West Marsh Water Conveyance: Project Update #12 (Eagles & the Channel Crossing)

At first blush, I just missed the perfect image here; but the more I look at it, the more I think that this might be one of my favorites taken on the property thus far (be sure to click to enlarge to check out the detail in the talons and wings)

The weather held for us late last week and for much of the weekend, with afternoon lows staying above freezing -- which in this particular case, was a good thing. The crew still put heat around the newly poured crossing over our new structure, and the curing concrete was wrapped in plastic ahead of Saturday's rain.

Construction oversight

Roy and I thought we were overseeing the day's progress, but as we left for the afternoon, it became clear who the real "pour supervisors" (Roy's term) were that day. This pair of mature bald eagles stood at attention for a good minute on the sturdy limb of a nearby cottonwood, basking in the near 50-degree weather and penetrating late afternoon sunshine. Conditions -- and a successful day's work -- seemed to put everyone in a good mood.

It was fitting that eagles presented themselves on the other end of my camera lens. I don't think I'd be exaggerating to say that I saw 50 individual birds over a 5-6 hour period. Many were sunning themselves or riding warm southerly breezes on my drive to and from the property. But I'd say an equal number were cruising over or past the West Marsh. Lots of mature birds, but lots of juveniles, too. They really love patrolling our bayfront dikes, especially when dead fish are washed or frozen near shore.

The photo series below captures what ended up being an uneventfully smooth (pun intended) concrete pour. Again, this is a milestone for the project, because this is what we (and our contractor) promised we'd have finished by the end of the calendar year. Now, it's a push to see if we can wrap up the project before the New Year. As is so often the case, it will ultimately come down to weather.

By the time we got ourselves in position with a camera, most of the mixer truck's contents were more-or-less where
they were going to be; the rest of the work was finishing and babysitting

Floating and troweling took less than an hour; these guys have done this before!

Finishing touches before the smooth surface was "broomed" to add an anti-slip texture (we didn't stick around for that);
then it was just left to cure for a long weekend

These two, who remind me of the old guys from The Muppets, ultimately seemed content that their work was done
and they took off for the day just about the time we did