Cottonwood Pond: Rushing Water

Rushing Water

April 3, 2015

From the west

From the south

The floodgates are open!

At least is seems that way.

Rain and storms, and rain and storms – so much water!

Where was it going? It seemed to all be headed to Cottonwood Pond.

Water was rushing in a silt-laden torrent down the main creek, pushing over the edges, spreading over the ground, testing and overcoming its limits.

I wondered what it was bringing along from elsewhere – seeds, debris, tiny eggs, tiny creatures.

Little waterfalls developed here and there, which was significant in a creek where they are not normally seen.

The sound of rushing water played a bass background to the melodic tinkling of waterfalls.

So much water was being added to the creek, trickling down tree trunks, down slopes, and to the lowest ground. It was flowing into Cottonwood Pond, and flowing out of it to the creek.

Water was seeping down slopes, gathering at the bottom and rushing as Temporary Creek, on its way to Cottonwood Pond from the east/southeast.

Water rushed into the Swampy Spot, which became so swollen that it divided into three directions. Some went under the Cottonwood Trunk toward “little pond.” Some went through the Inlets under the Barkless Log and dumped into the main pond.

So much water came through the Inlets that it went to the other side of the Very Rotten Log, up to the trunk of the Bent Blue Beech, where I had never seen it go before.

The third direction was a new one – some water was flowing from the Swampy Spot, past the Inlets, and straight in to the main Creek. Water in this area – Swampy Spot,, “little pond”, Inlets, main pond, Creek – was all meeting up in one great soggy area.

Something else new was happening. Another Temporary Creek had formed at the bases of slopes to the north. Temporary Creek #2 was even larger than Temporary Creek #1. Some of its excess broke off an flowed directly into “little pond”.

This, of course, was too much, so it flowed over the Isthmus and into the main pond …

… then into the pond, which overflowed through the Seep, which was more gorged with water than I had ever seen it.

The Seep was so full that it was rapidly pouring into the Creek.

With so much volume and force, the water through the Seep was changing course, forking into two branches around a weed clump.

Instead of going straight to the Creek, as it always had, it zig-zagged.

It seemed a if all water in the woods was heading to Cottonwood Pond, creating a Great Swamp. Every time we have heavy rain, more changes are made, sometimes drastic, by water gouging new courses, collecting in new places.