Today on The Riverwalk: Lost and Found

For today's jaunt I found myself a coupla walkin' buddies ...


... and soon lost myself to the Riverwalk one more time ...


I know you've seen these windows before, but I enjoy looking at them over and over again, so I thought you might, too:


The light was harsh today. We were there about noon.

Fred was pokin' around in this hole in the wall ...


When he discovered this:

Somebody's lost bait.


Then, another, greater mystery, right there on the ground underneath the bait in the hole:
A pair of tongs, lying on the ground! (Those of you who know Fred also know that he does love himself a pair of tongs!) Where'd they come from?! Look up ...



The tongs were very near where the oil drum sits. The logical conclusion was that somebody up on one of those balconies must have experienced a little grillin' mishap.

Meanwhile, unrelated, down near the city wharf:



And back up on the hill near home, tongs in left hand ...


Lost: One sparkly bait, last seen on its way to Mississippi with Jake.

Found: One pair rich folks' grillin' tongs. If the owner is reading this, you may pick up your tongs at 538 Front Avenue. Ask for Fred.

Cameranoculars

So for Christmas Fred gave me this new apparatus -- binoculars with a camera attached. I'm calling them cameranoculars. Here they are:


I haven't quite mastered them yet; in fact, I'm about to decide that one or the other of us might have a defect. However, I haven't given up yet, and I thought I'd share here my first few attempts:













I actually love this whacky photograph:

Fifth Flood This Season! Photos from Today.

Fred's man is up to his knees in water:








The water's up onto the Phenix City Amphitheatre ...




Here's the old city wharf where the concrete extends beyond the farthest pole. I'm usually snapping photos from down at the end of the ramp.







My buddy the Promenade Blue Heron looked as if he didn't know what to do about all the water ...




So he flew away --



I think I will, too. Bye-bye!

Yesterday on the Riverwalk

With four floods in less than two months, the Riverwalk has taken quite a hit. She's held her own, though, and she still continues to provide both beauty as well as surprises.

Yesterday the water had just subsided from the fourth flood, and was as red as I've ever seen it. I'm curious about the "suds-like" stuff. This is not the first time I've seen it:



These looked at first like patches of snow, but I knew the weather wasn't that cold. Then I thought it was chunks of styrofoam. When two floated close enough I realized that they were globs of the "suds-like stuff."
See how red the water is?
There's lots of debris to be removed:



And my "little spot" even took a hit:
But like I said -- The Riverwalk never fails to yield surprises:

I have absolutely no explanation for this thing. I guess it's an art installation, but I started to wonder if it was installed right there or if it had washed up -- and I also wondered if it had seen better days.