More Water

My first day back at work after the holiday was quiet, wet, and cold.  It definitely feels like winter outside.  I put up the flags and opened the gate as usual this morning.  I took a drive through the park and ended up at the office pretty quickly.  I headed out for a walk, first thing.  I walked down to the spring and found a confused flower on the way.  This Dewberry plant is responsible for the vines that grow over the edge of the walkway.  It is closely related to the Blackberry and makes similar, edible fruit.  It usually blooms in the spring, but with the back and forth weather that we have had lately, I can understand why its a little confused.


When I got to the spring dock, I was a little surprised.  The water is still rising, pretty steadily.  The water can only come up another few inches before it will be covering the floor of the dock.  The rock in front of the spring dock is completely submerged now.  I rolled the garbage can that we keep on the dock up to the restrooms.  I don't want it floating away overnight.  I took the opportunity to empty the can and clean it out with the hose before I parked it for the foreseeable future behind the restrooms.


I headed over to the river area next.  I took the usual photos there.


While I was standing on the river dock, something white caught my eye upriver.  A large, plastic barrel made its way down the river.  You just never know what you'll see floating by in a flood.  I heard some crunching while I was standing there waiting for the barrel to come into full view.  I looked around to find its source and I saw a little squirrel that had found a nice hiding spot in some roots.  It was out of the rain and had a nice snack to munch on.  Can you find it?


I made my way back up the hill to the cabin next.  I admired our new trail as I walked.  It is holding up well in the rain.  We have only had light rain though, so it hasn't had a true test yet.  The squirrels have been investigating it.  I can see some little dig holes in the surface.  At the cabin, I unlocked the door, turned on the lights, and made sure that everything was tidy.  I then headed outside for another usual photo.


With my walk complete, I settled in at the office where I spent the majority of my day.  I took care of the daily paperwork and updated some reports.  I spent time working on a database that tracks the wildlife that I have photographed in the park.  My only breaks from the office were when people came in to the park.  I saw a few fishermen, a few families out seeing the sights, and a couple of would-be divers.  It was a very quiet day.  I left soon after my evening relief arrived and had a nice drive home.  I spotted an owl when it flew from one tree to another.  I was able to get a photo of it from my truck by just rolling down the window.  The picture turned out pretty dark, but a little cropping and lightening with some photo software gives a decent view of this Barred Owl trying to hide behind its wing.