Mud baths are good for the skin, so I’ve heard. Yesterday, I slogged through river bottom mud on the Mississippi at the Alton Dam with my camera gear.  My feet were so encrusted with mud that they were the size of snowshoes, and I fell. My camcorder, telephoto lens, external monitor and tripod got a mud bath. So did my coat, jeans, gloves, and–during the cleanup–the underside of my fingernails. All these have now been wrinkle proofed. I’m especially pleased to know that about the underside of my nails. Looking as stupefied as Stan Laurel, I needed three tries to successfully stand and hoist the muddy gear back onto my shoulder.

Never assume that you’re on safe ground, mud-wise, if the temperature is in the mid-twenties. The sun had turned the soil into a sucking muck. I should have taken a selfie of me and my crusted gear, but I was intent on cleaning up the mud before it dried. The camcorder still works, but the tripod is stiff to open and close. Not to worry, though. The skin under my fingernails will probably be smooth well into my nineties.