So Different This Year!




The Homer Lake Wetland Today (August 24, 2021)

This year has been exceptional. One year ago today (see photo below), the wetland area was completely dry, the earth itself cracked. The water levels now are definitely going down, but the contrast between last year and this year on this day are still impressive. I have not always been as careful about tracking the water levels of the wetland, but looking at photos I happen to have from other years as well, I see that on August 12, 2012 it was completely dry; on August 20, 2017 there was nothing more than a small muddy spot at the lowest point, no standing water (photo below); and no discernible water in November of 2019 either. 

I do not have any photographic records of the wetland for 2013 through 2016, but to my surprise I see that it's possible it never went completely dry in the Fall of 2018. The photo I have with the least amount of water that year was taken on September 2, 2018 (see below) and there is still a small puddle. A week later there was more water as there must have been some good rains that week. Nevertheless, the small puddle that remained on September 2 probably did not support much life, and anything that was surviving in such a small puddle would have been very susceptible to predation -- more on that as the wetland continues to shrink this year.

The Homer Lake Wetland One Year Ago Today (August 24, 2020)

The Homer Lake Wetland, August 20, 2017

The Possible Low Water Level of 2018, September 2, 2018 -- still not enough to support the life that is normally there


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