Not the kind of jam I like.

After a week’s absence (sorry! I’m still here!), I’m back with a few shots of the water. Well, frozen water – an ice jam choking the Grand River in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Here’s how it looked for a few weeks – these photos were taken near the end of January:

 

 

Yesterday, after a couple of mild, rainy days, the ice jam released, sending a sudden surge of water and massive chunks of ice downstream to Brantford. There, the river clogged up again and resulted in flooded roads and the evacuation of 2000 households located in the floodplain. (There’s also a heartbreaking report of a toddler swept away in another region near the flooded Grand). This afternoon, the Brantford ice jam began to loosen and water levels are receding. Ice and debris are now making their way further downstream… here’s hoping that other communities aren’t affected by flooding.

I didn’t get dramatic shots of all this excitement, but I was able to get out today to make a few pictures of the remaining ice along the banks in Cambridge.

I’ve much gratitude for the quick and tireless actions of all the staff and volunteers in our communities. Stay safe, everyone!

 

The same rail bridge as the one in the photos above.

I’m not really liking where these stairs are leading.

That tiny crescent beneath the windows is all that’s visible of a large, (usually) open archway.

Walkway closed.

Walkway closed.

The meek river running through town quickly turned mighty after a massive downpour on Friday. It seemed like most of town showed up on Saturday to take in both the street art festival and the height of the water line. I wandered around pointing my camera in all directions and overhearing people exclaim, “I’ve never seen it this high!”

For today’s post, I decided on a monochrome version of the swollen Grand, just kissing the edge of the upper riverside walkway:

…and a shot of the staircase (gated and padlocked, though that was probably unnecessary) leading to the lower walkway, now under several feet of water:

By the way, this is the lower walkway, pictured in drier times (the black railing of the upper walkway/staircase is in the top left of this shot, just above the group of people in the distance):

You get the idea.

It’ll be at least a few days before we’ll be able to skip along here again. (Don’t worry, we’ll play by the rules and wait till the padlock’s been removed from the gate before venturing down the stairs. Safety first.)

Bring your galoshes.

 

Washed up.

With Narami’s Tuesdays of Texture in mind, today I chose to share the decay of rusted chains encircling this log:

These images were snapped a few days ago – along with the slabs of ice in yesterday’s post – while I wandered the bank of a river that had flooded, and then receded, during a spell of earlier mild weather. This hunk of chained wood was one of many treasures, I imagine, expelled to the shoreline by the swollen river.

I don’t know anything about waterways, but I’m guessing that this is some sort of boom – an intentionally-placed barrier in the river to help contain, in this case, debris or driftwood. The site of the washed-up log is just upstream from a century-old dam.

The flood, coupled with giant hunks of floating ice, probably overpowered it this time. I wonder whether it’ll end up back in the water or whether its purpose has finally been served.

I loved all the hollows and grooves, the wood worn smooth, the muck and the slime and the rust. All the evidence of time passing.

By the way, now that I’ve noticed them in the photo above, I can’t seem to unsee the faces in the log. Does anyone else see them, or is it just me?

It’s probably time to go to bed before I start seeing more imaginary things. 😉

Thanks so much for visiting.

 

Debris.