Observation 5

Site: In front of my house/pond
Date: May 22, 2008
Time: 6:47 am
Temp: 46.7 degrees F
Weather: Cloudy, I don't see the sun, raining and sprinkling
Soil: Very wet/damp, after a whole day and night of rain, even deep down is wet/damp
Hypothesis: There is a bigger tree across pond- I thought it was a willow but I don't know(I think it is a willow)

When I went to my site this morning, the first thing I noticed was that the pond water was really high and was covering most of the grass that lives in the water. The muddy areas were gone and I think there was a fish in there today. Due to the non-stop rain that we have had for two days, everything is green and there is nothing else dead in or around my pond. Along with everything being green, the grass has also grown a couple of inches and its becoming a greater ecosystem. The grass is thriving off the contant flow of water that keeps dirty water out of the pond. Different popultations are coming in such as a snake that was in the grass. The snake, I noticed, used a anti-predator adaption by blending in with the grass but also benefits from the tall grass so raptors from the air don't see them. Since a snake has come into this enviroment, there is another predator vs. prey game going on. Although I haven't seen any, there must be some species of mice living around the area. One other thing I noticed is that all of the willows have budded but not bloomed. Even the aspens have buds on them and willows I think will start popping because of this constant rain. But we also need some sunlight for willows to bloom for it is one of their survival needs. The changes that I saw today were that the pond was higher, the grass is much greener and taller, the willows are budding, there is a snake at my pond now and the ducks weren't there today. Today I could here the rain falling on the pond water and I could smell the aroma of the rain also. I am pretty sure the the bigger a tree across the pond is a willow and I also think the snake is a garder snake.