Cycling Through

Cycling Through

November 30, 2016

On a soggy, sunny, brisk day (but not very cold), I ventured into the woods toward Cottonwood Pond. With the trees mostly bare, the sunlight could easily penetrate the woods, striping the brown floor with tree shadows.

 East-facing slope, and Creek, looking ESE

Some trees, especially Oaks and Maples, were still hanging onto their golden, bronze and maroon leaves. There was a slight breeze overhead, rustling those that remained. Other than that, and an occasional bird peep, the woods was quiet and calm.

Sugar Maples

Elderberry

Blue Beech

That day, during my exploration of Cottonwood Pond and its environs, I thought about how much that spot had to do with trees. Cottonwood Pond was created by a large Cottonwood tree falling in the woodland bottoms. Leaves that fall into the pond and on the ground perpetuate the cycle of nutrients as well as continue the parade of change. The Cottonwood Trunk and other fallen trees rot. New life springs from the old trees and the layers and layers of leaves they have dropped, which all become soil. Creatures visible and too tiny to see depend on those for nourishment and shelter, then their own bodies become part of the cycle, feeding others. From the topmost twig of the tallest tree to the deepest layer of loamy soil, trees are a substantial part of Life in and around Cottonwood Pond.

Trees fallen over Creek

Huckleberry tree on left, young tree on right strangled by invasive vine, probably Oriental Bittersweet

Dead branches of Asian Bush Honeysuckle that I had cut from next to Cottonwood Pond

By the end of November there was a very thick layer of leaves on the ground. They had been falling recently enough that the top layer was still dry and fluffy, the leaves still distinct in form and shape. Most were brown, but some still carried remnants of their autumn color.

White Oak

Red Oak leaf - holes possibly made by a female oak shothole leaf miner, when the leaf was green

Sugar Maple

A leaf collection - can you identify all of them?

Sycamore leaf caught mid-fall by a sapling

The largest Sycamore leaf I had ever found, to date

,

Water and Leaves.

There was plenty of water. The Creek was flowing lightly but steadily, leaves still piling up in the stream and on the banks.

Edge of Creek, with Crawdad hole

Where the Seep meets the Creek - the Bark Shelf at the meeting point is covered with leaves and not visible

Water had flowed down the slopes, collecting at the bottom, then down to Cottonwood Pond, bringing tannin and nutrients with it from decaying leaves.

From the Temporary Creek at the base of the slope ...

 ... emptying into the Swampy Spot ...

... from the Swampy Spot to the Inlet ...

... and through the Inlet into the pond.

As water collected in the pond, it was stained with tannin, like steeped tea. Maybe Rooibos tea. Or, something between Sassafras and black tea.

An interesting study to consider doing in the future would be testing the pH level of the main pond water throughout the year. I am pretty sure that it would be at its lowest this time of year, but that remains to be determined. Also, I would like to learn more about the cycle and changes in nutrients from this stage to late spring and beyond – how this affects what thrives in the pond.

As you can see, there were still leaves falling onto the water, mainly Oaks, which are more reluctant to loosen from their twigs.

 North pond corner and Isthmus

"little pond"

Glimmer of water seen through the Cove on the bottom side of the Root Ball

Looking down the Trunk to the Cove on the top side of the Root Ball - a glimmer of water visible again

The rotting wood and bark of the fallen Cottonwood Trunk and other nearby logs served as a basis for other Life to flourish.

Moss on Cottonwood bark, with sporophylls

Moss and very tiny mushrooms

Purple jelly fungus on the Barkless Log!

There were also signs of potential new Life:

Plant rootlets on the Cottonwood Trunk, originally under the bark

Dried fruit/seeds collected on top of the Trunk – could have been left from animal scat

Seeds of Tulip Poplar on the Cottonwood Trunk

Dying trees do sometimes give rise to new trees …

 The Bent Blue Beech over the south end of Cottonwood is dead, broken and growing fungi, but leafy saplings grow from its lower trunk

 An unusual three-branched Blue Beech sapling grows from the Root Ball Top, one branch stretching along the Cottonwood Trunk while the other two stretch upward, growing leaves 

 Sugar Maple and White Ash saplings have been growing from the top edge of the Root Ball

… and other saplings rise from the woods floor nearby, possibly started from seeds that found hospitable spots for germination and growth.

 Boxelder saplings are scattered throughout the wet bottom land, as they do not mind having “wet feet”

A young Red Oak  sports large leaves and deep fall color on a drier slope nearby

Besides young trees, the rich loamy, leafy layers were already nurturing young green, herbaceous plants.

Honewort

 Possibly Wild Chervil or Sweet Cicely

Young plants growing in the Swampy Spot

Meanwhile, another potential generation of plants was waiting to release from parent plants and land in the right places to take root and repopulate the forest floor around Cottonwood Pond.

Small white Aster, species not yet determined, next to Cottonwood Pond 

 Between Cottonwood Pond and the Creek, the fluffy seeds of another small-flowered White Aster wait for wind to release and float them to new locations

Thin, slender stalks of Jumpseed, with tiny knobs of seed, gracefully bend over the edge of Cottonwood Pond

Bonus photo:

These 2 saplings are growing on the slope above Cottonwood Pond – the one I usually descend. They strike me as looking like two old friends happy to see each other after a long absence.