Frozen

Frozen

March 15, 2017

I just like for the seasons to be normal, so that I know everything is operating as it should, not disrupting the cycle of Life. I had found the extra mild winter and the extended, spring-like warm spell of February disturbing. Early March was still more of the same.

But, mid-March felt more like … March. On the 13^th it was cold, and we got some actual snow that stuck to the ground and trees and did not melt off before the end of the day.

I felt better because I prefer cold weather but, much more than that, the atmosphere was seeming … normal.

Then on March 15 the temperature dropped considerably. I cut and brought in armfuls of Daffodils before the freeze, arranging then in various containers throughout the house, and was concerned about whether blooms on some fruit trees, brought on too early by the warm February, would be harmed by this drop.

Still, overall, I was very happy to have a normal freeze for the time of year. I expect March to fluctuate between extremes, gradually working its way toward more even temperatures. I wanted to see how Cottonwood Pond would look in the freeze.

First, I noticed that the Creek was still running, despite the freeze ...

Upstream from Cottonwood Pond

Running Creek water working around obstacles that possibly include a couple of worn animal tracks

Downstream from Cottonwood Pond

… but the shallow edges were icy.

The pond, however, was frozen.

(Readers of the previous blog post will note how much more space there is on March 15 between the water and the Barkless Log, at the Inlet, than there was after the deluge on March 1)

I didn't know if it was frozen solid to the bottom, but the whole top was solid.

So, of course, was “little pond” and water in the Cove.

"little pond" (center)

The Cove under the Root Ball

The surface of both ponds were dappled with single snowflakes and tiny, fluffy masses of snow that had recently fallen and stuck to the surface ice in suspended action.

Life was suspended in ice and frozen mater in many ways:

Water flow patterns near the edge of the Swampy Spot

An old Sycamore leaf near the pond surface

 Half of a Sycamore seed ball and a single Tulip Tree seed in “little pond”

Mushrooms on the Cottonwood Trunk waiting for their cells to thaw and resume life

 Blobs of green algae under the pond surface, not far from the Inlet

 Algae frozen on the surface of Mud Piles

There had been so many Chorus Frogs singing down there during warmer weather that I wondered if any egg masses had been laid (early) in the water.

I think I found one.

I also wondered if these would survive, and how many tadpoles and frogs there would be at Cottonwood Pond this spring and summer.

There were frozen Raccoon tracks in the Creek mud – more suspended action.

And some evidence of animal action not frozen.

 Acorns left by squirrel on Barkless Log near Inlet

Other signs of Life were defying ice and cold, portending a coming Spring.

 Wet moss, dressed with icy snow, with lanky sporophytes producing and dispersing spores for another generation

Jewelweed seedlings emerging from the lowland leaf layer near Cottonwood Pond, sporting two “seed-leaves” (cotyledons) per plant, predecessors of the first pair of “true leaves” to come in the near future.

 On a patch of soil at the Cottonwood Trunk base a green “mystery” plant has emerged.

 Elderberrry shrubs at Cottonwood Pond sprout new leaves ...

… and Crawdads wait deep within watery tunnels, waiting for a break in the cold weather.

 Snow remains on the Root Ball Top within a shadow cast by the Bent Blue Beech, while surrounding areas have melted in the bright sun of March 15.

I expect we will have more yo-yo weather days throughout the rest of March and into April, with an increasing number of warm ones. Soon the woodland, and Cottonwood Pond, will spring to Life.

I will be watching and keeping track of the proceedings – around, on and inside Cottonwood Pond.