The huge mound of recently deposited driftwood under the railroad bridge is both an obstacle and a magnet. It’s not easy to walk over and it helps to have a good walking stick to help maintain your balance. The rewards for persevering are a nice elevated view of the Louisville skyline and the potential for finding interesting junk intermingled with the wood.
Once you move over or around this mound you enter the margins of the willow forest and you can see what the full force of the river can do to a landscape. These black willows are tenacious and their roots hold on. Here’s another image of a remarkable willow tree and its root mass. This one wears a trophy from the flood like a victory pennant.
From all the cars in the parking lot, I’m guessing the fishing must be pretty good today. I stepped by some earlier evidence in the form of this longnose gar skull. I think this one was caught by rod and reel. But, I have seen the remains of hundreds of these fish before stranded and killed by a retreating river. Longnose gars are routinely in the 3 to 4 feet range in length. The jaws are lined with small needle-like teeth for catching and holding on to smaller fish. The gar is a surface fish and floats in on its quarry like a piece of driftwood very stealthily before surprising it with a quick flash of the jaws.
Moving to the river, I decided to watch what the fishermen were doing and catching. In about twenty minutes, I watched two large catfish being landed. Here are two guys that have this down. Using multiple poles, they cast both worms and cut shad into the swiftly moving waters. Snags and lost tackle are common since this part of the river is also full of rocks and boulders.
I was inspired by the scene and left them this contour drawing in the sand before moving on.
Earlier I had seen a flock of grackles by the water flowing under the bridge. They were catching some food item here that I wasn’t able to figure out what it was…perhaps dead minnows?
The grackles were working the river just like the fishermen were. I left them a drawing in the sand as well made with the tip of my walking stick. The sand today is moist and firm which holds a fine line better than usual.
Of course, while I’m walking along I’m filling my collecting bag with the odds and ends that make up the rest of this riverblog. Some of it is just stuff that I will attempt to make art with and the rest are souvenirs of our material culture. Once the bag was full, I turned and headed up the bank to get under some trees and out of the sun. I then made this sand butterfly to mark the spot where I turned for the willows.
I have set up a new outdoor studio near the margins of the driftwood mound. Instead of a plank to sit on, I’m using this large wooden bridge or railroad tie. I haven’t found the large sections of Styrofoam that mark last season, but what I can find I’ve gathered at this spot. I did make a figure on this day which extended this adventure, but I will wait until next time before unveiling it to you. Thanks for tagging along…you have been good company!
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 