Bayou Fountain — December 20, 2014

Nothing like a pre-Christmas trip down the bayou with just enough work to make you feel useful.

There was some work to do on the bayou.  The water level was up a bit (only four feet below the bridge, instead of closer to seven), and the weather was actually rather pleasant.  It seemed a perfect day for Mike and I to hit the water for a nice trip and work day.

As we headed down the bayou, most of the lingering issues from the previous trip had very nicely washed away.  Without any new obstructions and with the leafy flotsam no longer present, all there really was to do for most of the trip was to paddle along enjoying the trip.  We barely touched anything until we were in the last mile or so, and with a very nice amount of water, we didn’t hit bottom even once.  It was nice.

Of course, that’s not to say there wasn’t *anything* to do.  There were a few logs that we cut up or herded to a better place, including the full-height tree trunk being towed in the shot above.  We sent that into and under a brushy area full of vines, hopefully for a good, long while.  (Otherwise, it’ll be back to the saws again to turn it from a trunk into less annoying short logs.)

Eventually, however, we did come to that one spot.  I’d left it not completely clear, so I knew it was coming, but it turned out to be less than I’d expected.  We went right to sawing, and after not too many minutes, it started to give way to my saw.  Mike’s saw, on the other hand, seemed to be doing a reasonable job massaging one of the downed tree’s sore limbs — I suppose eventually even a wonderful Corona razor-tooth saw needs sharpening.  I relegated Mike to log herding and stepped in with my new saw to polish off the cut.  (Since I had just replaced a saw I’d lost the previous trip, mine made very, very quick work of it.)

Even with a bit of manual labor and some mild current to paddle against on the way back to the park, the day’s work and recreation was over by around lunchtime.  It’ll be interesting to see what shifts around next time we have some very high water, but for now, the bayou’s in great condition (and when there’s more than the minimum amount of water, it’s quite nice, indeed).  So, until next time.