Wind Songs: Fishermans Park Dam (Shelbyville)

LC, Jamie and I were in the small town (population 16,000) of Shelbyville this morning.

Located only 15 minutes drive from Tullahoma, Shelbyville has never been one of my favorite towns.

It has a pretty downtown square and beautiful central courthouse, is the location of the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration each summer, is the home of many very large horse farms, and is a way-point on the way to many other towns and cities if you don't want to drive on the interstate.

Shelbyville however, is also home to a large Tyson Chicken Factory, many Mexican immigrants. many budget restaurants, used car lots, discount chain stores, liquor stores and instant-loan joints.

A lot of the town is very run down and neither LC nor I like it very much, and yet we found ourselves there this morning.

After quickly finishing up errands we were both ready to leave and begin making the drive back towards Tullahoma.

And then we came to this place.

I looked to my right and saw that the raging Duck River was much higher than usual, and when I asked my Mountain Boy to turn into the parking lot he happily obliged.

I had never stopped here before.

Had always simply driven by this very small park many times, always eager to simply pass through Shelbyville as quickly as possible.

All three of us climbed out of the truck, and LC and James walked in one direction while I wandered in the opposite direction eager to be close to the water..............

After happily snapping pictures of the very fast moving river I looked over at this empty building that sat partially in the water and partially along the shore.

It was obviously long-ago abandoned, and it greatly intrigued me in that same way that the old abandoned Treadwell Mine buildings did in Juneau.

There was history here. I could feel it in the lines of the building...............

As I was still snapping pictures of the river and the old building I heard LC call my name.

I looked over at him and could barely hear him above the sound of water rushing over the dam, but thought I caught the word "log".

I headed that way.................

As I approached my guy and my dog, LC pointed towards the river and I saw two very huge logs continually churning in the froth of the white water.............

I alternated taking pictures of my surroundings with watching the two logs in the water.

They were caught in a perennial washing-machine and I was momentarily mesmerized by them because what was happening in front of me at that moment had been one of my biggest fears while paddling white water in the past.

The fear of getting pulled into an area of the river that contained multiple strong currents coming at you from different directions.

Having the currents violently toss you around so that you don't know which way is up.

Trying to swim out of the current only to have it violently suck you back in.

As I stood on shore watching the logs I saw them time and again get sucked back towards the falls, pushed underwater, pushed violently back to the surface.

They (for all intents and purposes) stayed in exactly the same place in the river.

Making no progress whatsoever downriver.

Pulled back. Pushed down. Pushed up.

Rinse and repeat.

Logs. Or a person. It would be exactly the same result. Only eventually a person would get too tired to fight the conflicting currents..................

As I continued to stand along the shore this elderly man pulled his fold-out metal chair close to the edge of the dam and was soon throwing in his fishing line.

I smiled as I watched him engrossed in tying either a lure or some bait to his hook ............

As we continued to wander along the shore LC and I both saw people walking their dog on a paved path on the opposite side of the river.

Wanting to take pictures from the walk way and wanting to more closely inspect the old and abandoned building, LC and James and I all loaded back into the truck and went in search of a road leading across the river.

We unexpectedly found this building - and this very wonderful and colorful artwork on the exterior of the building - in our travels..........

In the midst of a too-busy-too-tacky town, this small and pretty park was an undiscovered and quiet gem.

I was very glad that we had found it, and we all three walked along the paved trail towards the strange building, eager to see it up close................

Yes.............there is the earliest signs of growth on the trees.

I noticed it yesterday on the trees in our backyard and then really noticed it a lot on the trees at the park today.

Early growth in Tennessee is not uncommon.

Seeing buds on the trees or early blooming daffodils in late winter is something that happens often in the South, because of the continually shifting weather fronts coming through the region from either the Gulf Coast or the Rockies or from Canada.

And without fail these plants will have started blooming too early and we will get snow or ice or simply freezing temperatures again that sends these plants back into hibernation for another few weeks.

But that kind of thing typically happens in March.

Not January................

I really like this picture...................

The Old City Dam aka Fisherman's Park Dam on the Duck River. One of only three small dams that remain between Shelbyville TN and Columbia TN.

Built in approximately 1915, Shelbyville Dam on the Duck River in Shelbyville, Bedford County, TN was an early power producing plant. In 1939 TVA acquired the plant and operated it until 1948. Since that time it has been abandoned.

My very patient Mountain Boy walking with a very happy dog while I inspect the old power plant.............

It may be too early, and maybe all these budding trees will go back into winter hiding soon, but this picture reminds me that spring really is not very far away...............