Monday, June 9, 2008

AT FIRST WE THOUGHT IT WAS A RACCOON....

AND THEN WE SAW IT WAS A BEAR - this afternoon, 6/9/08, in the flooding Fox River. And not just any bear! It was the famed Andrea and Tony Bryant sculpted
bear they recently donated two of as a gift to the city in the Riverwalk beautification of downtown Waukesha program.

So far, the pair of bruins are maintaining their tenuous anchorages beside what was the bricked river walkway, though now far under water. This bear's nostrils are just above the raging current.

Look at the gullies and the whitecaps as the river blasts through the downtown district, wreaking its havoc. Just behind the bear, 100 yards or so, the Barstow street bridge is closed to traffic for fear that it may collapse. The rushing water skims the bottom of the structure. The dam preceding the bridge is just a ripple as the speeding river courses over it.

Waukesha was once known for its water and it is so again, but as before, it is only temporary.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great picture - I have wanted to go downtown and gawk but not had the requisite energy. Its strange how the water makes it difficult to orient to where the photo was being taken. Watching the footage on TV showing the affected homes, Shannon and i could not determine what streets we were looking at and no street names were mentioned in the report. As far as your photo - are you standing in the Waukesha Bank parking lot looking east? One has to assume that the raccoons have suffered some trauma to their habitat, if not their very lives also. I hope you hear from the kingdom soon.