Swimming in April

We had a few days in a row where it was getting in the upper 70s, so the kids asked if we could go to the swimming hole and invite some friends. I figured the water would be too cold to swim, but the sandy beach is a lot of fun. Plus we had a little boat they could practice rowing.

The swimming hole is a settling pond for the ranch. Stream water, running off the high mountains, slows down as it enters the pond, dropping first rocks, then gravel, then sand, and then silt. Then it goes down a grate, up a bubbler and through a screen to remove more materials, and then down a pipeline to the pivots more than a mile away. The settling pond also makes for great swimming, as there is a shallow part, where the stream starts slowing down, and a deep end, where it deposits the silt. The shallow part is usually quite pleasant with sand, but since it's before runoff and the pond gets dug out every year, it was silty everywhere.

The kids didn't care. They couldn't wait to get wet!

They took turns in the boat and swimming. When they got cold, they came up on the beach and played in the warm sand.

It was a nice day to be outside. I went into the water up to my knees and found that it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. But it wasn't warm enough to make me want to swim!

We played and talked a long time.

Then Jenny found a garter snake.

Desert Girl couldn't wait to hold it.

It was good we made the most of a beautiful day. It might snow tonight! The joys of spring.