Eager Beaver

Barton Springs Early Morning Swim Report, 3/19/2024

Not sure that I have ever posted two days in a row (though I generally swim most days in Austin), but I must report on two mysterious occurrences.

I arrived, as always, in the dark. Work has begun on the bathhouse renovations, and so I parked a bit further away and walked past the playground, and then the miniature depot for the miniature train. I’m not entirely used to it. No raccoons so far, so that’s a blessing.

A cold morning, perhaps our last cold morning in Texas till fall. On my first length I saw an apparition hanging above the pool. A phantasm. I knew there was not actually a strange faceted object turning in the air, but it took me a while to understand that it was the beam of a parking lot lamp cutting through the trees and hitting the mist where the warmer water met the colder air. I don’t know why this is the first time I’ve seen this phenomenon. Knowing the explanation made it no less beguiling.

But that was not the major mystery.

Past the gate when I arrived I walked, as I always do, along the curving pathway down to the water. When I got to the deck I saw a strange rounded shape. Animal? What kind? What was it? It was very dark out. The shape did not move. Would I turn back? No, I told myself, be brave until you have reason to bolt.

I took ginger steps closer. And closer. When I was nearly upon it, I saw that it was red. And then it revealed itself.

Photo taken in the first inkling light after my swim. I always knew I hated that beaver. But I obeyed the words freshly painted onto the concrete. I did not run.