What a weekend. Mother Nature and Beth combined forces to throw a little bit of everything at us here Upriver:
- War on Weeds
- Preakness
- Canalling at Lock 5
- Mow, mow, mow
- MC Ride
- Hamburger Hut
- Porching
- Turkey dinner
- Backgammon
Wow. ("Porching" means sitting on one of many at the farm.) It was a great Spring weekend. Let me share a piece of mutual interest, the Champlain Canal AKA The Hudson River.
Did you know that the flow of the river is what keeps the lock gates closed? It really is amazing to see what today we call "technology" -- from centuries ago -- still work so wonderfully well.
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| Human and H2O, working together |
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| First, a little boat with a family |
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| Then a rear-wheeler tour boat followed by a yacht |
When all the boats are in the lock master closes the down-river gates:
When all the boats are in the lock master closes the down-river gates:
And, with gates closed, the century-old massive gears grind open -- tons of cement shudder and groan -- and gravity fills the lock, lifting all boats higher...in this case 19 feet higher:
Beth was amazed how quickly it filled.
The family in the little boat spoke with the lock master as they neared the fill point. The lock master mentioned they were in Lock 5," and suddenly we heard a cute squeaky little voice say "I'M FIVE TOO!" The boat family's little girl made a quick numerical connection: fast mind. We have a job for brains like that!
In about 15 minutes the three boats got their lift and were on their way.
And my favorite -- the little family's boat:
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| HYDRO THERAPY INDEED! |
Water is so many things -- no need to enumerate -- we use and enjoy it... let's protect it better as well.