Thursday, July 19, 2012

Mudwalking

The tide was very low, the wind calm and the sky full of potential.

Time to pull on the “can’t drown ‘em” boots and go for a walk in the silt.

Mudwalking_Prelude

Step past the grass line and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get out again.  It’s not quicksand, it’s just incredibly fine, tenacious silt (and probably remnants of decades of things we’d rather not think about in detail).

Mudwalking_Fireball

I slipped and slogged for the equivalent of a couple of blocks before I realized that I was on a fool’s errand.  There was no way to make a loop out of this without becoming one with the muck, so I doubled back.

Neighbor Arno and another local character were at the base of the bank and were startled and amused by my sudden appearance.  It’s true, seeing human trudging from that direction is not something one witnesses every day.  Geese and ducks, sure, but people?  That was worth a chuckle.

We stopped and talked until the mosquitos spread word about the smorgasbord available, then swatted them away as we went our separate ways.