In over my head

The weather here has turned hot. The other day I decided to go swimming and exploring in the river. Now that the river level is lower it is fun to see what debris is left behind from the game of "musical chairs" the river plays each year with the high water flow. As the river erodes parts of the banks trees slip into the river and their branches catch items floating downstream.

This year I got a good solid thick new looking fence post, a big solid railroad tie, and a large diameter relatively short in length log. The post and tie (after I remove the broken strands of barb wire from each) will go into my fences and the log I rolled up on the bank with some effort to become a comfy sitting place under a tree and above the river.

The river depth varies greatly. Places are ankle deep, typically knee deep, sometimes waist deep, and in a few spots deeper than I am tall. Usually the deep spots are inside the sharp bends in the river. And while the river bottom can go down quite quickly I was surprised by the drop off on a relatively straight section below where the river split around a gravel bar. From a level of chest deep water with one step I sank well under water and still did not touch bottom.

Whoa!

Because of the unequal water flow around the gravel bar I had decided to cross the river to the side with less water flow and that is when I went under water. My feet didn't reach the bottom until I was almost across the river. So, yes, I had to swim. Or dog paddle if you don't call that swimming.

I also wanted to check out my neighbor's river stock watering area. The neighbor with the bull and cattle had told me he had made one for his cattle and fenced it off so his cattle could drink and not get away. This I could not picture as with all the floaters, boaters and kayakers that use the river I could not understand how he could get away with a fence in any part of the river.

After a long slog up river I discovered how he did it. His fenced off area was in a side channel, deep with little water flow and mostly choked with weeds and mud. He had strung two multi-strand barb wire fences across the side channel and attached them to a fence on the opposite bank. No cattle nor person could get across. I guess since it is a side channel he can do this. I can't.

I also found he or some former owner of the land had placed an old 1930s or 40s looking rusted car body on the river bank where the river bent just below the side channel's exit. The car body, car parts, and logs looked to have been placed there to stop the bank erosion on the bend and turn the river eastward. The river mainly flows just below the ridge before making several eastward turns the last of which is along my property before going back to the ridge. Interesting. No way could someone do this today.