All White and Brown

All White and Brown

February 23 and 27, 2015

After the healthy snowfall several days before, Cottonwood Pond and environs appeared very clean. The Root Ball had a lace cap of white along its upper edge. The Mud Piles were completely obscured by white, and the edge of the pond was indistinguishable.

On February 23, things started to look a little dirtier, as a brown strip had developed all along the bottom edge of the root ball, like a purposeful dusting of cocoa powder. The shape of the Mud Piles were evident again. This was a good way to estimate how much dirt had fallen from the Root Ball over a week's time, and to think about how much the Root Ball had been losing.

Water was still frozen, so none had been flowing through the Inlets. All of the deposition was fallen dirt – simply gravity.

 The Cove

 The Cove on the left, New Inlet (under the Barkless Log) on the right, and Mud Pile #2 in between.

 Northwestern end of Root Ball, and Mud Pile #1. Notice the root sticking out of the Root Ball that is still clinging to a mud ball.

Northwestern edge of Root Ball, near the Isthmus between the main pond and “little pond”. This is one of the Root Ball spaces that has lost the most dirt.

Near the downed Cottonwood Trunk, “little pond” was still indistinguishable in the snow. I did not see any American Tree Sparrows going in and out of the dark space in the Root Ball Top while I was there that evening.

  Root Ball Top, Cottonwood Trunk, and “little pond.” The horizontal limbs seen above the Cottonwood Trunk are extensions of the Bent Blue Beech (above) and the Barkless Log (below). 

The Seep was still not visible through the fluffy snow layer, though I could find it by the stands of tall weeds.

Near the pond, an animal had tossed some dirt out of its burrow onto the snow above.

Someone had been exploring under the Very Rotten Log, leaving prints on the snow of the frozen creek …

… and a Squirrel had scampered across the snow of frozen Cottonwood Pond.

What could be lurking, well protected beneath that frozen surface, in the rotten leaves below, and in the bottom mud of Cottonwood Pond?

Four days later, the dirt thickens ...

 (February 27, 2015)