Vocabulary

Vocabulary

March 12, 2015

Before Spring really launches and the level of activity in and around Cottonwood Pond increases exponentially, I thought I should review vocabulary, or, what all of these terms mean that I keep using when describing things here.

The term Cottonwood Pond is defined within the description of the blog itself. I sometimes refer to the “main pond”, meaning the original, larger body of water created by the fallen tree (as opposed to “little pond”).

Root Ball – the Cottonwood Tree's big, roundish root mass that became a vertical wall when the tree tipped over, and which left the hole that became the pond.

Root Ball Top – the part of the Root Ball that used to be ground level. It is covered with plants normally found on the woods floor. Below the Root Ball Top is “little pond”, and nearby, of course, is the Cottonwood Trunk.

Root Ball Bottom – the part of the Root Ball that used to be underground. This part serves as a back wall to the main pond. Dirt has been falling from this part, depositing into and onto parts of the pond, and exposing more of the roots and rootlets.

Cottonwood Trunk – self-explanatory. The trunk extends from Cottonwood Pond up and above the slope to the crook of a two-trunk Red Oak tree, where the Cottonwood Trunk is lodged. Bark has been naturally stripping from the bottom side of the log, and wildlife use the top side.

“little pond” - the “pond” that formed at the base of the Root Ball Top, to the north of the Trunk. It started out very much smaller than the main pond, and is still small during extended dry periods. During wet periods, it overflows across the ground (making it swampy), beneath and to the other side of the Trunk, and across the Isthmus, sometimes meeting up with the main pond water there. Lately, when its waters flow below the trunk, it meets up with main pond water through the new Cove under the Root Ball.

The Cove – the newest named aspect of Cottonwood Pond, it was formed within the last few months. It is an opening under a section of the bottom edge of the Root Ball. Sometimes waters of the main pond and “little pond” join through here.

The Inlet (formerly “The New Inlet”) - an opening below the Barkless Log, at the southwest edge of the main pond, where water enters the main pond during rains and snow melts. Water travels down slopes to the east, where it gathers into a Temporary Creek at the base of the slopes, and flows toward Cottonwood Pond, some of it entering inlets.

The New Inlet – formed sometime after the Inlet. This opening (under the Barkless Log) occurred closer to the Root Ball.

The Newest Inlet – an inlet under the Barkless Log that sometimes appears between the Inlet and the New Inlet. Water sometimes seeps through the Inlets, and sometimes rushes through. Some green plants (so far not identified) have started growing on a spit of mud between the Inlets, just beyond the pond side of the Barkless Log.

The Barkless Log – a tree that fell way before the Cottonwood fell and is now devoid of any bark. It's base is barely up slope, south of the main pond. The trunk extends along the southeast edge of the main pond, then forks near the Root Ball, where one limb continues near the ground and the other angles above. The Inlets formed beneath this trunk.

The Very Rotten Log – is very rotten. It stretches over the Creek to the west of the main pond, extends across the low ground and across the southern corner of the pond. It then goes underneath the Barkless Log (since it fell way before the latter tree) and then into the very wet area beyond that, where it rots into oblivion. The part crossing over the creek is mainly rotten on the top side, at this time, and I can walk on it, but further up the trunk, the more rotten it gets.

The Creek – (some people around here still refer to such places as “a ditch.”) The part of the Creek on our property begins as it pours through the culvert from under the road and then winds its way from east to south, curving toward the west, then flowing, in a meandering manner, through the lowlands of the woods in a northwesterly direction. It flows past Cottonwood Pond (a few yards away, at most) and continues to the northwest, where it eventually curves to the west through ever-deepening ravines until it exits our property. The Creek and Cottonwood Pond affect each other, most directly via the Seep.

The Seep – a line from the west corner of Cottonwood Pond to the Creek. When Cottonwood Pond swells with more water than it can handle, water seeps out of that corner and makes its way to the Creek. The Seep varies from being very obvious to being invisible, and it belies the very scant change in elevation between pond and Creek.

The Isthmus – a tiny “dam” between the Two-Trunk Tree and the northwestern edge of the Root Ball. When “little pond” overflows, its water tends to go around the Isthmus. When there is a greater flood, the water will go over the Isthmus.

The Temporary Creek – exists only when there is a lot of rain or snow melt. Water seeps down the slopes (east of Cottonwood Pond), collects just beyond the bases of the slopes, and forms a slight stream that flows down to the low wetland area. Just before Cottonwood Pond, it slows into the Swampy Place, then divides. One flow enters the main pond through the Inlets. The other flow spreads out under the Trunk, enters “little pond”, and spreads out over the adjacent area.

The Swampy Place (a.k.a Swampy Spot) – a slowed-down, very soggy area where water collects, to the east of the Cottonwood Pond area. Water forms there from the Temporary Creek, and pools before slowly flowing or seeping toward the Inlets or under the Trunk. A group of Mystery Plants (which may be a species of Monkey Flower) now grows in the middle of the Swampy Place.

The Bent Blue Beech – a young Blue Beech/Ironwood/Musclewood/American Hornbeam tree still growing just beyond the southern corner of the main pond. When the great Cottonwood fell, the Blue Beech was caught up in it, and was pulled and bent so that it arches over the southeast edge of the main pond and then is horizontal, reaching beyond the Root Ball. There is now some damage on the lower trunk, but the tree still grows new leaves.

The Young _____ Tree – stands at the south/southwestern edge of the main pond, not far from the Bent Blue Beech and the Barkless Log. When the main pond is very full, the base of this tree is in the water. I used to call it the Young Maple Tree, but then realized it is not a Maple, and have since forgotten what it is. It is so young that I can't tell by the bark, so I will make sure to correct its name this spring or summer.

The Two-Trunk Tree – a young-ish tree with two trunks extending, in a “v”, just above its base, which has a natural hole in it. It stands near the northeastern edge of the Root Ball, with the Isthmus between. When flooding is great, water extends all around the base of this tree. This is another that I need to positively identify so that I can correct its name.

Mud Pile #1 – started forming at the base of the Root Ball Bottom, to the northeastern end. It formed from dirt falling from the Root Ball Bottom, piling up below, and has been increasing much in length, width and depth. It now extends around the northeastern edge of the Root Ball, where much dirt has fallen, leaving a tangle of bare rootlets above the Mud Pile.

Mud Pile #2 – started forming a the base of the Root Ball Bottom, at the southeastern corner between the Root Ball and the Barkless Log. It formed from dirt falling from the Root Ball Bottom and depositing there, but also from soil deposited on its lower part by water  pushing through the New Inlet.  It is more sheltered than Mud Pile #1, and increases at a lower rate.

Some other interesting aspects of Cottonwood Pond:

–        Young Elderberry shrubs (fast growing) around the southeastern end of the Root Ball.

–        A Bush Honeysuckle growing on the north side of the Trunk – needs to be removed, as it is very invasive.

No doubt, there will be many more changes in the vicinity, leading to more developments that merit more terms and names. A few in the above list happened in less than a year's time.