A river runs through it

I was reminded again today that we live in a riverine community. 

More of my time than I can ever remember has been spent the last couple of months beside the river. I walk or run the paths along its banks near home at least once a day, sometimes twice, and stand on its bridges to take photographs. 

Today, the morning exercise was a walk, only partly beside the river. Along the way, I heard, from my audiobook, more harrowing details of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass's childhood as a slave in 1820s Maryland. (Where he lived beside the Wye River.)

It still seems incredible that Douglass went from being a half-naked, half-starving urchin running around a plantation to being one of the great American literary voices and one of the great political activists of the 19th century and a world famous orator. 

I'm just starting to hear how that happened, or how it started to happen. He has just been moved, at age nine or ten, to Baltimore, to be companion to a white child. There, he begins to learn to read, taught by his kindly mistress.

By afternoon, the temperature had climbed to 18C or higher, and I took my bike out. It was glorious. It definitely helps that I pumped the tires up before I left the apartment. It makes it so much easier to peddle.

I rode the path from Blackfriars, through Gibbon's Park, then through the university along the east bank. At Richmond the path goes under the road and comes up on a newly extended stretch. It crosses the river at one of two new footbridges and then crosses it again - the river winds across flatlands here - a little further on. I came out on the flats near Adelaide and Windermere.

A bend in the river below St. Peter's Seminary

I could have kept going for quite a way, all the way out to where Pat and Ralph live and beyond, without ever coming up from the river.

View north along river from new footbridge near university

The new footbridges are nicely designed, the paths are pristine and new - or some sections are. It was a good ride with a couple of stops to photograph river views. I'm looking forward to more.