Dock Building Continues

Glowing in the sunset

The dock building continues, and I'm forever thankful that it is. When the process began my first thought was of the birds, both waterfowl and songbirds. The songbirds visit my feeder just as regularly as before, the coots swim around the construction and waterfowl land on the structure finding it an extraordinarily handy perch for finding fishes. Speaking of fishes, they collect underneath it and the fishermen can be found casting their lines nearby. All is well on the riverbank as this structure just seems to add to both the ambiance and the ecosystem. This progress is nothing but good.


As you can see, they've made great progress. The upper framing is in place and today they are putting in the stairs, seen to the left. Taking photos from the bank the foreman smiled and asked me if I was "that lady with the long lens?" Yep...that would be me! He seemed thrilled that they're being immortalized. These guys are very nice and are true professionals. We have all been impressed with the way they treat the river and land while building this remarkable structure.

Here's today's crew. The company is Bubba's Marina Construction. An unfortunate name, but it works in this part of the country I guess. Bubba Doss, the owner, is as professional as can be and he is THE authority on dock building on these rivers. He works closely with TVA following all their rules and regulations, so you know your dock is up to code, made well, and made right AND put in the right spot - which is critical. The foreman is to the left, two workers in the middle and the crane operator is in the red shirt. These guys clamber around the iron structure like gymnasts on a balance beam. They seem unfazed by the height or narrowness of the beam. Like a well-rehearsed dance, they communicate mostly by hand signals and arm movements, and each has their specific job which they do without much talking. They just do it, and do it well. When they weld and sparks fly, why that's my favorite part.

As of today, 953 photos. Seriously. This is cool stuff.

Excitement!

Monday morning we wake to a deep rumbling sound out on the river. A bright white tug is pushing a short barge close to shore. They stop and lower those huge pilings into the soft mud below; the tug disengages, then turns westward leaving a crew of men. They're building our neighbor's dock.

I've been spellbound. The process has completely captivated me this week. I've taken close to 400 photos and the crew has only just begun. They're still working on the lower level's iron skeleton. Watching them weld the iron is amazing. These guys have it down to a science; it's a well-rehearsed theater. I promise my blog won't turn into a play-by-play, but I'll update you from time to time.

The upper shot shows their arrival and the lower shot is how they left it before the rains came today. The tug came back, hitched up the barge and headed for the safety of the bay during our storms. They'll be back when the lake calms down.

So this post isn't about buckeyes or butterflies, buttercups or baking, babies or birds, but it sure is bodaciously fun! (...to me, anyway!)