Tuesday, October 6, 2015

A Walk to the Watery Regions

[Monday]  When we lived in Oriental we often walked down the street to Smith Creek, or took a bike ride to see the Neuse River. Now we live in Bayboro, quite near a different river -- the Bay River. The Bay River runs out of the Pamlico Sound just like the Neuse, just a few miles further north. The Bay is neither as wide nor as long as the Neuse. Today we took a family walk down the road to see the swollen Bay River.
Adam and I donned our Gill coats and wore boots. The girls put on hoodies and went barefoot. ((sigh)) I have tried, I promise you, I have doggedly tried to force them to wear shoes -- shoes, I tell you!  -- but to no avail.
 Drizzly and floody:
 Little drowned crayfish:
About a quarter mile down the road we came to the river, flooded well over its banks. This narrow road simply wanders into it.
 Does that spot look familiar? I posted a photo of it last week. Here it is, today:
 Here it was, last week:
Notice anything missing? Yeah ... the house! I don't know where it went .... floated down the river? Removed by some devoted owner? (hardly!) Did those cranes lift it to safety?
The doggies were happy. See them grin?
 You should understand that in moving from Oriental to Bayboro, we have leapt from one world to another. A mere 15 minute drive. But Oriental is populated by many retired people from New England. They are used to a very ordered, tidy, attractive, upper-class way of life. It's a lovely little village, a bit out of place in the rural South -- a clean, sparkling jewel. Oriental has a few derelict buildings, a few run-down fisherman cabins. But generally ... it's trending up. To us who are used to living in the true rural South, it sometimes felt a little artificial. I quite liked it :)
Bayboro is a real Southern town in the back end of nowhere. Here are some buildings we passed Monday on our half-mile walk to the river.
I find them interesting, appealing, forlorn.

See those big ole trunks on the porch? What are they? Below is the house from afar.
 And yes, people live in that house.
As we neared the river the large fish-processing buildings dominated the road. They were flooded all around.
Not nearly so many shrimp boats as in Oriental, and more of those in the Bay are small and junky. But the "Karah D." is lovely.
They're replacing the bridge near us and have been working on it for months. This causes an annoying detour every time we go anywhere. Since the river is swollen we thought it would be a good time to walk to the bridge, see the work, and view the river.
 Here's the north prong of the Bay River as it flows up toward Aurora.
I don't know that we'll walk this as often as we did in Oriental. Traffic is faster and thicker. Lots of people do walk our road though, all day long -- lots of poor people without vehicles. They walk to Bayboro and walk back home. The detour is even more onerous for them. Adam has met and chatted with many of our rural neighbors because of this. It's a good thing. We are quite happy to be on our farm.

8 comments:

Lisa Richards said...

Enjoyed the tour of your little town. This reminds me of many places near where I grew up in SE Texas. The heat, humidity and poverty take a toll on buildings. Glad Adam has been getting to know the locals. Hope things dry up soon!

Mary Ann Potter said...

Oh, I absolutely loved this! I understand the appeal of the true rural South --- one of the reasons we moved to Granville County. Old farms, some abandoned. Old houses, many still occupied. We live outside of Stem, population 469 or thereabouts. There is a blinking light, a railroad crossing, gas station, post office, Dollar General (tacky - hate it), one vacant old country store, one old country store that sells used stuff but calls itself a consignment shop. And we love living out here! It is neither chic nor cool out here. A little piece of heaven before we get to heaven!

M.K. said...

Sounds mighty fine to me, MA! It's calm and peaceful, an oh-so un-urban :)

Una said...

No shoes!! I can't believe that! My daughter would never wear shoes or slippers indoors. But she was always happy to wear them outdoors. That was lucky as she is strong-willed and wouldn't have worn them unless she wanted to.

Kezzie said...

Ha, barefoot babes!!! Mad!!!
Oh dear, I.hope that house is ok.x

Dasha said...

I basically don't wear any footwear at all from about now until the end of March. Hate wearing shoes, and will only put them on under duress. Must say that when its 35C+ outside, the tarmac gets a bit whoopee do though. Have to find a bit of grass. Whats the use of wearing shoes in that kind of weather any way, you'll only ruin them. LOL

happyone said...

I used to go barefoot all the time when I was a kid but not anymore.
Nice walk around your town. As you know I've met so many people on my morning walks.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Thank you for this tour of your new town.

I'm a barefoot girl indoors. As soon as I walk in the door off come the shoes. As a teen I used to walk outside barefoot, but those days are long gone.

Enjoy your day and week ~ FlowerLady