June 4
June 30
Obscurity/Clarity
June 2017
June – that time of
lushness, when the woodland is completely filled with green, when
woodland blooms yield to the more exotic, colorful, heat-loving
species, when bird and animal sounds are plentiful, but almost
muffled by dense canopy.
In June, some things move
into obscurity, and some become more clear.
June 4: looking southeast at the woods along the slope
June 27: The slope above Cottonwood Pond, looking west
June 27: evening light slanting into the woods to the north of Cottonwood Pond
June 4: Cottonwood Pond (background) and the Creek (foreground) ...
... and on June 30
Through the month,
conditions changed from no rain early in the month to some rain
(finally) in the latter part, creating some small differences.
June 4: Honewort in bloom at Cottonwood Pond
June 4: Jewelweed plants at the southeast edge of the Root Ball
June 30: Lush plant life on the top edge of the Root Ball and on the Mud Pile below
June 30: Various tree saplings growing tall from the top edge of the Root Ball
June 4: Elderberry shrubs in leaf
June 27: From a distance, I could see Elderberry in bloom on the southeast side of Cottonwood Pond
June 30: Near the Swampy Spot - could this be Winged Monkeyflower??
June 30: Solomon's Seal, which bloomed in the spring, fading on the slope above Cottonwood Pond
June 30: Another spring bloomer on the slope, Mayapple, lies spent and brown on the woodland floor - in some places they have left behind yellow fruit looking like small apples
June 4: Fragile Ferns on the slope above Cottonwood Pond - still green ...
... but the sori on the back of the fronds were ripe with spores.
The interplay between the
plant and animal worlds was increasing exponentially as larger plant
leaves became food as well as landing and resting spots.
June 30: Galls on Wood Nettle leaves, protecting larva of a tiny midge species
June 30: Chewed Jewelweed leaves
June 30: Gleaming trails left by snails (or slugs?) on Jewelweed leaves
Daddy Long-legs sits waiting for possible prey to come by so that he can ambush them
June 4: Male Black-winged Damselfly (a.k.a. Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly) at rest
June 4 - a fly resting on a "mystery plant"
June 4: Foam created, for protection, by a Spittlebug - the last instar of a Froghopper nymph, before it molts into the winged adult stage
Signs of animal activity
became more evident after rain finally came, as we shall see.
When there was little or
no rain and conditions were dry, the Creek route became obscured,
then clarified when the Creek could run again …
June 4: looking upstream from the Barkless Log
The same view on June 30, after some rain
… and rain continued to
carve various new paths around the main Creek bed, making the main
flow more obscured.
June 30
And what else was becoming
more obscure?
Certainly the flow path
from the Swampy Spot to the main pond's Inlet. Earlier in the year,
after heavy rains, that flow path had become very obvious, even from
a distance. As the march through spring into summer brought greater
plant growth in the sunnier bottom land, and as rains decreased, the
flow path became barely visible, and sometimes invisible, even when I
walked near it.
June 4: the obscured flow path from the Swampy Spot (center of photo) to the Barkless Log, which spans the pond's Inlet
June 27: A far view of the flow path (nearly invisible) between the Swampy Spot (far) and the Inlet (center)
June 30
June 30 - Closer to flow path from Seep to Inlet
June 4: a corner of the Swampy Spot (bottom) and the obscured flow path (above) on its way to the Inlet
June 4: previous heavy spring rains have kept Temporary Creek #1 and the Swampy Spot clear
June 4: the obscured flow path where it heads to the Inlet (Barkless Log)
Also, the flow path of the
Seep from the main pond corner to the Creek was more obscure –
again, it was very clear during heavy spring rains.
June 4: earlier heavy spring rains carved a number of Seep paths (center) emanating from the corner of the main pond (lower left)
June 4: Seep paths as seen from the Creek, looking toward the main pond
June 4: Seep paths nearing the Creek (Very Rotten Log, where it spans the Creek, can be seen in upper part of photo)
The same view on June 30
The Bark Ledge, where the
Seep meets the Creek, was falling apart, on its own way to obscurity.
Water normally would flow under it, but during heavy flow it also ran
over the top, pushing pieces apart.
June 4: Where the Seep meets the Creek - broken up Bark Ledge (center)
June 4: Where the Seep meets the Creek - signs of previous overflow (center) and the broken Bark Ledge ( to the right)
June 30: After some rain, the crumbling Bark Ledge is also sprinkled with sticks and pieces of Sycamore tree bark
With increased moisture
late in the month, some Crawdads took advantage of soft, muddy spots
along the Seep.
June 30: Crawdad holes in the Seep paths
June 30: A Crawdad has built this chimney up so high near the Seep that the top part is dry while the lower part is still wet
Even the main pond was
obscured; it did not resemble a pond at all, but a mud hole with no
more than a soggy puddle in the middle.
June 4: The main "pond" below the Root Ball Bottom
June 30
June 4: Dead, mushy leaf layer in bottom of main "pond"
June 4: Raccoon prints in the muddy bottom of the main "pond"
The only water left on June 4, in the middle of the main "pond" ...
... but there were still pond snails!
June 4: the main "pond" as seen from the north end
June 30
Looking closer at the pond
area, closer to the Inlet, I could clearly see where part of the Very
Rotten Log was missing. But, that missing piece was becoming more
obscured as it had been gradually rotting away and blending into the
pond mud.
June 4 (with Silas) - the broken piece of the Very Rotten Log to the left
June 30
The broken piece of the Very Rotten Log, disappearing into the pond mud on June 4 ...
... and on June 30
The far upper end of the Very Rotten Log, just inside the Inlet (under the Barkless Log,) supporting moss and young plants on June 4 ...
... and on June 30
The condition of “little
pond”, over on the topside of the Root Ball, was pretty much the
same as the main pond … or main “pond.”
"little pond" (with Silas) on June 4 ...
June 30: More debris
A closer look at debris on June 30, after rain: mud was pushed toward this debris at the far edge of "little pond," getting caught up in it
June 4 (with Silas): where water flows from the Swampy Spot (beyond), under the Trunk, and to "little pond" (below right)
The fallen Cottonwood
Trunk itself had been slipping very slowly into a sense of obscurity
as it had, by now, lost almost all of its bark.
June 4: A little bit of bark still clings to the Cottonwood Trunk - there is more bark closer to the base
June 4: a tiny bit of bark clinging a little further up the bare Trunk
June 30: A collection of fallen bark under the Cottonwood Trunk near its base
June 30: The wavy texture of underlying wood is exposed on a section of the Trunk that has lost all of its bark - a couple of deep, longitudinal cracks signal more changes for the Trunk (tiny animals, spores and roots can penetrate the cracks)
It would not be long
before the wood itself would begin to show wear and tear, and start
to disintegrate. Since the Trunk had fallen, animals, plants and
fungi had been, and still were, using the Trunk for structure and
nutrition, very slowly contributing to its disintegration.
June 4: Coral Fungi growing on bark near the base of the Trunk
June 30: Life proliferates on the edge
June 30
June 4: Moss and lichen on the Trunk, plus a very neat hole created by an animal
June 4: Where bark has fallen off the Trunk, larva trails are exposed in the wood
June 4: Blue Beech sapling growing from the base of the Trunk have grown much taller
Besides plants beginning
to grow on the Trunk, the Trunk had also been feeding tree saplings
nearby.
June 30: Tree saplings flourishing next to the Trunk
Someday it will be
difficult to distinguish between newer trees and the older life that
nourished them.
June 4: Fluff of seed from live Cottonwood trees in the woods has landed on the bare Trunk of the venerable fallen Cottonwood - old fungi can also be seen on top
Near the Trunk the upper
limbs of the Barkless Log were already succumbing to all of the
agents that contribute to the deterioration of wood, including the
animal life that takes advantage of new, loose material.
June 4: Rotting tree limb near the Cottonwood Trunk
June 4: Someone has created a burrow in the fine debris of the rotting log
The cycle was continuing
at Cottonwood Pond – clarity, obscurity, clarity, obscurity – all
coexisting, fading in and out and back again.
June 4: Fuzzy seed balls from Sycamore trees fall apart into the Isthmus of Cottonwood Pond
June 4: Moss and old catkins (fallen from trees in early spring) on the Barkless Log
June 4: A section of the Creek (above) upstream from Cottonwood Pond, below the slope
Evening light slanting across the woodland slope above Cottonwood Pond on June 27
P.S.: Some news on plants:
In late June, I planted a Common Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) in the area between the Creek and the main pond.
June 30: Let's wish it well!
An interesting plant had
been developing in the same area (pictured in previous blog posts.)
It started as a large purplish rosette, then quickly sprouted up,
gaining height in a short time. I thought it might be a Tall Lettuce
of some sort, but I am not yet sure.
June 4: The whole tall mystery plant (center)
Base of tall mystery plant
Top of tall mystery plant
Yes, that's me (I'm selfie-challenged, and taking this with a regular camera, not a phone) standing with the tall mystery plant. I am approximately 5 feet 4 1/2 inches tall. On June 4, the plant was slightly taller than I!
By June 30, it had far surpassed me!
I will continue to monitor
this plant, and hopefully determine what it is.
