River ways and dog days

To live in the Delaware River Valley is to be gifted with opportunities to experience fantastic flora and fauna. But river-related events and the characters who people them are every bit as fascinating.

Narrowsburg’s Riverfest is one such example. Held last weekend, the event celebrates a community and its artists, a river and the culture that rises from around its banks.

A walk down Main Street at the festival reveals the fine art of potters and woodworkers, painters and photographers. You can purchase a chance to get on the river in a kayak raffled by the regional land trust, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy; pocket a packet of poems or novels from literary booths staffed by area authors; or show off your marvelous mutt in a doggy parade.

Then chow down on chilled ginger-carrot soup and cardamom coffee cake from one of the town’s creative chefs, Jill Padua; sip an ice cream soda from the region’s finest weekly newspaper (this one!); investigate the efforts of various environmental organizations; witness the wild antics of NaCl Theater’s stilt walkers and support the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance by bidding on art posters donated by regional artists. It’s all part of what makes the river region so very special.

“Our” river courses through our lives in so many ways. And at the end of a long July day, when we’re singed and sweaty from a bit too much sun, there’s the plunge into its refreshing flow that keeps us going.

Three of my dog pals do it right. Rune enters in a flying leap from the shore, then runs in powerful thrusts almost across the water’s surface. Clove has an affinity for river rocks; he stalks them as they’re tossed, often ending up enrobed in river vegetation. Chubby Jewel paddles along like a compact tugboat, then merganser-style, dives to surprising depths. All three will remain immersed for hours, even as they shiver.

Observing their antics, I step into the flow, rinsing heat from my bones. Images from the festival dance in my mind and I ponder how rivers thread our lives with wonder.