Changing seasons, changing landscape

This is the edge of a hay field where the dogs and I often walk, summer, fall and winter. You can easily see the last vestiges of snow in the bush and on the higher part of this field in the right hand corner. All along the edge of the field to the right of the photograph, which is the east side of the field, it's usually heavier with snow and damper.

This is part of nature's way of getting rid of excess snow melt. It is very swampy, and if this were a video you'd see the water moving from right to left - it becomes quite a pond.

Yesterday the weather was quite warm, nearly 15 C  which is around the 60 degree range I believe on the Fahrenheit scale. The water pouring off the farmer's field to the south, through a series of tile drains in the heavy clay soil, was fast and muddy and it created a nice little stream along the east side of this field. That in turns flows into a bigger creek that feeds Mill Creek which eventually meets up with the Beaver River.

This morning I had to take Christopher to the vet for his rabies shot and cross the Beaver River at a bridge near my home. As I drove along the dirt road I realized it was really soft and the river had flooded its banks and was now only about a foot lower than the edge of the road. Water is visible in the swamp year round, but never this high. Spring it's always in full flood and this year is no exception. I dread the car losing itself and driving over the edge. ( Not my driving of course :)

When I lived here 30 plus years ago, I was driving to town. The water on the other side of the bridge (which would be on my side of the bridge these days) was well over the road, which I could no longer see. So I turned a corner and drove through what I thought was a puddle about 20 feet long.

I didn't realize how deep it really was and suddenly put my foot to the floor when it looked like I might be going down! Silly I know. Water splashed up onto the hood and windshield. I didn't know how dumb that move was until I got to a town about 20 miles away and parked the car. I turned the key and pulled it out of the ignition. The engine kept on running. Spooky and expensive.

So now I'm very aware of the changing and deceptive landscape as the seasons change. I'm more careful of water along the edges of creeks, streams, rivers and lakes. And I watch with amazement as trees and other detritus from upstream float away so quickly. I know of animals that have been washed away by getting too close to a river bank in spring floods

Be safe around water in spring. You just never know. Your engine may not quit when you expect it to! LOL