The Mighty Mississippi

The Mississippi River is getting a lot of attention in the news these days, but it's not good news. The "trickle down" effect is not only related to the economy, but can also be found at work in Nature, as river cities from Illinois to New Orleans prepare for what has been predicted as one of the worst floods in decades.

Its name means "Father of Waters," but in the next couple of weeks, a lot of people will probably realize why the river is also called the Mighty Mississippi.

The predictions for the river's crest here in Vicksburg, are holding steady, despite more than two inches of rain in the area recently. Yesterday, the river level was at 40.3 feet, and is expected to crest at 53.2 feet, the highest since 1937.

In 2008, the river topped out at 50.9 feet, and here are two pictures I captured of the river then ...

If current crest predictions hold, all riverside roadways in Vicksburg, will go under water according to a report issued Tuesday by the Board of Mississippi Levee Commissioners. The Warren County supervisors have declared a disaster ahead of the looming flood waters, and preparations are being made to house flood evacuees at the Vicksburg Convention Center, if the need arises.

Here is the way things looked yesterday when I made several stops along the river in Vicksburg.

The Water Front

The river is currently at the 40.3 mark, and is predicted to hit the 1937 level of 53.2, so you can see how much higher it will be on the gauge in this picture:

Scenes of the river from the Water Front:

The river banks on the Louisiana side ...

After leaving the water front, I headed toward the double bridges crossing the river, and drove up to the top of the parking garage of Ameristar Casino "to see what I could see."

We have been plagued by lingering March winds along with April showers, and the ragged edge of the flag atop the railroad bridge is showing signs of its constant battering by the wind ...

The Mighty Mississippi, indeed!

Look at the treacherous currents!

The Railroad Bridge

View from the Mississippi Welcome Center ...

The benchmark 1927 flood reached 56.2 feet on today’s gauges, and it would have been 62 feet had the levees held.

I'm glad I wasn't around to take pictures of it back then.

In the next few days,I'll try to capture a photo record of the river's water levels, and will keep you posted. Perhaps, we will get lucky and the Mighty Mississippi will become Ol' Man River by the time it gets to Vicksburg. We can always hope, I guess!

Lagniappe Pictures

I'd like to share a few "odds and ends" pictures I've taken on various photo shoots. Most of these are photos of things that just happened to catch my eye, but weren't necessarily related to the subject of the photo shoot. For instance, I captured this picture of Ameristar Casino at Vicksburg while I was taking pictures of the sunset that day.

This old water tower is no longer standing. It has been replaced with a new bright and shiny blue tower. I've discovered that sometimes "befores" are better than "afters," especially from a photographer's point of view.

The simple beauty of a steeple of a little country church always catches my attention. I found this one in Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, which is located in the Mississippi Delta. The bell came from Nitta Yuma Plantation.

You've got to admire the tenacity of this little clump of Henbit, growing between the bricks of a wall in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg.

I love the door of this little country church. I converted my original picture to black and white and didn't keep the original photo file. I'd like to go back someday and capture it in color.

Lichen growing on an old fence ...

I found this old urn at a cemetery off the Natchez Trace, between Natchez and Vicksburg ...

A tunnel in Vicksburg ...

I always enjoy revisiting places through my pictures and recalling how, when, and where I captured them. I've found that sometimes the "lagniappe pictures" are even better than the ones I set out to capture.

Vicksburg Lagniappe

I spent a few minutes riding around some of the older neighborhoods in Vicksburg this morning, just taking pictures of things that caught my eye.

One of the first things I saw was this pretty porch with its bold red chair and spring green cushion. From its shady spot on the porch, it just beckons you to "come sit a spell" with a book and a glass of something cold (you can click on the images to enlarge them, if you'd like).

Up the street and around the corner, I noticed these pretty purple flowers gracing the front steps of an old Victorian-style house.

I love the flowers, but I'm not so sure about that gargoyle! Here's the old house ...

A couple of houses down from the gargoyles, this beautiful old window with an oval inset caught my eye.

Nothing says, "Home Sweet Home" to me like window boxes, and I love the contrast this one makes with its red geraniums and white windows against the creamy yellow paint on the house.

And last, but not least, my lagniappe for the day. As I was driving by the Old Court House Museum near downtown Vicksburg, I was delighted to see my first magnolia blooms of the season.

Isn't it magnificent! Magnolias are one of my favorite subjects to photograph, and I'm looking forward to capturing a variety of them with my camera this summer. Talk about Southern Lagniappe! ... it just doesn't get any better than Mississippi Magnolias.

Odds and Ends

I have a busy day ahead of me today, so I thought I would just share a few pictures that I have captured while rambling with my camera. These are just random shots of things I saw that caught my eye while on photo shoots.

Sun setting over the Mississippi River at Vicksburg

Rocks in our pond

The Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, "neonized" with Photoshop

A sparrow patiently waiting his turn

They don't call them the Blue Ridge Mountains for nothing

A touching roadside monument

Rusty old sign

Naptime

You've gotta love southern "yard art"

Rain on the Natchez Trace

Close up of a snapdragon

Tiger at Jackson Zoo

Cows in a pasture (you can click on the picture to enlarge it, if you'd like). Have you ever noticed how they all face the same way?

This was my parents' Betta fish. I took this picture in 2005, and photoshopped the background.

And last, but not least, this was a little pond I passed on a country road.

It was fun "gathering" these pictures for this post, because each one evoked a memory of where and when and why I took them.

I'm looking forward to collecting more "random" shots like these this Spring ... if it ever gets here.

The Bridges of Vicksburg

The City of Vicksburg, Mississippi, perched high on the bluffs of the picturesque Mississippi River, is literally a treasure trove of photographs just waiting to be taken. One of the most-photographed scenes in Vicksburg is probably the twin bridges that span the Mississippi River.

I have a modest collection of pictures I've taken of the bridges, and of the river, which I'd like to share today.

Of all the pictures I've taken (of the bridges), this shot of a train crossing the river at sunset is my all-time favorite ...

Sometimes, sepia-toned photographs are more interesting than color ones. I think that is true of the next two pictures.

The Ameristar Casino at Sunset

And this is the sunset a few minutes later ...

Fun with Photoshop ...

Although the following pictures were taken on the Yazoo Diversion Canal, which branches off the Mississippi, they are some of my most treasured ones because they were taken on November 3, 2008, which was the last time the Delta Queen docked at Vicksburg. On that particular day, the American Queen was here, too, and I was disappointed to see that the Delta Queen was partially hidden behind it. But it was still an exciting day and one I'll remember for a long time (especially since it was my birthday, too!).

American Queen

Compared to a lot of pictures taken of the bridges and the river at Vicksburg, mine are, at best, mediocre. If you would like to see a collection of truly breathtaking photographs, you should visit my blogging friend Marty Kittrell's blog. Marty has the extraordinary talent of being able to see God's glory in everything around us, and he captures it beautifully in his photographs.

This is one of Marty's awesome pictures of the bridges.

It was fun going through my pictures again, and it inspired me to revisit the bridges to see if I can get some better shots of them. So many photographs waiting to be taken -- so little time!