Some woody words

Today the Pooh tree on Pike Island looked like this.

Last April it looked like this.

For an afternoon stroll, I decided to see how Pike Island in the flood plain was doing. When I last visited the park, before the unfortunate state shutdown at the beginning of July, the path on the Minnesota River side of the island was still under water. The water has since receded, but it has changed the look and even the shape of the island. The path still has silt on it, which means it would be hard to bike on even if bikes were allowed on the island. But it was walkable and quite a few people were enjoying the wilderness experience. There was a young mother with two preteens and fishing equipment trying their hands at fishing in the Minnesota River. I chatted briefly with them and wished them good luck as I went by. I walked the full circumference of the island without once getting mud on my sneakers.

The water level never reached the height of the 1965 flood, but by the look of the dried mud on the measuring pole on the island, it was second or third highest level measured.

It was a beautiful day down by the big river.