Hi River Roaders, Last week, I ran into Helen and Marney taking a walk in our native plant garden. When I joined RRUUC twenty years ago, Helen and Marney were both very active in the Congregation. Helen asked what we were calling the newly restored garden, and my response was “we really don’t have a … read more

Hi River Roaders, Spring is in full force! This week, the catbirds, house wrens, and chimney swifts (all birds that breed on our grounds) have returned. One way of connecting with nature is to join the RRUUC Grounds Crew. We have been gathering in a socially distancing way every Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10 … read more

Hi River Roaders, We’ve been lucky to have some rain over the last two weeks, and it it’s really showing up in our plantings. Here are some images from this past week. Sedges and rushes along our springs. We have a wonderful variety of sedges on our property. Maroon flowers from our paw paw (Asimina … read more

Hi River Roaders, I think of the time between mid-April and mid-May as “Peak Spring” here in the Mid-Atlantic. Warbler migration is at it’s peak, and the number of wildflowers increases until the growing tree cover shades them out. Here are some images from the past week on our grounds. If you take a walk … read more

Hi River Roaders, This is the one year anniversary of this blog, created to help members and friends stay connected to our spiritual home during the pandemic. We’re starting to see some limited socially-distanced activity return to our grounds, with an Easter Egg hunt last Saturday, regular Grounds Committee work sessions every Tuesday and Thursday … read more

Hi River Roaders, There is a magical time of spring here in the Mid-Atlantic that I call “Bluebell Time”. If you live close to a floodplain like the area around the C&O Canal, you should be able to see Virginia bluebells (Mertensia Virginica) in bloom for the next couple of weeks. We are lucky to … read more

Hi River Roaders, This week we’ll ask some questions driven by what’s going on with our grounds this week. Don’t worry, some questions never have answers— “to question, is the answer.” The entrance by the office. What is new? What is missing? Daffodils in the memorial garden. What is the story behind the statue? Bluebells … read more

Spring equinox occurs on Saturday, March 20, at 5:37 AM. As Reverend Amanda described last Sunday, the equinox is when the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world. It feels that spring this year is behind recent years. One way of gauging spring in our area is the … read more

Hi River Roaders, After a cold February, we finally have a warm up. It’s good to have some normal winter weather! Let’s take a look at some of the flowers that popped up this past week. A lone white crocus in the bridge garden. A pair of yellow crocus in the roots of the Beech … read more

Hi River Roaders, It’s been a year. A whole long, lonely, lengthy year since we had our last “in person” Sunday service on March 5, 2020. The March 12 eWeekly said that we were suspending in person services until April 1st… In discussions with Sheri, we thought it would be good to help folks stay … read more