Full...Just Plain Full

December 20, 2021

Full...Just Plain Full

Looking North from Dam

Taken October 13, 2021, the photo shown above is what the river looked like during the drawdown, two months into the process. Hopefully you see the exposed riverbanks, baking in the Fall sun with a minimal amount of water allowed to flow to the dam below.

Well, this past week, specifically December 15 th, I noticed that the water level had begun to rise when I was at the Club that morning.

Intentionally waiting to get a clear view until way past daybreak, I grew more and more thankful and excited that the river would soon be back to normal...back to it's original flow. On the 15th, this is a snapshot of what Cove B looked like...slowly being replenished by the river's water flowing into a small trench.


Little by little

Watching the water seep slowly, what amazed me was just how much the C would fill up by the following morning.

Soon the old "Manning Bridge Road" and all the miles of exposed riverbanks that I walked would too be underwater and I found myself anxious for it to happen.

Of course, with the river's water rising, I would no longer have access to the Eagles' nest...not by land anyway. Mother Nature would, once again, be a heroine and obscure their nesting spot.

The following morning, the morning of the 16th, this is what Cove B looked like.

Cove B

Dockside

And the rest is self explanatory.

The dock was where it belonged...floating in water, rather than sitting on the riverbed.

Cove A was completely back to it's old self between the river's water and the stream from the woods. The tall dried grasses in the back of the cove would once again serve as nesting material for the Eagles and other wildlife that inhabit the area.

Hopefully soon fish will be jumping and the ducks, mergansers, geese and kingfisher will return to the river that was.

This is the BEST Christmas gift I could have received.