Viva La Difference!

Viva La Difference!

March 21, 2018

As different as night and day … but, that's March in Indiana!

This is how Cottonwood Pond (and the adjacent Swampy Spot) appeared on the early morning of March 21, the first full day of Spring …

… and this is how it looked by late afternoon …

The morning winter scene was unexpected, so stunning, so exquisite. The heavy, wet snow clung to every twig, and to textured tree bark. It coated the thick, leafy woodland floor. Flow paths from heavy rains a few days before were barely visible.

It was astounding. And ephemeral. I knew it would not last long, and so I enjoyed this extraordinary, surprise beauty for a long while.

Woodland to the north

Woodland, bottom land and Creek to the southeast

The light of dawn

Woodland to the east

Woodland slope to south/southeast

Seep, pond corner, Isthmus, Two-trunk White Ash

During early afternoon, once the sun was high in the sky, beaming down on the world, its warmth melted the snow and gravity pulled the heavy covering down, undressing twigs and branches. Damp snow also melted and sank into the ground below leaf cover and vegetation. By late afternoon this world had returned to bare trees, brown woodland floor, and early blossoms moving faces back upwards toward the sunlight.

Chorus frog resumed calling. Birds returned to flying about and singing. Insects and other creatures in hiding stirred again.

The heavy snow melt had added more water to the Creek, the ponds, the low places.

Would there be more snow this spring? It has been known to snow in April here. But, it seemed to me we might not see it again. Instead, perhaps the spring rains would continue in earnest, filling Cottonwood Pond and its surroundings, ensuring plenty of water for a variety of life to take hold and flourish.