For many, many years I've been going to the same quarry, after hours, to enjoy many varying forms of mud and quicksand. The last several years has been particularly enjoyable, as seen in some pictures I've posted. Well, it looks like the quarry stopped working, and the mud pit started drying up last year. I thought I'd never return to this magical place, but this year is turning out to be much better than I anticipated. I went to the retaining pond and discovered that under a thin crust of clay is the deepest, softest, purest mud of varying thicknesses I've ever experienced. The weather has been incredibly warm, humid and accommodating to my late night adventures. I enjoy sinking vertically as deep as I can, in as thick of mud as I can, and for the last 2 months I have not been disappointed. There is nothing better, on a hot night, than sinking in cooling mud up to your neck, and beyond...

I often start by sinking to my waist, easily done. Then I begin to remove 'bricks' of harder clay to expose the soft stuff underneath. All around me I lift & move lumps of hard stuff until I've exposed a nice round pool of liquid clay, bricks piled around the perimeter. This gives the mud somewhere to go once my body displaces it. At that point, with the heavy lifting done, I am usually up to my shoulders in the thick muck, arms still clean. Then I plunge my arms directly beside me into the soft mud - what a great feeling that is. Then I can start pulling myself deeper, and deeper as I probe, with both feet, the bottomless mud below me. Eventually, just my nose, eyes, & forehead are above the mud as I am able to look up at the muddy lumps just above my head. With a grunt and a series of pushes, I'm able to sink to the point where I have to look straight up in order to breathe. I try to spread my arms out, well under the mud, to enjoy the feeling of complete submission. I'll spend 1 to 2 hours deep in this mud; a feeling of complete ecstasy.

So, what looked like a complete loss of a Summer, has turned out to be perhaps the best ever. I've been able to sink, above my head, in perfect smooth clay; many many nights this Summer. I've got several 'holes' of bottomless liquid clay to play in, each with it's own viscosity. I will certainly miss it once the season is over, but for now I am wallowing in joy.

Sink safely, my friends.