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Monday, January 26, 2009

Winter Creek

Today I want to talk about a little winter creek. This little half frozen creek is something I've featured here in the recent past. It didn't used to be a small little creek. It used to be a raging river. That was just a few short weeks ago.

A great benefit of winter is that it has the ability to calm down even the most violent forces of nature. I've shown you a whole lake where the winter ice completely covered and subdued it. It was more of the same with this river.

The last time I was here, I was stopped at every turn by a flood that was caused by melting snow. The snow melt was a result of a sudden warm spell. The warm air released the fury of the water, which must have been angry at being frozen.

Here's what the river looked like last time I was here. The photo at the top shows what it looks like now. In my most recent trip here, I was now able to stand on the log in the bottom right to take my pictures.Last time I didn't dare get that close to the river. This raging river is now a small winter creek.

I still won't move very close to the river in this location, but I can stand right in the middle of it at other places, and other times. I've show what it looks like in the summer before. I'll leave a link to that at the bottom of the post.

Here is another section of this river. This place is hidden to most people. The path leading to it is so small that most people are afraid to travel this far. This place is deep within the park at an area where the trail runs out.

I have only seen one other person here. That person was a man that only gained the confidence to come here because he saw me do it first. He followed me right in, and told me he never knew it was here before.

I didn't mind being his tour guide this time. I don't want my little river to get crowded, but I really don't mind sharing sometimes. I actually like when I can show someone something new, that's why I'm writing this blog right now.

Here's one last shot of this little river. Even this deep freeze can't completely cover moving water forever. It has a way of breaking free of it's confinement. That's good, because it gives the animals around here a good source of fresh water.

The first time I was ever here, I walked right up on three deer getting a drink. They ran immediately after they saw me. I felt bad for interrupting them, and I didn't even get any pictures of them. I'm feeling much better now.

That's it for today, and I'm ready to go. I'll be back tomorrow with more of the show!


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8 comments:

  1. The wintery weather tames the river. It will run wild again once it gets heat-up.
    It is dangerous to judge the creek at one moment.

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  2. What a perfect entry to go with mine from last night showing the ice collars on the trees! It was that same thaw that left those remnants of the higher water. rainfield- we don't have many flash floods here (we are both in Michigan, but separate by many miles), but there are times like Ratty shows when creeks and rivers run high.

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  3. The scenery is breathtaking.

    And I can fully appreciate you wanting the creek all to yourself.

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  4. aaaahhhhh, i love the first picture so much, i feel like i wanted to be part of that water that runs through the creek. Really breathtaking shot, love it. maybe you can go white water rafting on that creek when the snow melts.

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  5. What a wonderful post and pictures to read upon my return to your site, and to read those I have missed while I was away. Yet, I wait for the day when Mother Earth removes her white cloak of winter and I can feel warm breezes once again. Again, wonderful...

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  6. Just can't imagine the cold you are experiencing. You must be a harden hiker to keep on hiking on a cold day, ever day....

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  7. whoa. it looks like it came straight out of narnia or something. it must be frigging cold there. still, i would want to at least experience being there at least once in my life :)

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  8. Rainfield - It's been a strange year for us here. That creek has seen many changes. Once it warms completely and forgets the cold, it calms right down again.
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    Sharkbytes - I saw the title of your post in my sidebar, and was a little worried I did something too similar.

    Yes, our weather has been unusually harsh at times this winter. Usually we have relatively mild winters.
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    PaulsHealthblog - It's even better being there. It would be great if I really owned the creek.
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    Betchai - I wish I could go white water rafting on the creek, but it's usually blocked by fallen trees in too many places.:( I'll just have to settle for getting my feet wet.:)
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    A.J. - I'm glad to see you back! I'm ready for warmer weather too.:)
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    Kruel - It's not that bad because I've always lived here. I have to go out in the cold for routine things too. Actually I don't go hiking quite every day, but I do go very often.:) Sometimes it just get's too cold, and sometimes I only go for a very short outing.
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    Grace - I try to imagine that I'm in a place like Narnia or Wonderland when I'm out there. The cold isn't too bad because I can go inside and get warm whenever I want, and snow is very fun.:)

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