Footprints

Not on purpose, no, quite by accident, I have been creating a PUZZLE for those residents and visitors, who like to walk the river bank, of the Murray River, at Barmah Town. It's easy to pick the difference between these two groups of walkers, as almost nobody walks the river bank from Barmah, unless they have a dog. To date I never seen two dogs that look alike but I can accept this, as none of the owners look alike either.  The other group, (visitors) don't bring dogs!  There's so many in the town already.

Now it happens that some of the places I tie up my House Boat along the river, have firm but muddy banks. This mud is not sticky above the water line but one can leave an impression with ones feet, (A footprint) in it, quite easily. To reach the deck of  the House Boat one has to walk the plank, uphill at varying grades of incline dependent on the incline of the bank and or river height. The skills of a circus performer or gymnastic virtuoso, would be useful for walking the plank, but anyone once they become accustomed to the challenge, can make the deck via the plank. To date no one has fallen in, and this is partly explained by the phenomena, that to date every body who has boarded the House Boat, has been sober.  There state when they have left is another story.

Having covered the embarking, we now turn to the disembarking. To walk down the plank is if anything slightly more daunting than walking up. This has something to do with the force of gravity, and to do with natural velocity.  Most things tend to fall down quicker that they fall up. Now being as the mud is soft, it has a lovely capacity to act as a shock absorber. To disembark, simply jump off the deck onto the mud and leave a set of footprints.

A puzzle I hear you questioning, what puzzle? OK let me explain. I keep four pairs of footwear on board for normal wear on land, not counting bare feet which are seasonal. At the time of writing, bare feet are definitely out of season. Imagine for me if you will the bank beside the boat. Here quite clearly are impressions of footprints all appearing to have come from the river. Not just one type of foot prints but thongs, gumboots, work boots and sneakers. 

Every so often I move the boat as it is designed for moving along the water ways, as well as living on. When I move I leave this collection of foot prints all coming out of the river. In some of the locations I moor at frequently, I have left thirty odd meters of bank, with footprints all along the bank, as I never manage to tie up in exactly the same place. Not one of these imprints is facing the river, because at this stage I haven't tried jumping off the House Boat backwards!

Watching the more observant, river bank walker, looking puzzled at the foot prints all leaving the water but never returning, is quite amusing.  The dogs only take a cursory interest!   An inquisitive visitor asked a local what the explanation was for these one way footprints.  The local said, "blowed if I know, it's probably the Barmah Bunyip".