Time - and Water - Do Tell

Time – and Water – Do Tell

January 16, 2017

(and January 20)

The cold, snow and ice (and “atomic star crystals”) of January 8 did not last long. Soon, we were back to unseasonably warm weather and rain, rain, rain.

The rains did awaken interesting fungi, mosses and lichen, including this one that I had never seen before:

Cladonia ochrochlora

Smooth-footed Powderhorn

I found it on a rotten chunk of wood on the slope, on my way down to Cottonwood Pond.

Wood Ear mushroom on the Cottonwood Trunk

Rains (as well as freezing and thawing) have changed the girth and general look of the Root Ball over time, as dirt kept falling from it. Dirt collecting below into piles has changed not only the look but the dynamics of Cottonwood Pond and nearby spaces.

January 18, 2013 - so much more dirt on the Root Ball, none below, and the pond still an even bowl of water.

2017 - can see the Cove opening at the bottom of the Root Ball, in the middle, between mud piles.

The Cove

2017 - main pond and south edge of Root Ball

Approximately same view in 2013

(notice the Bent Blue Beech arched over the pond and Root Ball)

2017 - Root Ball - top side

I wondered if the increasing size of the dirt piles was pushing water farther out, changing the perimeter of Cottonwood Pond.

I looked at photos from January 18, 2013, and saw that, indeed, that's what happened. The whole look of the main Pond has almost completely changed. And look at the difference in the Root Ball!

2013

2017

Mud Pile #1, near and around the north edge of the Root Ball, was the first dirt to collect. It definitely changed the flow of water around that end, creating the Isthmus between the main pond and “little pond.”

2013 - on the left, water flows very close to the Root Ball between the main pond and "little pond", with a little "dam" in the way.

2013 - "little pond" below the top side of the Root Ball, and the beginning of the little Isthmus on the edge. No Mud Piles yet.

2017 - Isthmus (lower right) going to "little pond" (upper part of photo)

2013 - the little "dam", to become the Isthmus

2017 - "little pond" (foreground), with excess water pushing to the north, the Isthmus (middle) and the main pond (background)

2017 - a closer look of the same - falling dirt from the north edge of the Root Ball, plus piles of rotting autumn leaves, have been building up Mud Pile #1, which used to only be below the Root Ball Bottom, at the edge of the main pond.

The Seep was definitely flowing. Though it has always headed from the pond corner to the Creek, its route getting there has changed over time.

2017 - corner of main pond and beginning of Seep

2013 - where the Seep starts at the western corner of the main pond

2017 - the Seep, as seen from the Creek - flowing from the corner of the main pond

Where the Seep meets the Creek, there is the Bark Ledge, which was completely obscured by fallen leaves. Since then, Seep flow from heavy rains have pushed leaves away.

And … look how much the Inlet has changed!

2013 - Water seems to be entering the pond only through the far ends of the Inlet, while the center is blocked off by soil (again, notice the Bent Blue Beech above the far end of the pond, over the Inlet.)

The Inlet, at the south end of the main pond, is all clear in 2017

In January, 2017, a channel is evident through the leafy bottom, showing where water had entered the main pond through the Inlet.

2017 - the other side of the Inlet, where water, after heavy rains or snow melt, goes under the Barkless Log, entering the main pond.

The Bent Blue Beech arching over the south end of the main pond has become the Broken Blue Beech …

2017

… with another generation of Blue Beech saplings growing from the base.

Look at the difference in the Cottonwood Trunk in four years' time! As of 2017, the thick, blocky bark was almost completely gone.

2013 - looking down the north side of the Trunk

2017 - looking down the north side of the Trunk

2013 - looking down the south side of the Trunk

2017 - looking down the south side of the Trunk

2013 - looking up the Cottonwood Trunk

2017 - looking up the Cottonwood Trunk

As bark fell and time worked on the Trunk, it sported more fungi (whose mycelium helped break down the wood,) more moss, and more small plant sprouts (whose roots would work on the wood even more.)

Looking back four years has shown me how much it has all changed, mostly through the actions of rain and running water. How will Cottonwood Pond look four years from this time, in 2021?

January 20, 2017

Four days later … more warm weather, more rain …