Life of the Wetland

 

Main Pond at Homer Lake Wetland 3/1/21

In my years of visiting and observing the Homer Lake Wetland, I've marveled at the abundance and variety of life that it supports. What is even more surprising though is the fact that the wetland has a life of its own. Pictured above is the main pond of the wetland today, the first day of March, 2021. Melting snow and late winter rain have gifted it with an abundance of water. This is in stark contrast to its appearance just two months ago at the end of December.

Main Pond at Homer Lake Wetland 12/26/20

At the end of December there was only a small wet area in the center of the pond area.  Only nine days later, the water level had already significantly increased.

Main Pond at Homer Lake Wetland 1/4/21

This was the end of a four-month dry spell as evidenced by the photo below taken at the end of August.

Main Pond at Homer Lake Wetland 8/24/20

I haven't kept a close eye on the pond to know if it goes completely dry every year, but I do know that in addition to 2020, it was completely dry by the end of the year in 2017 and in 2019. In 2018 the water was very low at the beginning of September, but I did not visit again until Spring of 2019 so don't know if it was ever completely dry.

The fact that the wetland frequently dries completely by the end of the summer and remains dry until sometime during the winter makes the variety and abundance of life that it supports in the spring and summer all the more astonishing. It is this wonder that I hope to capture in this blog.



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