Friday morning, August 14, early. Sun’s just lighting up the world outside. Time to heave away from the computer, grab the camera, hop on the bicycle and go see what’s happening outdoors. No specific destination in mind. Just head west so the sun’s at the back and not in the face.
Within minutes something caught my eye. Something had changed over the last couple of weeks.
The creek isn’t flowing past here anymore. That’s… odd. Not really, though. It is high summer after all, and there’s been no rain to speak of since May.
But it’s still flowing here, on the inlet side of the culvert. Hey! That gives me an idea. Follow the water. Go see what’s going on with the water.
|
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
|
Hmmm… still flowing pretty good here, just another hundred yards upstream. But not at all like it has been in times past, as the rust lines in the culvert show. From here the stream goes underground for a ways.
This small stream, which doesn’t even have a name proper, is one that I know well from my youth. I played along and in this little creek countless times as a kid. You might not think it to look at it, but its sources up on the north-facing slopes of the mountains on the south side of town provide Quincy with its main supply of potable water, meaning most all of the water that we use for drinking, cooking, bathing, flushing our toilets, watering our lawns and vegetable and flower gardens, and various and sundry commercial works such as brewing beer and keeping the exercise swimming pool at the fitness center filled and in clean and beneficial operating order. That’s a lot of water usage for what seems to be, at casual glance, such a meager supply.
Do these clouds at sunrise mean we’re going to get some rain? Nope, not today.
Ambling on a little farther up the course of the covered-over stream it pops out into the open again.
But what’s this? Trash in the creek? I’ve got to get that out of there. But I can’t reach it without getting my shoes soaked.
Ah. There’s more than one way to use a camera monopod.
Push the can up to the grate and reach through and grab it.
While I’m at it I guess I’ll pick up this damn piece of trash too. I’ve got plenty of room for it in my little backpack.
Another hundred yards up from where I pulled the can out, the creek passes under a little footbridge that crosses over into the the playground at Quincy Elementary School. I played under this bridge so many times as a kid growing up here. There was no chain link fencing around the bridge back then.
I wasn’t the only one interested in water this day. The Steller’s Jay prefers a more refined approach, thank you.
At the point of following the creek as far as the footbridge I needed to skirt back down and around and then back up to go further. That brought me here:
Following the water. During winter this can become a rushing torrent.
A very pleasant place to be, quiet, alone, nearly becoming one with nature.
Finally, following the water one finds where most of the water coming down Boyle Ravine is gathered and made ready for human use:
Quincy’s main domestic water supply. This tank is about 90 feet in diameter and 40 feet tall. If you look closely in the title photo of this diary you can see its roof, to lower right of center. If my calculations are correct this tank has a capacity of approximately 1.9 million gallons.
The tank was not there when I was a kid. Instead there was just an open reservoir. The embankment that still partially surrounds the tank is all that remains of that man-made drinking water supply of the past.
If all the world was apple-pie,
And all the sea was ink,
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What should we have for drink?
It’s enough to have an old man
Scratch his head and think
|
*******
"SPOTLIGHT ON GREEN NEWS & VIEWS" WILL BE POSTED EVERY SATURDAY AT NOON PACIFIC TIME AND EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 3:30 PACIFIC TIME ON THE DAILY KOS FRONT PAGE. BE SURE TO RECOMMEND AND COMMENT IN THE DIARY.
*******
|
Now It's Your Turn
Have you ever followed the water of your natural (or man-made) world? What did you see? What did you think? What else have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.
Thank you.
