Open for Winter!

In spite of the cold weather lately, Overton Park has been hopping. Sunday was the first of MRTC's winter cross country series, and OVER 300 people turned out to run in thirty degree temperatures. It was impressive to see them snaking all the way around the Greensward.

Other people turned out to play on the ice at Rainbow Lake (staying pretty near the edges, I was happy to see). It's not often we get to use ice skates outdoors in Memphis, so it's worth turning out in the cold to get that opportunity.
Still others came to just enjoy the glory of the winter trees against the sky and the beautiful patterns the snow made on the forest floor. Come on out and walk with us. It's worth a few wearing a few layers to be outdoors in the wide world instead of on a treadmill in a concrete block building somewhere.

Besides, the forest is the best place to walk in the winter as well as the summer -- the bare trees let in sunlight to warm you while blocking all the wind. Merlin and I have been there every day, even if I haven't written about it lately, and there is nowhere I would rather walk in the cold weather.

Here's a photo from the Commercial Appeal archive. Barney Sellers took this shot of the cleaning out of Rainbow Lake in 1981, back when they list the draining and cleaning as an annual event. Now that more fish live in the lake, I'm sure that those of us who spent two days catching fish would be happy if the plumbing doesn't need attention as often as every year. Chris Baker, one of the lead Zoo guys on the project, is personally hoping for once a decade instead.

Commercial Appeal turtle shots

Photographer Chris Desmond came to the re-release/turtle race on Saturday and got a couple of great shots of the proceedings. I was taking part, and I didn't get a good shot of the race starting line, so I'm grateful to him for these good photos.

Rainbow Lake Fish and Turtle Release

Fourteen turtles were fostered over in the zoo during the work on Rainbow Lake, and there was a ceremonial release back into the lake today. Here they are awaiting the return to their habitat.
There was a great turtle race, lining them all up on the far side of the sidewalk to see who could make the lake first. The largest turtle was raring to go and made it in before I could get a photo, but here's one of the later ones finding his way back into the water.

And another, making his escape from a life of captivity.
Volunteer Kim Hill springs a handful of snail from their confinement.

And finally, with many thanks due to them, a group of the hardworking zoo staff who captured, nurtured, and returned thousands of fish and other wildlife, keeping Rainbow Lake as natural a waterway as a concrete wading pool can aspire to be. Park users are in their debt for preventing the wholesale fish suffocation that happened last time the lake had to be drained.

Rainbow Lake Ceremonial Re-release

There will be a ceremonial re-release of the last fish back into the lake tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm. Zoo staff have been gradually releasing the over 10,000 fish back into the lake during the last week or so, but they're holding some fish and turtles for tomorrow. Chris Baker, one of the Zoo curators, even mentioned the possibility of a turtle race, though I'm not sure if that's in the final plans or not.

If you were a fish-catching volunteer, we'd love the chance to thank you again -- come see the fruits of your labors as all the fish are put back in their home. If you missed all the earlier fun, come on anyway, have a nice day out in the park, and thank the volunteers and very hard-working Zoo curators who saved all the fish.

Rainbow Lake back to normal

Notice the clean water! It's a little dark because they put in an opacity agent to help control the algae, but it's see-through to the bottom. Here's the morning playgroup enjoying having a lake again.

Rainbow Lake filling back up

I got an email from Larry Franks, hard-working DPS administrator of maintenance, this morning. The work is finished in Rainbow Lake, and they'll begin filling it back up about lunchtime today. That's impressive, given the amount of rain they had to contend with on this job, as well as the delay for a second day of fish rescue. It will be lovely to have the lake back again.

Larry says the Zoo curators are planning to return the fish and wildlife to the lake next week, after the oxygen has a chance to stabilize and the chlorine to dissipate. So we'll be back to normal (but with working fountains and drainage) very soon.

Rainbow Lake -- the saga continues

After two days of pumping, the lake was empty at the end of the workday yesterday. Then the storms swept through, so they're pumping this morning. Again. But today it's workers picking up trash wading around in the half-empty lake, instead of zoo workers and volunteers catching fish. As one of those former volunteers, I was happy to be standing clean and dry on the sidewalk watching the work for a change.

The shallow end of the lake, the one that usually backs up with leaf debris, is dry, so a crew of workers is shovelling out muck. The lake should be much, much nicer when they're done.

Good News Coverage for Lake Rescue

The CA (photo above by Jim Weber) ran a great story on the Local News front page about the first day of fish rescue. That publicity brought out a few more volunteers for the second day of work yesterday, and there was a follow up paragraph this morning about the most unusual find, the Oscar. The zoo curators were quite excited about the Oscar, and he went into his own tank at the zoo immediately. He will be a permanent resident there.

Action News 5 also did a story, with anchor Nick Kenney actually standing out in the middle of the lake. They got some great footage of turtles and highlighted the hardworking volunteers that Park Friends is so grateful to.

Thanks again to all who turned out to splash around in mud and who managed to save more than 10,000 fish -- a great couple of days' worth of work! The park is better for all of you.

Day Two of Rainbow Lake Cleanup

Dedicated zoo staff and, even more impressively, dedicated park volunteers and neighbors, showed up for a second consecutive day of netting fish, carrying heavy buckets, and (increasingly) wading in mud. The lake was down to a small, muddy pond today, thick with both fish and leaves, but the rescue effort really picked up steam. The zoo curators estimated that we saved more than 10,000 fish from dying as the lake was drained. That was "a conservative estimate" too. Many, many thanks to everyone who put their regular lives and work on hold to help out, esp. those who also a put in a second day's work. The zoo had the facilities to house the fish but not the manpower to save them, so volunteers really were the key to saving the fish.

My camera person couldn't make it today, but Josh Horton took some video for anyone curious to see the state of the lake on day two. The lake area will be under repairs for the rest of the week and hopefully filled up by early next week. The fish will be returned to their regular habitat a few days later, after the chlorine settles out and the water can support them.

One more chance to come play in Rainbow Lake!

Rescuing fish in Rainbow Lake with nets.
Adding caught fish to the tanks in the truck.
Our first turtle rescue.

The Zoo-directed rescue effort in Rainbow Lake today netted 15 turtles and many mosquito fish as well as some sunfish, snails, and other shellfish. The pumping of the lake took a bit longer than originally thought, however, so we're having one more day of wading fun tomorrow starting at noon. Come out and join us if you can. Wear galoshes and bring a net if you have one. I just resurrected my grandfather's fishing net and will mend the holes tonight in preparation for tomorrow. We had a blast today -- come join the party tomorrow and see what else besides a rubber chicken we find on the bottom of the lake.

Memphis parks not alone in craving TLC

The AP had a great article yesterday on how Congress is declining to fund maintenance and repairs for the National Mall. I keep saying that Overton Park is the park most seen by out of towners, given the zoo traffic (though Tom Lee also gets a lot of tourist traffic). Either park is an argument for putting a little more maintenance into the places that are the welcome mat for Memphis. Apparently, however, this problem is not confined to Memphis. You could argue that the National Mall is the welcome mat for our nation, and it, like Tom Lee, has damaged sod that is not fixed after large events. Like Overton Park, it is struggling for basic maintenance in these difficult budget times.

I'm thrilled that Rainbow Lake, unlike the Mall reflecting pool, will be cleaned up and repaired beginning today. Maybe we can make this a start on reclaiming the landscaping that George Kessler had in mind when he first laid out Overton Park. The grass has mostly stayed mowed this year, but a little more grooming and removal of both limbs and litter would make a vastly better impression in the mind of our visitors and raise the quality of life for daily park users.

Volunteer Call makes CA

The zoo got some good publicity on the front of the Local News section for its good deed as it gears up to rescue many fish and turtles from Rainbow Lake and foster them over in tanks until the lake is up and running again. City workers will begin draining the lake Monday, and Tuesday from 10-4, the zoo will coordinate volunteers catching and transporting fish for safe-keeping. Volunteers 18 and over wearing galoshes and outdoor work clothes (and sun hats) are being sought by the Zoo. To volunteer, e-mail Brandy Weigandt at bweigandt@memphiszoo.org or call at 333-6654.

Volunteers Needed Tuesday!

The repair work on Rainbow Lake is coming up next week, and a number of park users have asked me what happens to the fish.  I checked with Brian Carter, the zoo publicity guy who sits on our board, and he and the marine curators have graciously agreed to help out with this problem.  The Zoo is going to temporarily relocate the lake's fish and amphibians to the Zoo exhibits and holding tanks, but it's a big job, and they'll need help catching the fish.

Brian says they've bought a large number of nets and need volunteers on Tuesday, July 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help out.  Volunteers ages 18 and older who are interested in helping should email Brandy Weigandt at bweigandt@memphiszoo.org. Outdoor work clothes and rubber boots are strongly recommended.

Please help spread the word, since we don't have a lot of time to publicize this effort.

Rainbow Lake Repair Coming

We've heard from the city that the work on Rainbow Lake (draining it and repairing the aeration and fountains) will begin July 27th and hopefully be finished by the 31st. It's never a fun week when they're doing this work (which used to be done yearly to keep the lake from clogging up and becoming an unpleasant miasma of muck and mosquitoes), but the area will be vastly improved when it is over. They'll post a public notice with a phone number for more information in the park information kiosks the week before the work begins.