A cool trip to the Big Spring.

I decided around noon to take a hike down through the valley alongside the creek. Quite a few years ago the previous neighbor's kids dubbed it 'Awesome' Creek. The name stuck.

The creek has several springs and is for the most part a shallow and narrow creek that a person could mostly jump over. Since the land has laid untouched for the past 20 years, the brambles and other stick-ery things have moved in. 

When cattle roamed the land, it was quite nice to hike through. Now, it is more of a challenge. I can mostly follow along the creek and detour along deer paths, but after nearly 30 years of walking this valley, I know where to go to look for cool winter stuff.

Below are frosted grasses alongside the creek's edge. 

Where the water isn't flowing fast, it gets a skiff of ice over the surface. With enough cold days, portions will freeze over yet water will still move underneath the surface.

I wanted to get to the east end of the valley and check out the Big Spring where warm water flows from the hillside and many forest animals come for drinks. In the past winters the  mossy rocks in the Big Spring had been covered by layers of frost. I was hoping to see some cool tiny formations from the latest cold spell.

The surprise came when I sat down to study the grasses I took photos above. I saw a rock with snails on it! I hadn't been looking for them, but I certainly was pleased to see them. The bumps you see on the rock in the water are snails.

Here is a macro of one from 2020.

As I watched the rock, I noticed a Scud moving around. Here is a photo of a scud I took in 2020 also. This is when I used my Olympus TG6 which I can dip into water to take a photo.

They are called Amphipod Scuds and they are tiny shrimp like crustaceans that small fish feed on. Like these guys...sorry, they are hard to see. But they do live in the creek in this valley.

Here is the 10 second video of a scud moving around the snails! It may not be too good but maybe you can just notice the tiny movement. I felt like I just opened a huge Christmas gift when I saw the scud.
Geeked out... I told Charlie all about it and he ignored me.

The Big Spring was a little frosty and the moss was cool, but we didn't stay long. The cold must be extended for a longer period of time to cover the spring with layers of frosted moss.

But the pattens on the mossy rocks still are quite beautiful.

A few years ago...

So we decided to head home. I needed to make lunch for hubby and I was getting hungry.

Charlie stopped and froze while standing in the spring. 

I grabbed this shot and then realized what he was doing.

He was watching a Bald Eagle soar above the canopy.  Charlie is uncanny about spotting Eagles and Hawks, it is as if he knows that one of those large birds would view him as a snack.

If he hears an Eagle squeak or a Hawk call, he scurries to my side and asks to be picked up. He is very aware of everything that goes on around him both on land and in the air.

We made it home in time for lunch and got warmed up in front of the heater.

Meanwhile in our valley

March 7th and 8th were the Big Run Off days of snow melt. Charlie had his first exposure to a mini flash flood of foamy snow water mixed with sand and silt.

He was curious and as soon as the water and foam hit his chest he turned and leapt onto my lap. I was soaked! I hugged him and in a few minutes he was back watching the water but keeping clear of it.

I invited the neighbors to come and check it out on Sunday and they did.

And they enjoyed their time in the creek.

I went back down the next day to check out what things looked like after the wash out. What would happen to those Sow Bugs? How about the Caddisflies?

That is a dime on a rock next to two Caddisfly stone 'houses'.

Inside,... the larvae had changed.

So I sat very still and decided to just watch the water below my feet.
There were little trails across the rocks. Some were moving!

Indeed.
So tiny yet cool!

How ingenious! The Caddisfly moves with its house!

I hope to catch them in their next phase of growth.

And then I found the Scud Bugs. Again by accident in a way.
I stepped in a spot that I suspected was a new spring and the spoiled leaf detritus floated away with Amphiopod Scuds.

I watched them for a while then lifted another rotten leaf and more floated away I watched them as they eventually found themselves washed against more rocks and vegetation. They seemed to wiggle their way under the leaves.

Now I think I read that they often resemble their surroundings which may explain why some were light colored and some dark colored.

I sat back on a boulder and just admired the stream and it creatures. Overhead I heard the robins, cardinals, and other birds.
As Charlie and I walked home through the pasture we heard a Ring Necked Pheasant call out.

My day was complete. Mother Nature never stops with her surprises. It just takes patience and a keen eye for details.
All I know is that I am having a great time and I don't have to travel very far.

I can't wait to get back down to The Creek.