The Cove

The Cove

February 11, 2015

After a couple of snowfalls, temperatures rose again. Since neither snowfall had been heavy, the thin white cover in the woods did not take long to melt.

There were no more snow tracks, but Raccoons had left their marks in the mud of the Seep.

Snow had melted from the slopes, sending melt water down to the Temporary Creek. Water had made its way toward Cottonwood Pond, collecting in as swampy mess below the Cottonwood Trunk.

Water had also been flowing through the ever-deepening Inlets below the Barkless Log, into the main pond.

Just to the pond side of the Inlets, on a spit of mud, there was a cluster of green.

What were these plants that resisted flood and freeze? That still clung tenaciously to mud, even through sudden influxes of swiftly-flowing water? That remained green in any season?

 

The melting of ice, slush and snow on the pond surface revealed murky, yellow-green water.

Layers of fallen leaves had been decaying below the surface.

I knew that water from the main pond had been either seeping or flowing through a new opening under the Root Ball, meeting up with flood water at the topside, then, eventually, with “little pond.”  How much had been flowing through?

The deepest part of the pond was rimmed with an increasingly higher mound of mud that had fallen from the Root Ball as well as pushed through the Inlets.

 But the same yellow-green of the deep water was showing up beyond the mud ridge, directly under the Root Ball.

And, I could see a spot of light under there …

It was the Cove, and it was larger than I thought it would be. The light was sunlight reflecting off water on the other side.

Water had flowed hard and often enough through there to erode plenty of mud from the Cove ceiling and sides of the Root Ball.

One could easily imagine small boats of fairies paddling their way around “logs” and hanging rootlets on an exploratory expedition to find out what was on the other side.

In fact, many more rootlets had been exposed as the Root Ball Bottom had become thinner, losing its dirt to the Mud Piles below.

While I stood at the edge observing, I heard periodic plops and the sound of sprays of dirt sprinkling onto mud below.

 

Sloughing of mud from the northwest end of the Root Ball, and the increasing Mud Pile.

 Roots from plants on the Root Ball Top cascade over the Root Ball Bottom.

The many exposed rootlets displayed various designs.

 A "monstrous" root system.

One root seemed to be clutching a ball of mud, as if ready to wind up for the pitch.

Now and then, something new forms at Cottonwood Pond, changing the dynamics of the whole area. What's next?

 Seen from the east, looking down the Cottonwood Trunk:

On left: Swampy Spot where waters of the Temporary Creek gather before dividing, one flow going under the Cottonwood Trunk, the other going through the Inlets to the main pond

Above:  wet line of the Creek flowing under the Barkless Log, past Cottonwood Pond, and continuing to the right/northwest.

Bonus Photos:

  Swirly pattern of Barkless Log wood, near its root end.

 “Writing” on the cambium layer of Barkless Log, probably caused by Bark Beetle larvae that lived between this layer and the bark. 

Snow and Ice and Stan

 

Snow and Ice and Stan

January 27, 2015

 

Snow!!

I had been waiting for a snowfall. It was a light cover on January 27, but with a promise of more. I could not miss seeing Cottonwood Pond on this day.

Apparently, Stanislaus Cat couldn't, either.

The cold creek meandered past the icy pond. The Root Ball stood out in dark relief against the snow.

Wildlife in our woods had recently left their trails.

Some were coming from Cottonwood Pond, over the Very Rotten Log.

Stan was leaving his own trail of prints.

Ice and snow crystals formed in various patterns on the creek and in the fissures of the Cottonwood trunk.

The Seep was frozen and full of snow, so I could not tell if it had flowed more since January 2.

But, I did see designs on top of the pond that may have indicated movement.

 From the northwest ....

... and from the southeast.

 

Lobes of frosty white had pushed across the pond's surface from the northwest. Was water pushing this way from “little pond” overflow and the Isthmus? It didn't seem likely such a strong flow would come from there. Maybe a strong northerly wind had pushed just the surface molecules of water, freezing the action in place, like tiny, frozen whitecaps.

The only section of pond without ice or slush was that near the Root Ball. Had it been consistently flowing under there, resisting a freeze?

The Inlet and the New Inlet under the Barkless Log were wide open. The bending of weeds and grasses toward the log showed there had been a flow of water through the Inlets recently.

I knew this was true when, looking behind me to the southeast, I saw an active Temporary Creek heading toward Cottonwood Pond.

 (The downed tree seen in the distance is a much smaller one, just above the Temporary Creek)

Stanislaus and I went around the Root Ball to check out “little pond”.

Even with snow cover, it was obvious that “little pond” had flowed through the Isthmus to the main pond.

From this perspective, I pondered the pond.

When there was enough water, the two ponds connected via the Isthmus on the north end, sometimes going around the Two-Trunk Tree.

At the other side of the Trunk, water from the main pond was moving through the Cove under the Root Ball, then flowing under the Trunk and meeting up with overflow from “little pond.”

Mud piles were gradually decreasing the pond size at both ends of the Root Ball. Would this someday be one doughnut-shaped pond with a Mud Pile/Root Ball Island in the middle?

Meanwhile, Stan crept across the thin ice, curious about the deeper part of “little pond”. He gingerly stepped one front paw toward the ice, bending his head forward to sniff.

I wandered away to look at some snow-covered bracket fungi on a log. Behind me, I heard a slow crackling sound.

Sure enough, Stan had gone through. I turned around to see him pull up a front paw and vigorously shake off the icy water …

… then go sit on a nearby log, looking a bit sheepish.

Stanislaus on the Mud Pile

Stan and I stayed a bit longer, taking in the atmosphere around Cottonwood Pond, then made our way back up the snowy slope.

I hoped we would have more snow, and another visit, soon.

On February 5, there was a little more snow ....

Happy New Year - Happy First Day Back

Happy New Year – Happy First Day Back

January 2, 2015

  

Finally!

The second day of a fresh new year, and finally I was able to physically venture down to Cottonwood Pond instead of only observing from an uphill, edge-of-woods distance.

Down the slope I ventured, very carefully moving among slippery leaf cover and tree roots, down to the wetland part of our woods, where the creek flows. Silas Cat followed.

Early January, and we still had not experienced a healthy snowfall. It did not seem like “real” winter to me yet. It was cold, though, and a bit icy. I did find one little Harbinger-of-Spring plant on the slope, not yet blooming.

And there I was – physically close to Cottonwood Pond. Finally, I would be able to see the details of the picture I had viewed from afar for months.

  Cottonwood Pond as seen from the northwest

The pond edges were crusted with thin ice. A slushy film covered all but the deepest part, which extended under the Root Ball. I could clearly see where water was entering The Inlet at the far, south end.

I walked around to view the pond from the south end. The Inlet was very clear, perhaps larger than the last time I had seen it, over three months ago.

I loved the way the pond was framed in this view by the Barkless Log below, the Bent Blue Beech above, and the Root Ball. It was also an interesting perspective on the growing Mud Pile.

Closer to water, I could see layers of color and texture in the pond: dead, silty leaf piles sloping down to the deepest part where they disappeared, the yellow-green color of the deep part, the dimpled, slushy ice film, and the broad band of brown where more fine dirt had been falling from The Root Ball.

Green plants were growing from mud and water, just to the pond side of the Inlet. Those will be interesting to watch through the year.

The Seep was very distinctive. Obviously, there had been a healthy influx of water into the pond, causing it to leak into The Seep. I could see an overflow of “little pond” reaching around the Root Ball toward The Isthmus.

I walked around for a look at “little pond.”

 It had definitely overflowed. It was deep, and had been flowing beyond its banks to the northeast and under the Cottonwood Trunk, then a bit over The Isthmus.

It also went under the base of the tree Trunk, next to the Root Ball. On the other side of the Trunk was where it would be connecting with water from the main pond, flowing through the new opening under the Root Ball.

What shall I name that new place? The Cove. It reminds me of dark little coves where water flows darkly and narrowly between rocks or forested hills.

Like the main pond, the absence of dead leaves belied the deepest part of “little pond.”

It seemed so much more mud had sloughed off the north end of the Root Ball. More rootlets were exposed.

  Mud Pile at north end of Root Ball and below the Root Ball Bottom, at the main pond

More mud had piled up below the southeast edge of the Root Ball, below the Barkless Log.

Standing behind Cottonwood Pond, I looked up to the far slope, to the top edge of the woods. It was from that place, up there, I had viewed Cottonwood Pond for three months, seeing only the “big picture.”

How nice to be near the pond again, reflecting on the last few months and wondering what changes would happen in the future.