TJ Ray

By TJ Ray

Columnist

 

What a beautiful day to visit the reservoir and photograph birds.  The trip was fine until I got down to the spillway parking lot.  Then clouds rolled in.  

Let me start over in a different way and introduce you to my reservoir.  I say “my reservoir” because I visit it three or four times a week, all year round.  Actually, there are two reservoirs. Let me explain.

When I go out, my first stop is usually at the Sandstone Hiking Trail.  Across the road from the Batesville 10 Mile sign is an active eagle nest.  At the moment there are two babies in it, the adults flying in and out with fresh meat.  

After that little hike, I went to the spillway area. The behavior of the Gulls and Pelicans and Great Blue Herons is a wonderful natural exhibition. The funniest creatures there are the folks with rods in their hands.  

Next come the picnic and camping areas.  One can always spot Robins and Bluejays and also a few Woodpeckers there.  Just the other day a Killdeer came strolling down a campground road.  With so little human activity that day, I just stopped in the road and photographed it from the car.

This Sardis is alluring all year round.  Even though the benches above the spillway are cold on a January morning, the scene is always breathtaking.  And parking among the empty RV  spaces in February can be daunting, but the sheer peace and quiet and solitude endow it with priceless moments.  

And by the way, if nature calls on a cold day, not to worry:  the Corps has kindly installed two restrooms with heated showers!

Before the final drive along the top of the dam, there is usually a trip to the boardwalk nature trail.  The stumps of the cypress trees themselves are worth the walk.  The privacy of the place — at almost any time of the year — is priceless.

I constantly marvel at the sparse number of folks, a number that will change with the season.  But even with the summer crowds and loud music boxes, it remains a great place to relax.

Ah, but there is a second Sardis, the one littered by brainless dumbkoffs who so readily drop their trash and beer cans wherever they finish them.  Rocks on both sides of the spillway provide a handy trash can for anglers.  

The shallow water under the boardwalk would be Disney-like in its beauty if it didn’t reveal so many blue cans and bottles.  

And the beauty of the attractive Sardis is being defaced by the Corps of Engineers itself. Recently, ugly highway roadside barriers have been going up.  For one thing, they are replacing the attractive wooden fences that were there.  

Granted, an old one requires maintenance, but it is far less costly than the monstrous replacement.  Correspondence with a Corps authority brought back a thoroughly bureaucratic response. 

I’m still convinced this is a case of surplus funds that had to be spent.  Personally, I think the Corps of Engineers should limit its activity to tending to the dam.  A Parks and Recreation agency should manage everything else.

The forecast of heavy rain in the area need not prevent a visit to my Sardis.  There is nothing more satisfying than sitting under one of the picnic shelters watching the rain.  And the birds have no problem with it so take your camera.