This past week I revisited the Blunn Creek Locations that I chose for this post. The whole month of February has been an on off cold fest, messing with the growth of the plants and the movement of the animals. The noise population in both of these spots was much less than the previous time that I had visited. At first I thought that this might because it was cold out but then I realized that it was only 3 pm when I was out so lots of people were still at work. As time went on, the noise got louder as everyone started to get off work and travel on the highway.
— “Parks are made to bring the music to the many, but by the time many are attuned to hear it there is little left but noise” (159) A Sand County Almanac
The first spot was the creek area that was flowing much faster because of the different levels of rain that we have been having. The erosion of the soil has added to the increase of the “pathway” across the creek. The sand has started to accumulate by the bigger rocks. Sadly, unlike last month, I was unable to find any fresh tracks. I was able to find some older tracks in the water but this made it to where I was unable to identify the track species. The day that I decided to go out was the first day that it was above 40 ( 61 to be exact). Because of this the animals were trying to get out more because they knew of the upcoming cold burst. I was able to spot 3 squirrels and heard birds but was never able to spot any. Two of the squirrels were chasing each other, trying to get some exercise in after the long shelter from the cold. The other one was looking for nuts near the trees and transporting the back to the hole in a tree that was further up the stream.
The second location was the cliff overhang in Blunn Creek. This location showed lots of signs of erosion because the soil around the tree roots were much less and showed water paths were the soil had been going. The cold had attacked the last remaining non evergreen trees causing them to completely brown. The faster river below was producing a faster and louder sound. This sound, at least for me, was very calming from my earlier week of stress. Being able to walk out in nature again and not be cooped up inside because of the cold was very nice and refreshing. This location also had lots of trash still (new trash) illustrating that this spot is a well know spot for hikers to rest and take a break. Next time I go I am going to make sure I bring a trash bag to collect the trash that I find .
On the trails leading to these two spots, not all of the vegetation had died. I came across two or three trees that were producing health flowers even with all the cold that we had. It goes to show you how amazing nature is to be able to producing something so beautiful in the middle of this cold.
