At Least the date on the calender says Spring is here. The week after that date we had temps in the single digits the first part of the week and the snow almost melted as the week warmed up a bit just breaking the 32 degree mark. Here comes Saturday and with it Winter storm advisory in the morning and changed to a storm watch by early afternoon.
Yep we got dumped on a again, all white and any where from 3-7″ of new snow. The ponds still have ice but as the temperature warms a little and the sun is higher in the sky the boils from the diffusers are creating larger holes in the ice and starting to see the edges of the pond and a little water. The different over flows and down pipe are working as the snow melts and good to hear the sound of moving water once again.
As I took my walk around the ponds some areas were still hard and frozen but other areas are muddy and squishy, which I don’t like that part because each time you walk on the thawed you changed the terrain leaving a little pocket and more important stirred up the soil that will eventually wash into the pond adding nutrients and fine silt. So I do try to walk around the pond where the watershed will not be harmed, so staying on the dam area and areas where water does not reach the pond is a good place to be.
The little pond gave me a pleasant surprise as I walked on to the pier, I glanced at a hole in the ice just in time to see a small school of fish swimming by. I couldn’t get them to stop and ask how their winter was but it seems they are happy that it is warming up too. Signs of LIFE at the ponds is extremely exciting and as the weather warms we’ll see more an more life beginning to pop up here and there and let mother nature be our entertainment as we watch the transitions and growth around the ponds.
So Spring may have Sprung but we are still waiting for the warmer part of spring to see our water once again and enjoy all that the ponds have to give.