Hi River Roaders, The first Grounding blog, “Breaking Ground,” was published in April 2020. The objective was to help River Roaders stay connected to our grounds while the building was shut down. Five hundred and sixty photos and about 70 blog posts later, I stopped publishing the weekly blog the week we re-started in-person worship … read more

Hi River Roaders, The next couple of weeks are a peak time for observing pollinators in action on our grounds. The best time to observe them is when the sun is directly shining on the flowers you are looking at. The in-person services (starting Sunday) are a great time to take a pollinator walk on … read more

Hi River Roaders, I don’t know about you, but the thunder and lightning on Tuesday night was some of the more intense I’ve experienced. Judging from erosion and drainage patterns, it was also one of the most intense rain events on our grounds in over two years. I have such respect for the power of … read more

Hi River Roaders, I hope folks are getting excited about our return to in-person services. I know I am. When you return to RRUUC, I hope you can find time to take a walk around the grounds. This is a great time of year to find a nice spot near some flowers and just watch … read more

Hi River Roaders, This week we’ll take a look at some of the new things you will see when we return to on-site Services (hopefully!) next month. We are being more visible and welcoming to the community. We trimmed the trees and removed many of the invasives between the lower parking area and Whittier Blvd. … read more

Hi River Roaders, I remember walking on a reclaimed strip mine with my father many years ago (my dad worked on mine restoration), and he said that “if you provide the habitat, the creatures that belong in that habitat will find it”. That axiom is proving true on our grounds, as our on-going restoration is … read more

Hi River Roaders, I came of age in the 70’s, and I remember the song by the Five Man Electrical Band that told the tale of a young man and signs. “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign”. This week we finished a project to redo all of our outside signage, hopefully … read more

Hi River Roaders, This week we’ll continue our flower retrospective, with a focus on the blue flowers on our grounds thru the seasons. Early spring brings the pleasant blooms of Glory of the Snow in our Peace Pole Garden. Soon to follow in mid-Spring our our Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), a classic spring ephemeral. Late … read more

Hi River Roaders, This week we’ll take a retrospective of some images previously posted over the past 15 months that highlight some of our yellow flowers through the seasons. Out wonderful native Trout Lilies are pollinated by bees and a variety of beetles, and are one of our earliest blooms. Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea) is … read more

Hi River Roaders, This week we’ll continue last week’s theme of summer blooms, as lots of our summer flowers are approaching full bloom. The first goldenrod to bloom on our site is not surprisingly, Early Goldenrod (Solidago juncea). We have several Blackberry Lilies (Iris domestica) behind the sculpture in the Memorial Garden. Last spring we … read more