It was engine tune-up time on the boat Sunday afternoon. The shots were taken coming back on Jackson Slough Road this evening, between HWY 12 and the San Joaquin River.
Anyone who travels this road much knows that it is famous for the blackberry brambles that grow between the road and Jackson Slough. Anyone who braves those razor sharp thorns and some the biggest and most vicious spiders on the West Coast are rewarded with blackberries aplenty during late summer.
It looks like about a third of the blackberries and other vegetation have been cleared from the roadside. The slough is mostly drained. It looks like that big tree has been saved further down the road. That's where the bramble begins again.
There is still some water left in the slough.
I had no idea the slough was that shallow.
South end of Jackson Slough, choked with dead water hyacinth. Sevenmile Slough is on the other side of the tall levee.
Same location, facing north. The vegetation starts again near the second pole from the front.
The east side of Jackson Slough Road. Although heavily subsided, the soil at this place on the island is almost black after plowing. This must be some of the deepest peat soil remaining in the delta. Later in the summer, this huge field is usually wall-to-wall corn as far as the eye can see. That's Owl Harbor on the right, on the other side of the levee.
I suspect what we see here is some of the private Andrus Island levee work that was suggested by the Army Corps of Engineers last winter. Maybe not. It looks like an attempt is being made to keep most of the blackberry bramble intact. Where there is enough room between the slough and the road, the vegetation is still there. If you have ever tried to keep blackberry in a confined area, you know how quickly it can spread out and re-establish itself, so I'm not too worried that this nice stretch of Delta road is changing forever. It took me by surprise to see this much change from last weekend, though.
Anyone who travels this road much knows that it is famous for the blackberry brambles that grow between the road and Jackson Slough. Anyone who braves those razor sharp thorns and some the biggest and most vicious spiders on the West Coast are rewarded with blackberries aplenty during late summer.
It looks like about a third of the blackberries and other vegetation have been cleared from the roadside. The slough is mostly drained. It looks like that big tree has been saved further down the road. That's where the bramble begins again.
There is still some water left in the slough.
I had no idea the slough was that shallow.
South end of Jackson Slough, choked with dead water hyacinth. Sevenmile Slough is on the other side of the tall levee.
Same location, facing north. The vegetation starts again near the second pole from the front.
The east side of Jackson Slough Road. Although heavily subsided, the soil at this place on the island is almost black after plowing. This must be some of the deepest peat soil remaining in the delta. Later in the summer, this huge field is usually wall-to-wall corn as far as the eye can see. That's Owl Harbor on the right, on the other side of the levee.
I suspect what we see here is some of the private Andrus Island levee work that was suggested by the Army Corps of Engineers last winter. Maybe not. It looks like an attempt is being made to keep most of the blackberry bramble intact. Where there is enough room between the slough and the road, the vegetation is still there. If you have ever tried to keep blackberry in a confined area, you know how quickly it can spread out and re-establish itself, so I'm not too worried that this nice stretch of Delta road is changing forever. It took me by surprise to see this much change from last weekend, though.