As Green as Green Can Be
May 19, 2019
(Can you see it? Cottonwood Pond and
the Root Ball, back there somewhere?)
How green it had all become! Solid
green.
There had been much rain to encourage
the growth, too. In fact, it had rained the previous day.
As I stepped into the woods during the
early evening of May 19, the atmosphere was warm and sunny, but the
wind was cool. The wind was what I mostly heard, other than a few
birds, including a Pewee calling it's name intermittently in the
distance. A storm was predicted, but I'm sure wildlife were well
aware of the impending change without the “expert” opinions of
humans, and that they were starting to nestle in to get through both
the storm and the night.
Cottonwood Pond from afar
The slope and bottomland to the southeast
Slope woodland to the northwest
Bottomland to the north-northwest
The area was so thickly green that it
had become difficult to recognize features that earlier had stood out
so distinctly.
Cottonwood Pond as seen from the west-northwest
Cottonwood Pond as seen from the south - a jungle!
Cottonwood Pond and the Root Ball as seen from the southeast - saplings growing from the top
Looking from Cottonwood Pond toward the Swampy Spot (bald area) - can see a faint flow line through the greenery where water flows from the Swampy Spot to Cottonwood Pond's Inlet
At the Swampy Spot, looking toward Temporary Creek #1 (which drains into it)
There was evidence everywhere of tree
activity, both current and future trees. These catkins were abundant
– I saw them fallen on almost everything. I think they are the
staminate (male) flowers of Red Oak, which had bloomed earlier but
were then spent, the trees giving them up to the land below.
On a Mayapple plant
On Jack-in-the-Pulpit leaves
On the moss-covered Barkless Log
Inside a Crawdad hole
On the water surface of Cottonwood Pond
On the muddy surface of Cottonwood Pond
On the fallen Cottonwood Trunk
I sometimes saw them mingled with the
remnants of Tuliptree flowers, prematurely torn from their trees by
wind and rain.
Some Sugar Maple seeds had also fallen
prematurely.
There were many signs of lush new life
and activity, from the realms of plants, animals, and fungi, all in
concert with one another.
Sprouts that took root on the rotting Barkless Log
Something has been feasting on the leaves of Virginia Knotweed …
… something else has been tearing away at Sugar Maple leaves ...
… and something else (a tiny wasp, perhaps) has laid eggs in the veins of Sugar Maple leaves, causing the leaf to form galls around the spots for protection
Pretty mushrooms on a stick
The gilled bottoms of the same
A type of coral fungi just outside the Inlet
A Common Black Ground Beetle ambles along the Barkless Log among oak catkins and old petals of Tuliptree flowers
Raccoon prints and very tiny Crawdad chimneys just outside the Inlet
Many sprouts appear on the upstream side of the Barkless Log - debris has piled up against the log over time as the rushing waters of the Creek have pushed it downstream - seeds have also lodged or fallen into the debris (the downstream side of the log shows almost no sprouts)
The creek was still flowing steadily
from recent rains.
Part of the Creek rippling past Cottonwood Pond
The Creek on the upstream (top) and downstream sides of the Barkless Log
The "Island" forming on the downstream side of the Barklesss Log and the Creek cuts a new, additional channel to the left
The sky had suddenly darkened, and the
wind had picked up strength. It was time to head back up the slope.
As I got to the house it began to rain again, and the storm rolled
in.
Looking over the Barkless Log/Inlet at a dwindling Cottonwood Pond
