We just returned a few hours ago from a trip to the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande; this section of river forms the intenational boundary between US & Mexico, and also between Texas & Mexico. Had the river to ourselves & our small raft for the most part, except for a VERY low-flying Border Patrol helicopter that buzzed us one morning as it zipped downstream, I assume looking for suspicious-appearing people who might have been wanting to cross from one country to the other.
The Rio Grande had experienced SIGNIFICANT flooding starting in September of this year - some images and text are posted at the site below. We didn't encounter extremely high water, but did run into lots of carrizo cane & some tamarisk that had been run over by the river, and was now lying in huge piles on the banks. A lot of the riparian plant life appeared dead at first glance, but that wasn't really the case. The carrizo cane seemed especially immune to the damage it had experienced; in many parts of the corridor over 10 feet of new growth had already been added on to what was left from the flood. I had wondered during the trip if the carrizo cane (Arundo donax) was native or not, and had assumed the former. Having just googled the plant, I found out from the Dept. of Homeland Security website I was way wrong! It apparently was imported to the US from Europe many, many years ago, and has now established itself quite well. Its root system was astounding - strong, fibrous, resilient. No wonder it's invasive.
The photo shows some new green growth sprouting from materials that look dead. But they're not dead!
I couldn't resist cutting down some of the dead canes to bring home with me for gardening stakes; this stuff is just like bamboo, and will make great bean poles and other supports. I don't think it'll be missed.
The flood had caused a few of the potential hiking areas to be completely muddied over - more than once we'd step out of the boat or further up on shore, and start sinking into a quadmire of sucky mud that didn't want to release our feet. We saw only two terrestrial critters during the trip, and I don't know if that's unusual or not. I wondered if quite a few had died or been washed downstream in the rising flood waters. http://www.bigbendgazette.com/blog/_archives/2008/9/22/3896046.html
Prior to the raft trip on the Rio Grande, much time since my last post was spent working on the local campaign of my choice for next President. It is time for New Leadership for our Changing World.
Away from my gardens for a while; instead spending time in northern Idaho on the Selway & Lochsa rivers, visiting in-laws & friends scattered here & there. Above is a shot of our campsite on the Selway above Mooose Creek, before the big day of rapids. The Selway River is a premier whitewater wilderness river; only one permit per day is handed out during the boating season, and a certain percentage of those are for commercial trips. So to be on a private Selway trip is kind of a big deal unless you happen to know lots of boater people who get lucky. It was a great trip - lots of excitement, beautiful clear water, great weather, people & food. 
