The West River in Dummerston is my favorite place to swim, though I'd like to give it some competition by knowing all the best swimming holes in Hampshire County.
But under the covered bridge, if there's been good rainfall, the water gallops by, maybe 5 or 6 feet deep as far out as I go, in waves and turrets and constant motion. It's the wonderful color of shallow rivers--the iron browns and red. I just love it. The rocks are smooth and a little slimy, with enough texture for toes to grab them and brace against the current.
The water was cold today, colder than the Conway pond where I've been swimming, and the current much too fast for tadpoles or newts. I shivered in and then splashed down and floated fast out of my tiny cove. I am still embarrassed by my body, as well as it treats me, so I paddled and scooted back to stay away from the other beach-goers.
Oh, I could have stayed there for hours, swimming with and against the current, floating, kicking, turning into riverwater as much as I could. I did take my hair out of it's bun and let it become mermaid. Then I had to get back in the car to drive home to work out--important, but less magnificent. I'd swim every day, if I could.
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I am an editor and writer in Northampton, Massachusetts. I write biography and like to report on the food industry. I garden, watch Doctor Who, run, and knit. I am shy, but kind.