive by. On a cool evening in May of 1980, she drove there on her bicycle and watched the river for an hour, thinking about what her life would be. In two months, she would marry, and her life would change in many ways. She thought about this and wondered.
~
If I could talk to her, I could answer almost all her questions. I could tell her about her marriage of (so far) 33 wonderful years. I could tell her all about her future husband and amazing son. I could tell her how relaxing it will be to be at home full-time after three decades of work. And I could tell her – the river could never be as beautiful as the sight of our small pond with its stone bench and violet-studded lawn on this day at the end of May, 34 years later.
~
Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
a covered bridge – the Burpee Bridge, Queens County, New Brunswick
Last weekend, driving home from Miramichi, we followed the Grand Lake Road. It is mostly unpopulated, devoted to tree plantations and a preservation site for mature white pine.
~
Along the way, we stopped in at the Burpee Covered Bridge on the Gaspereau River near Gaspereau Forks, Queens County. This bridge is listed as Gaspereau River #2 in the April 1992 pamphlet ’Covered Bridges in New Brunswick’ (no author indicated). This means there was once another covered bridge crossing the Gaspereau River but it is now gone.
~
~
The Burpee Bridge was built in 1913. It is 167′ 9″ long with a span of 163′ 6″. The roadway width is 14′ 8″, and the load limit is 8 t. The maximum clearance is 3.9 meters.
The bridge is on a main road and the grounds on both sides of the river are nicely kept and mowed. The bridge was named for the family living nearby in 1913.
Inside the bridge, there is a window, with a good view of the Gaspereau River, showing the exposed bedrock of the river banks.
~
~
The rafters of the bridge are populated with swallows and their nests. The swallows chirped at me and swooped in and out of the bridge while I was there.
~
I couldn’t find any carvings in the failing light, but the inside of the bridge is covered in graffiti.
~
~
A lot of fluorescent paint has been used and it would be interesting to shine a black light inside the bridge … no doubt it would glow with spooky color …
~
~
We didn’t visit this bridge in 1992 as part of our Covered Bridge Project for Canada’s 125th anniversary. I am sorry we didn’t do more bridges that year … some are now gone, and it is interesting to compare the information for those that have survived.
~
This year, on July 27, the community plans a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Burpee Bridge. The bridge will be turned (temporarily) into a museum of photos and artifacts about the bridge and community. Keeping our covered bridges in the eye of the community helps to preserve their heritage and value. It also encourages sharing of the wonderful stories about the part these bridges have played in our communities and lives.
~
Copyright 2013 Jane Tims
a covered bridge – the Marven Bridge, Kings County, New Brunswick
In late June, we drove to Sussex to do some errands. On the way back, we drove off the highway to find the covered bridge over the Belleisle Creek (Kings County). This bridge is known as the Marven Bridge and is listed as Belleisle Creek #2 in the April 1992 pamphlet ’Covered Bridges in New Brunswick’ (no author indicated). This means there was once another covered bridge crossing the Belleisle Creek but it is now gone.
The Marven Bridge was built in 1903. It is 79′ long with a span of 71′. The roadway width is 15′ 8″, and the load limit is 10 t. The maximum clearance is 15′ 8″.
The bridge is on a relatively good road in a steep valley. The blackberries were blooming in profusion along the road near the entryway to the bridge.
Inside the bridge, there is damage to the window openings where boards have been kicked out beside and below the windows. Otherwise the bridge is in good condition. We didn’t stop to look at carvings inside the bridge, but I saw a lot of graffiti as we crossed, including a giant ‘2012’.
We didn’t visit this bridge in 1992 as part of our Covered Bridge Project for Canada’s 125th anniversary. However, my husband remembers going fishing there many years ago.
I was disappointed to discover we did not bring the camera on this drive, but I did a quick sketch on site and a painting when we arrived home. I hope you like it!!!
~
June 26, 2013 ‘Marven Covered Bridge, Kings County’ Jane Tims
~
Copyright Jane Tims 2013
keeping watch for dragons #5– river dragon
It’s like getting an old song stuck in your head… I am now seeing dragons… everywhere.
Yesturday, as I crossed the bridge on the way to my work, I saw the piers of the old bridge and their reflections in the water. To me they were the protruding plates along the spine of a river dragon, resting in the water.
Have you seen any dragons lately?
~
~
river dragon
~
eight bevelled piers
(only remains of the old bridge)
idle in still water, reflections rigid
plates along the spine of a spent dragon
lolling on his side
taking a break in the river
~
~
© Jane Tims 2012
a moment of beautiful – trees and shadows
space: edge of the St. John River in winter
beautiful: mature silver maple trees and their shadows on the snow
~
We went for a drive last weekend, along the St. John River. Above the ice, the river is covered in snow, a broad white plain edged by very old and very rugged silver maple trees.
In spite of a harsh environment, these trees endure. Each spring and fall, they are flooded. They are scoured by ice and subject to the eroding forces of the river. They are always at risk from people searching for a supply of firewood. A friend tells me these huge trees are usually suckers, grown from the base after the original tree was harvested.
And yet they grow old, a part of the hardwood floodplain forest. On a sunny day, they lean over the snow-covered river and spread their shadows across its surface. They have the beauty of their symmetry, solidity, grace, and fortitude.
~
the line of animal tracks crossing the snow are probably from a Red Fox
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
ice is nice
Our snow is slow in coming this year. We have had three snowfalls, but each, in its turn, has been rained or warmed away. If our ups and downs of temperature continue, the scant layer of snow on the ground this morning will be gone by Saturday.
However, winter is manifesting itself in other ways. I am wearing another sweater-layer this week. Our grey woods are muttering with chill cracking sounds. And ice is forming on the river and along the lake edge, gradually covering the surfaces with white and grey.
Ice – the frozen state of water… water is critical because it is a key component of our ecosystem and we need water to drink. Also, an unusual property of ice is responsible for keeping our ecosystem healthy.
Frozen water is about 8% less dense than liquid water. This means ice floats. As a result, bodies of water such as rivers, ponds and lakes, do not freeze from the bottom up. Instead, when water freezes at the surface, critical habitat is left under the ice for living things to survive and thrive. This is especially important for the bacterial and algal colonies at the base of the food chain.
Ice, therefore, is nice.
~
~
river ice
~
ice builds in shallows
at the rim of river, incremental
embellishment to glass, surrounds
willow stem and reed, thickness
increased as frost penetrates, sharp
edges cauterized by cold
~
© Jane Tims 2011
inside the covered bridge
the Starkey Bridge over Long Creek
One of New Brunswick’s ‘claims to fame’ is its covered bridges. A covered bridge is a bridge constructed with high sides and a roof, made to cope with winter snow loads. The covered bridge was designed to be easier to cross in winter. Also, these bridges don’t have to be shovelled free of snow after storms.
There are 60 covered bridges in New Brunswick, one less after the Mangrum Bridge, crossing the Becaguimec River, was destroyed by vandals earlier this month. Communities really love their covered bridges and try to keep them safe by holding watches at Halloween and other times of the year. It is a huge disappointment to anticipate driving across a covered bridge you have visited in the past, only to find it has been burnt and replaced with a metal Bailey Bridge.
Visiting covered bridges is a favourite pastime for many New Brunswickers. On a hot day, the bridges are cool inside and there are usually open ‘windows’ to encourage breezes and allow a view of the river. When a car drives through the bridge, the whole structure vibrates and the car tires make a deep-toned rumble. The floor timbers in a covered bridge are pleasant to walk on and the rafters make interesting study for the carvings and writings people have left as mementos of their visits.
In 1992, my husband and son and I began a project to celebrate Canada’s 125thbirthday. We intended to visit all the covered bridges in the province and make a record of the carvings and graffiti inside each bridge.
we promised to include the ‘Canada 125’ logo whenever we reported on our project, so here it is!
We explored many of the bridges, and made pencil rubbings of some of the more memorable carvings. I particularly remember the girl’s name ‘Phoebe’ carved in elegant lettering in the Wheaton Bridge (bridge installed 1916) over the Tantramar River, and a carving of an old car and the date 1910 in the Maxwell Crossing Bridge over the Dennis Stream (bridge installed 1910).
some of the notations in our record for the Maxwell Crossing Bridge over the Dennis Stream
Other markings were also noteworthy. Inside the Falls Brook Bridge at Nortondale over the Nackawic River were the following words in India ink: ‘Ptarmigan Hunter Ray Brown May 12th 1896 Horse had bad leg”. An expert birder in the area told me Ptarmigan have never been recorded in New Brunswick and this could be a valid record.
Another bit of graffiti I particularly liked were the words I AM THE WIND, printed in yellow in at least three of the bridges in Charlotte County, including the covered bridge on Stillwater Road over the Digedeguash River. This bridge is now gone and a Bailey Bridge was in its place the last time we visited.
I am the wind
~
I am the wind
of the Digedeguash
shaped by valley walls
~
I race trout
lift ferns
blow quick kisses
under the wings of butterflies
~
I am the wind
spoken in the beams
of the covered bridge
slipped into space
between
boards
I rattle the roof, the reeds
vibrate with my breath
~
I am the wind
from the County line
to the Passamaquoddy Bay
I race
~
refreshed by the waterfall, salted
by the rising tide
~
carve my name
on the boards, block
my name in yellow
chalk
~
I am the wind
~
Published as: ‘I am the Wind’, Spring 1995, The Cormorant XI (2)
(revised)
© Jane Tims
Smyth Bridge, crossing a small tributary of the South Oromocto River
nichepoetryandprose 