Early August Rain

Early August Rain

August 2, 2017

During the last half of July there had been heavy rains, filling up Cottonwood Pond and the area all around it. This was followed by a drying period.

The day was slightly breezy. It was not as hot as August days tend to be, perhaps because the sky was overcast and we were expecting more rain. Light in the woods was dim instead of glaring, giving definition to the surroundings. Cicadas were calling in profusion.

The slope to the northwest

Across part of the bottom land, looking north

The slope and bottom land to the east/southeast (with Creek)

Vegetation in the bottom land had stretched further up, on its way to late summer heights. There was a mix of plants in seed, plants blooming, and plants in bud.

The Root Ball Bottom, with tree saplings and vines, and the Mud Pile, covered in tall plants (mostly Jewelweed)

A Tall Blue Lettuce between Creek and main pond

False Nettle in bud

Honewort in seed

Winged Monkeyflower in bloom next to the main pond

Before this year, I found many Winged Monkeyflower plants in the Swampy Spot area - this year I found none there, but instead a few near the main pond.

And what was this beautiful, tall plant, in bud, and about to grow taller? I would keep watching this one to see the blooms later. There were two next to the Swampy Spot, and some between the main pond and Creek.

Ditch Stonecrop in flower and fruit near the main pond

White Avens in bloom

Some little plants were just starting out, encouraged by rain:

Plants in the mud of the Swampy Spot - not enough rain to drown them or sweep them away

New plants growing from what is left of the bark on the Cottonwood Trunk

Plants on a remnant of the Very Rotten Log, near the Inlet

The Button Bush that I had planted earlier was doing well, getting new leaves, and the Elderberry branches, reaching tall toward the sunlight, were full of berries both green and deep purple.

Button Bush

Elderberry

Though we had heavy rain, it was after a long dry spell. I found no standing water anywhere, but everything was very muddy, and rotten old logs were soaked, having absorbed the water like sponges.

The Creek through the lowland - looking upstream from Cottonwood Pond area

Debris caught between logs served as evidence of previously strong rushes of Creek water, probably earlier in the season.

Where the Creek had passed the Barkless Log, I could see plenty of Raccoon prints in the mud, wandering all up the Creek bed, as well as some tiny new Crawdad chimneys being formed

Running down the Raccoon Highway

As well, the bottom of the main Pond was just mud. It was covered in Raccoon prints,  tiny worm burrows, and pebbles of mud (I didn't know the origin of the latter.)

Looking toward the Inlet, the broken-off section of the Very Rotten Log can be seen in the middle of the mud

The Seep, running from pond corner to Creek, was barely distinguishable, perhaps most visible closer to the Creek.

Looking down the Seep to the Creek, along the Very Rotten Log

The Bark Ledge at the end of the Seep was showing some real wear and tear from previously rushing water.

 The Isthmus between the main pond and “little pond” had not been active - new plants and Crawdad chimneys looked undisturbed.

 I could see that Cottonwood bark, fallen from the Trunk and previously settled just below it, had been pushed toward the far end of “little pond.”

  The lack of flowing water in Temporary Creek #1 had been allowing new plants to grow there, and the same was happening in the Swampy Spot, where water from Temporary Creek #1 normally flows.

 Swampy Spot, with the old orange ball pushed into the vegetation

 Animal tracks in the mud of Swampy Spot

The flow route moving from the Swampy Spot toward the pond Inlet was all grown over

 Inlet and main pond

Besides animal prints and worm burrows in the mud, there were other signs of animals, and sometimes animals themselves, all encouraged by the dampness. Flying insects sometimes buzzed by my ears or darted among the greenery. There were many spider webs stretched here and there, either in mid-air between objects or on the ground, or decorating the Root Ball, evidence that it was heavy insect season.

New Crawdad chimneys in the works

Adorning the Root Ball Top and Bottom - hammock-style and bowl-and-doily webs

The Root Ball Top and Bottom were almost polka-dotted with burrows, some with webs stretched across them

The lowest holes could be Crawdad burrows - but what made the other holes?

 The gradual piling up of mud below the Root Ball as well as the erosion and gouging of dirt from among the roots might provide havens for some wildlife.

Blue Jay feather - I hear the loud, raucous calls of adult Blue Jays in the trees, as well as the slightly quieter, higher-pitched voices of their young

Large black ant on log

Of course, a good, fresh dousing of rain water brings about the mushrooms, and you never know what you will find. Here is a tour of fungaloids found that day:

 Earth Stars (a type of puffball mushroom) at the top of the slope, near the edge of the woods

Teeny-tiny bright orange mushrooms on the Barkless Log

Fungi near the base of the Barkless Log

Mushroom at the base of the Mud Pile

Mushrooms under one of the Blue Beech saplings on top of the fallen Cottonwood Trunk

Near "little pond"

Coral fungi near the base of the Cottonwood Trunk and on a log near the Swampy Spot

A white jelly fungus near the base of the Barkless Log

Also showing up was something I see now and then at Cottonwood Pond that looks like a fungus but is not. This is a type of slime mold, though the furry look doesn't match that name. But, slime molds come in a vast variety of bizarre forms, and also change form according to environmental conditions.

There was still plenty of summer left. Would the ponds, the Creek and everything else ever fill up again? What else might show up, blooming and living around Cottonwood Pond?