cincinnati

Cozy night on the river, laying low and riding out this bug. Grateful for a warm little corner to hide in.

Rain on a Tin Roof

Oct 19, 2025

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A cozy rainy morning after a cozy stormy night in the shantyboat loft, snug in fresh sheets and two quilts, with the rain pounding against the tin roof.

Morning on the Little Miami

Oct 4, 2025

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Anchored out on the Little Miami River and woke up to a misty morning and still water. Made coffee and breakfast just as the sky cleared.

There’s an outdoor stadium music venue along the river down past the bridge. I heard you could anchor out and get a free concert. I didn’t know the country singer but thought it might be fun. So I’m bobbing out here. There has to be 50 boats out here as the moon rises. Sorry I…

The Artist’s Walk-In Closet

Sep 3, 2025

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What DOES an artist living in a shantyboat in a marina in a new city do with all their clothes? Dotty’s art gallery and head becomes a temporary walk-in closet.

Back on the Ohio

Aug 27, 2025

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Back on the Ohio for the first time since 2019.Sure, the marina in my new home of Cincinnati technically counts — but it’s not the same. This afternoon I said fuck it, slipped the lines, and let Dotty nose out onto the wide, rolling water. Late light on the river, big sky opening up. Felt…

Back on the Water in Cincinnati

Aug 19, 2025

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Back on the water, finally, at my new Cincinnati marina.The day started like a blur: first faculty meetings, rushing across town, unloading the U-Haul in stupid heat, sweat running down my back. By late afternoon we were easing the shantyboat into the river just as the sky cracked open—lightning, thunder, sheets of rain. Now I’m…

Harlan Hubbard’s Studio and Prints

Jul 28, 2019

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If you read Shantyboat, you know that Harlan Hubbard build a house and later a studio that he and Anna lived in before they built their shantyboat. We got a tour of Harlan Hubbard’s house and studio in Fort Thomas, Ky. Also, we had a chance to peruse a large collection of prints re-struck from…

Good homes will be furnished these helpless children

Jul 28, 2019

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in Dispatches, Oral History

While we were in new Richmond, Ohio, I interviewed Beth Dearwester who told me about several generations of her family who lived aboard a shantyboat in a shantytown at the mouth of Mill Creek in Cincinnati and were considered disreputable riffraff, occasionally charged with fighting, petty theft, and “loitering.” It was common place for children…

Cincinnati’s Roebling Bridge

Jul 26, 2019

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If you noticed that it looks similar to the Brooklyn Bridge, any Cincinnatian will happily tell you that it was designed by the same person, preceded the Brooklyn Bridge, and its design helped perfect the latter. #Cincinnati #OhioRiverBrooklyn #BrooklynBridge #Bridge

Again way to go, Cinci, direct access to the river

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Again way to go, Cinci, providing direct access for folks to sit right near the river right downtown. No fences, just steps right to the water. #Cincinnati #OhioRiver

Bar One on a very very short tired bar crawl, O’Malley’s in the Alley

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Bar One on a very very short tired bar crawl, O’Malley’s in the Alley. #Cincinnati #BarCrawl #Cincinnati

Cincinnati downtown

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Cincinnati downtown. #ModelRailroad #NScale #TiltShift #OhioRiver #Cincinnati

Cincinnati’s purple people eater bridge, a former street car, pedestrian, and wagon bridge

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Cincinnati’s purple people eater bridge, a former street car, pedestrian, and wagon bridge, now turned into a pedestrian bridge and event space. #RustBelt #PostIndustrial #UrbanInnovation #Cincinnati #OhioRiver