Sunday, January 10, 2010

Boats on the Creek


This is a completely untouched picture from a couple of weeks ago when mist and fog crept up the creek to take a peek.*

I shot this while standing in between two pine trees down on the shoreline.

It's a peculiar picture, yes--not to mention slightly lopsided--but I marvel at how the creek and the fog blur together with nothing distinguishing one from the other except the outline of those trees and boats.

(If you're having trouble seeing the boats, click on the image and they'll be much clearer.)

The boats to the left of the distant trees are docked at the Queens Creek Marina, which is where my kindergarten teacher and piano teacher, Mrs. Hudgins, used to live. I spent many a Saturday walking down her long, dirt lane for lessons. All by myself I'd tippy toe into the yard just waiting for her Great Dane to come thundering up. His bark alone would make the windows rattle.

Click here for an old post on those lessons,that dog, and the time my mother drove past me sixteen times before remembering she had to pick me up. For Chesapeake Bay Mother's version of that same story, click here.

The other boat towards the right, up on a lift, belongs to some people who live on the other side of Smithers Waterfront Cemetery. During Hurricane Isabel the tides came up so high and the winds were so strong that the boat came loose and floated straight down the creek. She landed almost exactly where I stood taking this picture, right at the pine trees on the shore.

I remember wading out to catch her so I could secure her to one of the pine trees. The water was up to my waist and the wind was howling. Eventually, after the worst of the storm had passed, a neighbor across the creek came in his boat and towed her back home.

What these two stories have to do with each other is absolutely nothing, except they both pop into my head just by gazing at this weird-ish photograph of boats on the creek on a misty, foggy day.
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*I'm not sure what's up these days with the Dr. Seuss-like words and rhymes coming out of my fingertips onto this blog. After writing the sentence about the mist and fog creeping to take a peek at the creek, this came bubbling out:

Up the creek

To take a peek
The mist and fog did crawl.
They snooped around
Hanging close to the ground
And really found nothing at all
.

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May you have a Sunday as brainless and mindless as everything above the poem above, but as peaceful and tranquil as that creek.

(Without the mist and the fog
.)

12 comments:

Mrs F with 4 said...

It looks so tranquil... and warm. It is -24C and the boys' skiing lessons starts at 9am. Am I crazy? Crazier?

Country Girl said...

I remember that other post. And I love fog photographs.
Yeah, what's up with the Dr. Seuss thing? I think it's what winter does to people.

tj said...

...Huh. I see the writing of children's books in your future... :o)

...Beautiful photo - so serene...

...It's crazy cold here right now but we're supposed to get above freezing starting tomorrow - Yay!

...Happy Sunday! Blessings too... :o)

Mathews Mark said...

Is that your dad swimming the in your picture, oh no its Bayman!!! Get out of there its cold!!!!

Mathews Mark said...

I should have studied harder in high school. I meant to say (swimming the creek) sorry

Mathews Mark said...

I can not leave with out giving everyone a quick history about this creek. On any givin sunday there were close to 150 boats on this creek. Most of them pulling water skiers. At the mouth of the creek(for you land lovers that is the beginning or entrance of the creek Ha Ha) there was a point called cow point. Every sunday and some saturdays, there would be 100 to 200 people on this point. They would be Drinking, dancing singing, laughing, crying making woopy, fighting and repairing broken bones from the skiers and the the ones that got there butts wiped!!! Good times were had by all who showed up . I even saw CBW out there sporting in her bikini. Looking good CBW . What memories I have of that point. CBW tell us one of your memories of Cow point. You Bayman I Know you have a million!!!!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Mrs. F. - Skiing lessons? You're a brave soul.

CG-Spring can't get here soon enough. Winter should be for hibernation and nothing else.

TJ-You can see the creek in person when you come this summer to Blog Fest!

Mathews Mark - Nobody's out there swimming in this cold, but you're right about how the creek used to be in the summer time. Jam packed with boats. Cow Point was the best, and I do in fact have a cow point story. I wrote a post about it in the early stages of this blog, but basically my cousins and I took a rowboat there and CAMPED OUT. Yes, on private property, overnight. Back in those days parents actually let their kids do such things. We lived to tell about it, but the next morning when we woke up the tide had gone out so far that we had to get the marine patrol to help us get it back in the water.

These days the creek is empty, even in the summer time.

FYI-In recent years the mouth of the creek closed back up because of all the storms, but they dredged it back out recently.

What I wouldn't give to go back to those summers and skiing wide open behind a boat.

Mental P Mama said...

Sigh.

Jamie said...

I remember summers where my cousins and I were allowed free rein all over the point and Sturgeon Creek until well past dark. I don't think I could let my kids do the same now. Kind of sad.

Mrs F with 4 said...

I take it back, CBW. It was -29C on the slopes. The boys went off happily with their instructors, while I took number one girl and gave her her first lesson myself (should there be two hers there?).

I got back seven hours ago and I am still cold, roaring log fire and hot chocolate not withstanding.

Brave? Nope. Completely foolish.

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

MPM-The brick house down the way is still for sale. Just sayin'.

Jamie-We'd leave and stay out way past dark too, my mother never worried or wondered where we were. She was fine sending us to sleep overnight on someone else's property without their permission. You're right - it is sad. No way would I be comfortable with my kids doing the same thing - I am hardly comfortable when they are gone from the yard longer than 20 minutes.

Mrs. F. - Two "hers" is perfect. Of course I write on a Dr. Seuss level, so take any grammar advice from me with a grain of salt. MINUS twenty nine and you're still able to type? How does a person breathe in -29? I think you need to add some spirits to that hot chocolate. Also, you need to plan a trip south for this coming July. It will be so hot and humid here you will be wishing for -29.

Blog Fest details (if you want to call them details, really it's just the date and some vague statements) go up tomorrow.

Julie said...

Love the picture with the fog hovering over the lake....nice!