Down the Brook
Part 1
The brook starts miles from my home as water runs off three local hills. Eventually the small stream combine into one large brook. The brook flows easterly collecting other small streams until it ends in a small pond. Below is one of two large streams that converge to the north of my home. Obviously, the first series of pictures is taken in the winter. The first picture was taken from a boulder and shows the stream partially covered by ice. This area is mostly in shadows and the valley captures and holds cold air, so it takes a long time for the snow and ice to melt.
The brook continues below.
This is the swamp where the two largest streams converge into the one large brook. This picture was taken at sunrise just after a snow storm. Notice the dead white pine trees. Some of them have fallen across the brook.
This picture was taken after the convergence of the two streams. The current is far stronger. Sometimes this portion of the brook is covered by ice, but only when the temperature is well below zero. As the brook spreads out before the beaver dam shown in Part 2, the surface freezes and it becomes ice-covered.
Below is a stone wall that crosses the brook. The current from the brook causes the winding as rocks divert the flow of water.
The water has spread out very much and only the fasted part is exposed. Notice the dead trees near the middle of the picture. They are white pine trees that grew close to the edge of the water many years ago, before the beavers dammed the brook. A small dead tree is directly in front of the position where the picture was taken. There are other dead trees across the beaver-made pond.
Below is a telephoto view of the dead trees. On the right, another dead tree can be seen that is not a white pine. It is probably a swamp maple.
This is another view of the stone wall. In the forest on the other side of the brook is the boulder shown in "Boulders-East 1" It is barely visible in this photo.
This is the brook after a snow storm. It is morning, just after sunrise.
As I write this, it is February 22, and today I saw some ducks swimming in the cold, icy water. As more of the ice and snow melts, there will be more water fowl. When summer comes, I expect the great blue heron to return. In the meantime, I wait for spring to bring the budding of the white birch. The early leaves are almost yellow. As soon as I get pictures, I will post them.
During the past few days, there was heavy rain and snow melt. The brook is almost overflowing. Here are some pictures. Below, the water is building before going under the road.
The water is torrential!
It is foamy because of the air being forced into the current.
It is much wider than before.
On the other side of the swamp is another beaver house. It had been hidden by the snow until today. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens.
This is my last picture of this section of the brook for the winter. The water level has dropped and the snow and ice are receding. If you look carefully near the center of the picture, you can see some geese. I have more pictures on the wildlife page.
