I've done a little sewing on the TATW quilt, maybe by Monday I will have the center of the top sewn together.
Volunteering is keeping me busy. Last week Wednesday all water flow was stopped from 6am until almost 4:30pm. The Corps was using ground penetrating sonar to look below the concrete apron in front of the spillway gates. No water flow exposed a large section of riverbed about 1/4 mile below the day. I thought the river bottom would have lots of mud---but its all rock in this area. Katie and I walked out as far as we could----
You can see the spillway gates of the dam in the background. Where Katie is standing usually is the middle of the river. In 1997 an island in the river channel was washed away--Katie is standing where it used to be.
There are unusual things seen when the water went down. Wagon wheels. old machinery. The Missouri river channel changed as much as 10 miles either way before the dams were built. High floods would make an entirely different channel. Not far from shore there was a buffalo skull--along with other bones from the carcass. I wonder when/why this animal died? When the dam was built---there weren't buffalo here--so this find is from the early 1800's or earlier. There were many buffalo skulls/bones exposed--but you aren't allowed to remove them. Natural artifacts etc on federal lands. But we could take pictures--
And there were many large mussels exposed. Katie felt safe holding this one--some were as big as her head.
The river is a stop for many migrating birds. Right now lots of white pelicans. The adults of breeding/nesting age develop bumps on their beak. These bumps fall off after nesting is over. But I have never seen one with multiple bumps.
I'm not sure what TWO bumps means. There were lots of suggestions. Maybe a bird expert out there will tell me.
3 comments:
I enjoyed your little tour of the river bed. I am seeing the cottonwood "puffs" as well, but I am thinking about what it would look like to carve some it's wood. I am delighted to be back in South Dakota, but the unpacking and organizing is beginning to wear me down. Want to be sewing, but that will not happen this month, except for some sheers. lol
Quite a "walk" on a rocky river bed! The pelicans were neat, I can't say I knew about their bumps.
:-}pokey
Fascinating finds on the river bed! Wagon wheels--as in covered wagon? And buffalo skulls? Wow!
As for the pelican, maybe the two bumps means he swings both ways?
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