A New Year at Cottonwood Pond

 

A New Year at Cottonwood Pond

January 4, 2014

A new year had begun, already with a flip-flopping of weather events.  There was a winter storm in December, followed by heavy rains and snow melt just before Christmas.  Then the temperature dipped deeply again as 2014 began.

There was ice again, though not nearly as thick as it was in early December.  

  

Looking down at Cottonwood Pond from woods' edge, I could see a cresent-shaped band of white, and a band of brown closer to the root ball.  I knew the white had to be ice.  But what was the brown layer?  A shadow?  Or was it simply an un-iced area?

First, on my way down, I investigated other things.

The creek was mostly frozen.  Since the snow melt and big rains, it had been flowing very swiftly.  Those ripples, rushes, tumbles and pools were frozen as if in stop-animation.  The water was, though, still flowing beneath the ice, but not as swiftly as before.

Piled-up debris in the stream bed showed how the powerful water had pushed leaves, twigs and mud forward, creating small dams.  The dead plant stalks near the stream were all flattened in one direction, showing where rushing water had flowed beyond its banks.

Oxygenation from rushing water created pockets and bubbles in the surface ice, the swirly patterns illustrating the flow.

 

Dead leaves were sometimes caught in the patterns.  Tulip Poplar seeds had fallen to the icy surface, to be swept away later when the ice melts.

In another section of the creek were different patterns on the ice.  Perhaps during a warmer period, some surface ice had melted a bit, trickled, and froze again, leaving evidence resembling a satellite photo of a riverine area between mountains and ocean.  But, I also found these patterns reminiscent of those made by traveling worms in the creek mud during the past spring and summer.

I approached the pond's edge to solve The Mystery of the White and Brown Bands.  The ice had developed layers of thickness.  At the edges, thin ice mingled with the crackly, crispy layer of dead leaves.  A crescent shaped band of white ice was sandwiched between two bands of bluish gray, and there was a concentration of thick white ice on the northwest end (where the pond overflow spills into the seep.)

The layers of ice are more complex than the simplicity I perceived from farther away. 

And, what of the brown band?

Speaking of deception, the brown was neither shadow nor a non-iced area.  It was … dirt. 

I had wondered before how much dirt falls from the root ball into the pond, adding to the bottom.  Now I was able to have an idea of the amount as it settled on top of the ice.

(My cat Silas had come on my woods walk with me, always just several feet from wherever I was.)

To the left, a pile of dirt seemed to have grown higher, as well as farther into the pond.  I will compare this to earlier photos sometime.  I assume that this has been pushed forward by the action of heavy rains, and added to a little at the top by dirt fallen from the root ball.

Here is a closer look at that pile of mud, situated between Cottonwood Pond and “little pond”, which can be seen on the other side of the root ball, around the corner.

Before heading around the bend, here is a particularly beautiful view of the crescents of ice and mud layers.

I went around for a full view of “little pond”, which had also been swollen by snow melt and rain, and I found it full of interesting patterns.  I would love to know how these are created.

 

The remaining snow had accentuated the deeply-furrowed texture of Cottonwood bark.

Here is where Mystery Mammal had walked across the ice of “little pond”, walked alongside the fallen tree, and then slipped under the first open spot. 

(see “Tracking”, December 2, 2013)

Silas seemed to be following a similar trail, though I knew he was not the Mystery Mammal.

Lo and behold, there were prints frozen into the mud.  One of these is, possibly, a canine print.  This would have been a good opportunity to make a cast.

Then I found more prints nearby.  These may be Raccoon, but I am not positive.

On the other side of the fallen Cottonwood, I could see where Mystery Mammal not only had gone under the tree, but where it had been wearing a trail in the weeds and mud.

I found deeper prints frozen in the mud. I did not think these were from Raccoon.  Ice crystals had formed in them, so they were probably made no later than the night before.

The mud of a Crawdad chimney was frozen, and ice crystals had developed at the entrance.  The Crawdad was likely burrowed in deep below the frost line.

I went to the south end of the pond.  Rushing water, which had traveled from up the slope during heavy rains, had gouged out and enlarged the space under the fallen log. 

(See “Flood”, December 21, 2013)

If the pond filled up further, it could back up into this space.

On the pond side of the fallen log, where rushing water had come under and through, flow patterns could be seen in the ice.  It was also evident that this “new” water, as it entered, flowed under the shelf of ice that already covered the pond. 

Gentle ripple patterns, moving away from this spot, could be seen nearby on the pond's surface.

Silas enjoyed visiting Cottonwood Pond and going on a woods walk with me.  It's going to be an exciting year, with more investigation of the goings-on at Cottonwood Pond.