Obscurity/Clarity

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.