It’s been downright dank lately. But no matter how the dank sticks in your cranky craw, there’s nothing like a little river time to ease the shrill chill from the bones.

Even when it’s clouded, the view of the Navesink always offers a promise of light and the warm embrace of home. It’s pretty ducky for the ducks, no matter what, it seems. They have the right idea. Reveling in every ripple, every lap of low tide, every grain of damp sand is inviting solace — the terminal homecoming.

The scene may vary with time and vantage point, but for a Rumson-Fair Haven kid at heart, the river is that lifetime friend who never ages, whose loyalty never wanes. It’s always there, waving to you from the shore, letting you know that the chill and gray will go away. You are home. Always. Welcomed.

Remember, cozy up to that waving childhood friend, and wait for the sun to shine again.

Relive some river daze and solace by taking a look at this week’s gallery of the Navesink by Barnacle Bill’s and check out when the sun’s coming out in the weekend weather forecast, courtesy of the National Weather Service … (CLICK one photo in the above gallery to enlarge and scroll! Enjoy!)

• Retro RFH Prom Posers
• Celebrating Frankie’s Fair Haven Legacy of Luck and Smiles
• Focus: Liberty Tree Takes Root in Fair Haven
• In Memoriam: Longtime Fair Havenite, Bill Mieth Jr., 83
• In Memoriam: Rumson-Raised Longtime Locust Resident, Sandy Halsey, 95