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| O'Shaughnessy Dam, taken from the west side of the Scioto River, Dublin, Ohio, May 2011 |
My regular readers know I live in a ramshackle limestone and cedar house built in 1927 on four acres along the Scioto River, named "Willow Manor" by the original owners. The Scioto (pronounced SY-oh-toh or SY-oh-tah) is over 230 miles long and rises in Auglaize County, passes through Columbus, Ohio, where it picks up its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, meeting the Ohio River at Portsmouth.
Willow Manor is situated down stream from the dam, so at certain dryer seasons of the year, the Scioto is relatively shallow. This time of year, it runs full and deep, making a lovely rushing sound, swollen from the spring rains. I miss the summer jars of tadpoles, crawdads and frogs the kids would collect and deposit in their rooms. I should go down and find a crawdad or two, for old time's sake.
Three miles north of Willow Manor is the O'Shaughnessy Dam, which forms the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir, a major source of drinking water for Columbus. It was completed in 1925 under the supervision of Jerry O'Shaughnessy, for whom the dam was named. At the time, the reservoir was described as the finest inland waterway in the United States, covering a surface of 845 acres. I hope Mr. O'Shaughnessy's structure hold's tight for many years to come, since I don't fancy riding Willow Manor down the Ohio to the Mississippi any time soon.
Stay dry Tess! xv
ReplyDeleteWater Is A Fine Thing In It's Place.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great shot and that sky looks a little dark and menacing. We'll keep our fingers crossed that the dam holds and you don't need to go and plug any holes with your finger.
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds very Irish in your neck-o-the-woods! If crawdads are what we call crayfish, then I'm surprised you don't have a trap permanently in the water!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good dam! Dam it shouldn't be! I'd get floater insurance. Up here the Bateaux keeps flooding due to a faulty dam (I think). Although it is so lovely to live on the water; come floods the opposite. The whole of Quebec had flooded not sure if this is due to melting icecaps or not. The journalist dont say a word as to the cause which I find a cause for concern. Praying for the fine Willow Manor to remain a ground-based concern! Love and thank-you for the fine read; always educational and ample artistic license for just fine poetic imagery! Cheers always!
ReplyDeleteDam fine post, Tess. Hey, somebody had to say it. Nifty little film! I am drawn to water, always.
ReplyDeleteWhether raging torrent or millpond still like mirrored glass water is life...Sounds like a lovely place to be M'lady of the manor.
ReplyDeleteit sounds like a magical, almost huckleberry finish place to be ... lovely
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed? The ominous look of your sky. The dam looks strong ... may those looks never be deceiving.
ReplyDeleteA fabulous dam in its right... great shot! I too hope it holds well for years to come. I find it fascinating when mankind manages to harness the power of the water, even for a short bit.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fine piece of engineering, Tess. I'm sure it'll hold out for a long while, yet.
ReplyDeleteMay Willow Manor survive many more generations and many more man-made attempts to control Mother Nature!
ReplyDeleteThe photo is beautifully ominous. My father always said that a drop of water could cause more problems than a world of dirt...how much more can those torrents cause?
i love the thought of Willow Manor "sailing down the river on a Sunday afternoon"!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the journey!
I pray that all the dams hold tight with all the water that I hear about on the news rushing in your part of the world. We can see all this devastation on the news but can never imagine really what it must be like to have to LIVE it. My heart breaks for all those who have lost something in these recent storms.
ReplyDeleteThe Dam sounds strong. Your place sounds dreamy.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you're not in a flood plain or flood prone area. But I guess being near a river, there is always the potential.
ReplyDeleteRick, Willow Manor is in the 100 year flood plain, so hopefully not in this particular century!
ReplyDeleteI reckon you would enjoy the ride. Lovely photograph...fine dam.
ReplyDeleteDams are works of art. My favorite is Boulder (aka: Hoover) Dam. A gorgeous site, complete with art deco statues (as I remember from my childhood) and a brand new bridge I have yet to check out!
ReplyDeleteThose damn dams...
:)
Wow - all very dramatic Tess.
ReplyDeleteYou captured the dam's might beautifully.
ReplyDeleteMay it hold for generations to come!
Tess -- Lets enjoy all the rain for now as we might end up with a dry spell later in the summer. Beautiful photo of the water spillage over the dam. -- barbara
ReplyDeletewear the lifejacket at all times!
ReplyDeleteMother Nature's been showing off too much lately..stay safe and dry!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful shot! It must add a bit of spice to life, thinking about that dam.
ReplyDeleteThere is something wonderfully uplifting about falling, rushing water, that can be contemplative too. Some place to walk along or sit and listen to. I enjoyed this post. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI learn so much, here. I wish you and all those who live near and with you well --
ReplyDeleteTo some "rides" just say NO!
ReplyDeleteLet's keep the Manor at anchor, Mates! (And in semi dry-dock!)
That's one cool dam post!
ReplyDelete"I should go down and find a crawdad or two, for old time's sake."
ReplyDeleteThat made me smile.
Great post Tess, thanks.
This is a great post. Please keep us updated on if the dam holds.
ReplyDeletePlease title the update "another dam post"
Dogimo, I shall title the update "Another Dam Post". giggle
ReplyDelete