This could pass as a typical January photo of Blue Jay
Barrens if that was snow obscuring the view instead of rain. Thunderstorms and 60 degree temperatures are
not the norm for this area in the middle of January. A quick moving storm front produced about an
inch and a half of rain, most of which fell within an hour. That certainly erased all traces of the snow
storm from a few days ago.
Here is why I mow wetter areas first. Once the spring rains begin, the ground is
just too soft to mow without causing damage.
In normal years, the spring rains tend to arrive in months like March or
April that are more traditionally identified with spring.
The upland water was moving away fast, so I splashed my way
down to the creek to see what flooding was occurring. This certainly isn’t the gentle flow I was
admiring a few days ago.
If obstacles won’t move, the water goes around. This curve will be a little bit wider by the
time the water subsides.
The walking trail crosses the creek here because it’s
usually just one long step to get across the water. This definitely isn’t a good time to be
crossing.
This bridge is the least susceptible to being moved by flood
water. There’s still a bit of clearance
underneath, but the water appears to be striving to reach up as it passes
beneath the bridge supports. From here
it looks like there are two creeks converging above the bridge.
The actual creek channel is in the background of the
photo. The curved section can’t handle
the water fast enough and the excess has left the channel to travel overland.
The next bridge upstream is in a more precarious
position. It won’t take too much more
water to change the structure from a bridge to a raft. A large portion of the watershed for this
creek is located upstream of Blue Jay Barrens.
Differing land uses allow more soil erosion to cloud the water with
sediment. Even so, this water is cleaner
than the average stream of comparable size and the almost sediment free water
from the Blue Jay Barrens tributaries improves the quality even more.
The bare soil areas that partially define the barrens look
like they would be easily eroded, but the runoff water they produce is
clear. A healthy biotic crust of algae,
lichens and mosses combines with a well defined soil structure and a pebbly
surface to create an erosion resistant landscape.
The result is clean water leaving the barrens. But, the integrity of the barrens soils is
easily disrupted through disturbance.
This is why I have issues with the deer and turkey that trample and
scratch the soil surface. Damage caused
by these animals can easily result in an active erosion situation that could be
difficult to correct. Management is just
a matter of watching and reacting properly to changes.
Uih, hope you get back to normal weather and the deer stay out of here!
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole. I imagine the weather and the deer will both just do what they do.
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