A few weeks ago Your Scribe was all smiles. A tree had fallen into the river (probably crushing some wretched yellow perch), and in the early moments I felt I might have a free dock and a sand beach - as shown here.

But look at this. I didn't expect the pristine waters of Cancun, but this filmy residue of shedding spring trees is a real eyesore. OK, maybe Johnny Weismuller would dive in but he was Tarzan (in the '30s, which incidentally was before my time).

But Your Scribe? Swimming in impurities?

Come to find out, I did go swimming here. Well, it was 95 degrees, and I wasn't about to chop wood or haul stones for my rock wall. The water was cool, and the views across the 100-foot wide river were edifying. I had a great dip.

Another unexpected challenge about this "renovated" waterfront: the "beach" goes straight down. You can't walk out more than two feet - literally - before you go sink 10-15 feet.

This is odd, because most of the Sandy River (Franklin County) is very shallow, perhaps 2-8 feet. But in front of my fast-changing waterfront, I have been assigned a Jules Vernes undersea crevasse.

In addition to the "adjustment" to the new waterfront, I am faced with an ethical dilemma. I could probably cut the top half of the tree, and let it float downstream. There are no motorboats on this part of the river (because there are many trees underwater). There are few canoes for that matter.

But it seems cheesy to saw it off, and let it meander downstream. Would a naturalist really do that?

Yes, the bellyflop that this 50-foot beast took is creating much consternation in my part of Cabin Country. I still think that it can serve as a canoe launch if some of the branches are removed. But should I consign the branches to the deep?

The afficionado of National Geographic might opine that within 50 years this (natural) dilemma will take care of itself. I am as patient as the next guy but I have it on good information that I don't have five decades left to wait.

So I will continue to ponder . . . but my first action item will be, how do I remove that slime?

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