Cottonwood Pond: October 2016

September – Tipping Point

September 14 and 27, 2016

I made it down to Cottonwood Pond twice in September. Although it was still very green and wet in the woods and some of the same plants were in bloom each time, the two visits were like bookends – one set firmly in Summer, the other occurring after the tipping point into Autumn.

We had one more “last hurrah” of hot weather in mid-September, and then the weather, a bit later than usual, turned blessedly cooler.

Though there had been rain just before each visit (on the 14^th, it started raining again while I was there.) there had been a dry period in between I had peeked down from the top of the woods and could see there was not water in the pond during that spell.

September 14 - rain on the Smartweed

However, despite that dry period there was more water in the area on the latter date. September 14 saw the pond fairly full, but with only mud at the inlet, and pond water stopping about two feet away from the Inlet.

September 27

September 14

On September 27, water was on both sides of the Inlet and “little pond” was so full that water extended under the base of the Trunk.

September 27 - "little pond"

September 14 - "little pond"

I found a Green Frog basking in the middle of “little pond”.

It was very evident that a good amount of water (after storms previous) had been rushing down Temporary Creek #1, into the Swampy Spot, then to the Inlet as well as toward the Trunk to “little pond.”

September 14 - the Swampy Spot (left and middle) - notice that the ball, which used to be well upstream in Temporary Creek #1, has been pushed to the far side of the Swampy Spot, stopped only by vegetation between there and the Trunk area.

September 27:

Temporary Creek #1 running toward the Swampy Spot (foreground)

The end of Temporary Creek #1 where it pours into the Swampy Spot

Water running toward the Inlet from the Swampy Spot

Swampy Spot with dead Monkeyflower plants - water headed toward Trunk/"little pond" area

Water flowing under top limb of Barkless Log toward Trunk and "little pond"

It was a mighty storm. I found that some things had fallen or been blown into the main Pond.

These things, especially the section of thick branch, will become substrates for the growth of more algae, and will harbor more diatoms and microorganisms, which will, when warm weather returns, attract snails, tadpoles and other more visible creatures needing food and shelter. It will be interesting to take samples to examine next year.

So, everything that enters Cottonwood Pond creates its own changes, large or small, which have a “ripple effect” through the food chain and Cycle of Life.

Remember the Jewelweed plants from Mud Pile #2 that had drooped over, fell in the pond and rotted? They would be playing their part, too, by changing nutrients in the water and providing substrates, however ephemeral.

The recent creation of Mud Pile #3 and a much higher Berm in front of the Cove , caused by much dirt having fallen (and continuing to fall) from the Root Ball Bottom has been working as a small “levee,” keeping main Pond water from flowing into the Cove, and water from the other side from flowing into the main Pond.

September 14 - seen from the south/southeast

September 14

September 27

But, water from the “little pond” side could still be viewed through the Cove, helped by the reflection of sunlight.

September 27

Sunshine.

The most striking difference between the two visits was not any lack of sunshine as Summer moved into Autumn, but a distinct difference in the slant of light.

Summer light - the front slope on September 14

Autumn light in the bottom of the woods on September 27

It is amazing how some degrees difference can change the whole atmosphere. After a summer of glaring, overhead, seemingly vertical rays, here was light penetrating the woods and Cottonwood Pond in a more relaxed, coming-from-the-side manner. It gave everything a golden glow an seemed to illuminate places more selectively.

Between this change of light and the dip into consistent coolness, I felt Autumn deep within myself and the woods. I felt the shift was complete, and I reveled in it.

Even the wildlife seemed to be calmer and quieter, beginning to settle down. I sensed and saw less animal activity, in general, on the 27^th. A few butterflies lifted from the vegetation an fluttered away, but too quickly for me to clearly see them. I only knew they weren't the large, colorful, brightly patterned ones of late Summer.

September 14 - fresh Crawdad chimney next to a white Polygonum plant

On September 14^th, there were many Crawdad holes from slope to Creek to Pond area. Some were only holes where mud chimneys had washed away during storms. Some had chimneys, either new homes or revived tunnels. There were plenty of Raccoon prints in the mud around pond edges.

September 14 - scattered Raccoon prints between Pond water and Inlet, with three deep cat paw prints net to the stick

A Pileated Woodpecker sounded off in the woods to the west. A Hummingbird buzzed past me, landed on a twig of the Two-Trunk White Ash and flew off to a place not visible to me on the other side of the Root Ball. Hummingbirds love the Jewelweed blossoms in the bottom of the woods, but would soon be on their way south.

A large spider web was stretched out over the Pond, and a Woolly Bear caterpillar (those mainstays of September) hung out on a dry grass seed head over the Isthmus.

I heard a frog squeak and jump into the Pond.

I was startled by the windy, squeaky snort of a Whitetail Deer just to the north/northeast of where I stood. I remained still, not knowing why I seemed a threat (if I was, indeed, the threat) and hear it dash through the vegetation toward the west.

The woods north of Cottonwood Pond

The plants of September (of those that prefer moist conditions) were flourishing and blooming.

Orange Jewelweed was still blooming profusely on both days, though I noticed more early, green seed pods on the latter date.

September 14 - Orange Jewelweed blooming near the Swampy Spot

September 27 - Orange Jewelwee growing on Mud Pile #1

September 27 - Orange Jewelweed starting to drop blossoms

September 27 - new green Jewelweed seed pods

Late Summer and early Autumn are the time for Asters, and a small one was in bloom near the pond, with its scattering of small, many-petaled white flowers.

Virginial Knotweed was in seed by the 14^th and hard to spot at all by the 27^th. The white Polygonum (I am not sure of the species) was persistently blooming into late September, as well as a plant with miniscule white flowers.

September 14 - a white Polygonum (species not determined)

September 27 - a white Polygonum among Orange Jewelweed and grass

September 27 - another white Polygonum in the Pond water below Mud Pile #3

September 27 - miniscule white flowers, not yet identified

White Snakeroot was having its hayday, with bloom and bud on the 14^th and full bloom on the 27^th – some of the brightest white flowers that I ever see in the woods.

White Snakeroot in bud on September 14

Wood Nettle was getting ready to fade off, but not before effectively propagating itself. It was going to seed on the 14^th, but had dropped almost all of its seed by the 27^th.

Another plant in seed near the Pond, not yet identified

And the Great Blue Lobelia? It was in its glory. There was more of it in September, and the increasingly slanted sunlight reached behind the blossoms and created a periwinkle -blue glow.

September 14

September 27 - next to Creek

September 27, near the Inlet

By September 14, there was absolutely no sign of Elderberry fruit, and by the 27^th I was even hard-pressed to find any remnants of the fruit head branchlets.

Autumn had arrived in our area, encompassing Cottonwood Pond. But, tree leaves had not started changing color yet (with the exception of a few Sassafras leaves here and there) an some were only beginning to float down in a light drizzle, none into the Pond.

There was that iconic “fall,” yet, to look forward to.