Flood 2017 - The Storm

Last month I was describing the drought conditions currently being experienced at Blue Jay Barrens. I believe it’s safe to say that that particular period of drought has come to an end. On July 6, Blue Jay Barrens was the recipient of 6+ inches of rain in a period of less than 12 hours. The resulting flood conditions far surpassed anything we have ever experienced here in the past.

The rain began around 1:30 AM and continued until 8:30 AM. During that time approximately 3 ½ inches of rain fell. Our dry soils were able to accommodate most of that water and very little runoff occurred. The weather was clear for the next few hours, until a storm formed over the area around 12:20 PM. During the next hour, 2 ½ inches of rain was added atop soils which had nearly reached their saturation point. Runoff began immediately and the majority of that 2 ½ inches of water flowed overland across the landscape. The video above shows the runoff from a watershed only a few acres in size as it crosses the driveway in front of our house. The video begins during the most intense part of the storm and ends about five minutes after the rain stopped.

Even though I was dismayed at the magnitude of the disaster unfolding before me, I got some pleasure at viewing the scene shown in the photo above. The clear water coming in from the left is flowing from my field that has been managed for the past 30 years as tallgrass prairie. The muddy water to the right comes from neighboring properties and the Township road. When I first bought this property, all of that runoff water would’ve been muddy. It’s nice to see that my management efforts are having some positive effects.

The former access road, now grassed over, carries the excess floodwater past the prairie display garden and dumps it over the bank into the pond. Water from a more normal runoff event would all have gone through the shrubbery to the right.

With the pond’s primary spillway overloaded, water overtops the dam. This is something that has not occurred since I moved here.

During a year with more typical rainfall, the pond would currently be down to just a puddle and raccoons would be devouring the last of the tadpoles. Gray Treefrog tadpoles generally have a poor time of it in the pond. They breed later than most of the other frogs and the tadpoles generally don’t have time to fully develop before the water disappears. This flood event has been a boon to the Gray Treefrog population.

Thanks to all this water, I’ll be seeing many more of these newly morphed Gray Treefrogs during the next few weeks.

Drought 2017 - Toad Pool

After several months of experiencing rain storms two or three times per week, the rain has stopped.  Three weeks of dry, hot weather has left the Toad Pool as nothing but a small patch of mud.  The last bit of open water disappeared on June 12.

The water level remained good until June 2.  That is when temperatures began reaching 90°F and strong, dry winds began to blow.  Under these conditions, you could almost see the pool growing smaller.

On June 5, an approaching storm front gave hope of some much needed rain.  When just a few miles away, the line of rain formed a gap that neatly slid over Blue Jay Barrens.  I could see the rain clouds to the north and south of us, but not a drop fell here. 

By June 8 the water depth was down to about two inches.  Forecast was for dry and windy conditions.  Fortunately, the bulk of the toad tadpoles had morphed into tiny toadlets by the end of May.  The pool had served its intended purpose well.

An interesting pattern was left behind by the tadpoles.  While feeding, each tadpole would work its way down into the mud as it searched out algae and other tiny food items.  The tadpole’s head would remain stationary and the body would rotate around that fixed point.  The result was a depression in the mud.  This pattern of dimples covered the bottom of the pool.

My photos of the depressions turned out to be good examples of the Dimple and Bump Optical Illusion.  Depending on how it is viewed, the pattern may appear to be a series of indentations or a series of raised bumps.  I can manage to switch back-and-forth between seeing dimples and bumps.  My wife sees only bumps, but she has taught High School English for 35 years so …

A mixed bag of mammals and birds have been visiting the pool for water and to take advantage of any food morsels left vulnerable by the shrinking pool.  Rain storms began moving through the area yesterday.  Flash flooding has occurred just a few miles from our location, but we have only managed to get rains just slightly stronger than a drizzle.  I hope this doesn’t continue as a summer long pattern.

Rain and Flooding

Blue Jay Barrens is about as wet as it can get.  A long sequence of storms moving through during the past week has dropped nearly six inches of rain over the area.  Storm clouds moved through once or twice every day.

The soil, already fully hydrated by over six inches of rain in March, quickly became saturated and the output of each storm had nowhere to go but to run overland to the creek.  A storm yesterday afternoon produced 0.8 inches of rain in 15 minutes.  The result was a flash flood, the third this week.

Water from the township road carried red clay particles to the pond.  It looks like a bowl full of mud, but the water clarity is not as bad as it appears.

A closer examination shows the water to still be fairly clear.  The clay tint makes the dark Wood Frog tadpoles easy to see. 

The tadpoles have just recently taken on the traditional tadpole shape and become free swimming.  If these rains persist, there will be no problem of the pond drying up before the tadpoles transform into little hoppers.

The diversions around the vegetable garden have been working overtime this spring.  The garden sits in a level area that was formed by eroded soil being trapped by an elevated roadway.  Without the diversions, water would inundate the garden after every rain.

After each storm, I check to see that the female Carolina Wolf Spider is alive and well.  So far, she seems to have been unaffected by even the heaviest of rains.

Small upland waterways swell to wide streams as the water quickly rushes downhill.  After each rain event, I try to get down to the creek to see how the increased water flow moves through the channel.

The quickest way to the creek is over the hill.  Even in the driest, most well drained locations, water still stands on the surface.

Five minutes after the rain has stopped, concentrated water flow is still pouring from small woodland watersheds along the creek. 

Water running from these woodland areas is generally clear, but it carries a heavy load of leaves.  The result is a mosaic of bare ground and thick piles of leaves.  This will influence the pattern of plant growth through the rest of the year.

I’m always relieved when I see the bridges still intact.  All but one of the bridges have been replaced to an elevation above the record flood level.  If we do get a flood capable of tearing out this bridge, I hope I’m here to see it, because it will be a truly rare and terrifying event.

Calm and scenic features, such as a small waterfall, are covered over by the flood.  It’s always a surprise when the water drops and the creek resumes its earlier appearance. 

Water pools in the flood plains as it waits for a chance to seep into the ground.  This soil is very well drained and normally allows rapid water infiltration.  Its appearance now makes you think of vernal pools and amphibian breeding, but given a day without more rain, it will pass all of this water into the creek.

This is the last bridge needing to be repaired and elevated.  It has been moved and battered by flood water many times over the years.

Downstream of the bridge is the area blocked by a log jam a couple of years ago.  Since the removal of the jam, water now flows freely through the channel.

Since I wait for the lightning to clear the area before venturing out after a storm, I usually miss seeing the water at its highest level.  At the peak of the flood, water left the creek channel and moved overland.  This area was scoured clean when the water was suddenly blocked by the formation of a log jam and forced out here.  It’s likely that a new channel will be formed here someday.  I could have left the log jam in place and let the new channel form, but this little area has a nice collection of woodland flowers that I would like to enjoy for a while longer.

The third of three large bridges is now well above flood level.  This bridge was repaired using sections of decking from two older bridges.  I think this one is elevated and anchored well enough to withstand any flood.

I find still photos of rapidly moving water to be lacking in impact, so I have included a short video that captures the movement and sound of the angry creek.  It is also available for viewing on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Return of Heavy Snow

The latest winter storm began dropping snow on Blue Jay Barrens early Wednesday evening.  Snow fell steadily through the night and continued until late Thursday morning.  The total snowfall was eight inches. That wasn’t close to being a record, but an eight inch snow is considered to be a major event in this area.  Temperatures are predicted to warm rapidly over the next week which should melt this snow fairly soon.  Of course, thick snow cover has a way of keeping temperatures colder than predicted, so I expect to be seeing this snow for a while.

Unlike our last snow event, this snow began with a couple inches of large wet flakes that stuck to whatever they touched.  This formed a base of snow on tree branches that caught much of the dry snow that followed.  Cedar branches developed a noticeable droop.  Some cedars lost their cone shape altogether and took on the appearance of sprawling shrubs.  Most will recover their shapes once the snow melts, but there are always a few left with a permanent disfigurement.

The Indian Grass managed to remain upright through this snow.  A few stalks developed a strong lean, primarily due to becoming saturated with water during a heavy rain event preceding the snow.

This winter storm officially began as rain on Tuesday afternoon.  Temperatures reached 50^oF and almost two inches of rain fell during the next 24 hours.  By the time the rain changed over to snow, most of the snow from the prior storm had melted.

The rain was more than enough to fill the pond.  Cloudy water made it impossible to make a visual check for any new salamander activity.  Frozen slush now covers the pond’s surface, so I’ll have to wait for the melt to see what may be occurring in the water.  A few Spring Peepers began calling late Wednesday afternoon, but they grew silent when the temperature and the heavy snow began to fall.

During that brief period between one snow cover and the next, I noticed that voles had left the tall grass fields and extended their foraging tunnels into the lawn.  Voles forage in areas that provide a thick grass canopy capable of shielding their activities from predators.  Deep snow offers a temporary canopy cover that allows foraging in normally inaccessible areas.

Voles are plant eaters that feed on a variety of leaves, stems, bulbs and roots.  As they progress through an area, eating whatever they find suitable, they develop runways that are then used as travel lanes to quickly escape predators, move to and from temporary nests, or to access new foraging areas.  The floor of the runway is generally bare ground and the sides are lined with plant material unsuited to consumption.  Extensive systems are often developed.

I’m impressed by the amount of work the voles were able to accomplish in the short time the yard was covered by snow.  It’s a more impressive accomplishment when you consider that the vole was eating its way along.  Fortunately, I have no desire to make the lawn a manicured landscape of introduced grasses, so am not disturbed by the activities of a few hungry voles.

Water Returns to the Creek

Following a three month absence, water has returned to the creek.  Gentle precipitation spread over a two week period resulted in a total of five inches of rain falling on Blue Jay Barrens.  This recharged the ground water enough to cause a rise in the well level and to allow water flow through the creek channel.

Most of the aquatic life has yet to become active, but the pools are full and shallow riffles sparkle in the sunlight.  It won’t be long before the creek animals reclaim their domain.

The water flow is still below its wet weather norm.  The rate of flow suggests that the ground water has been recharged sufficiently to maintain a stream flow until the wet weather does arrive.

The rain fell at a slow enough rate to allow practically all of the water to penetrate the ground rather than run overland to the creek.  Leaves in the channel lay undisturbed except in the lowest part of the channel where the water flow originated.

The upper portion of the creek channel is more entrenched and has a steeper grade than the wider channel downstream.  This generally results in a more rapid water flow.  Even in these reaches, the water flow was so slow that leaves in the water were not carried away.

Decomposing leaves are a prime source of energy for organisms living in headwater streams.  The longer the leaves remain in place, the more benefit they are to the stream ecosystem.  In years where the leaves are not washed away by flood waters, there is a noticeable increase in stream insects and other organisms.

Reflections of sky and trees on large bodies of water usually result in an attractive image.  Reflections on a small creek are often less appealing.  The green and yellow leaves reflecting on the water make this creek appear to have acid mine drainage or similar contaminant fouling the water.

A colony of Coltsfoot, Tussilaga farfara, has become established on the toe of this bank.  Coltsfoot is a non-native that can form dense colonies on gravel bars and creek edges.  I always remove it when I find it, but seed from upstream continues to bring me new colonies.

Flood water hasn’t yet come close to reaching the bottom of the new bridge.  The support beams sit just above the record flood level for this stretch of creek, so it’s going to take a flood of disaster proportions to cause any damage here.

Water Striders were quick to reclaim the surface of the newly filled pools.  When the creek is dry, the Water Striders shelter beneath flat creek rock in the channel or beneath vegetation on a moist bank.  They emerge from hiding as soon as water appears.

The only fish left in the creek in early summer are the recent hatchlings from the spring spawn.  Most of those perish when the creek pools dry up in July or August.  A lucky few manage to end up in the one pool that holds water in all but the driest of years.  Now considerably larger than they were a few months ago, they will begin to spread out along that section of creek.  It’s always a good feeling to have the water return to the creek.