Autumn Resevoir Visit

October 28th, 2007

Authumn at the Resevoir

Autumn is one of my favorite times of year, with the leaves changing colors, and the crisp, but still pleasant air turning cooler. Last year, I discovered that the reservoir I have previously collected plants from is completely dry at this time of year. An entire lake is literally dried up to a small brook, leaving a huge field of emersed growth aquatic vegetation. As if that isn’t cool enough, the dried up lake bed has natural boundaries making it the perfect place to let my two dogs run their hearts out.

Bella

Above, is Bella, our weimaraner/lab mix running herself silly. She really is a bit nutty, but not nearly as much as the grin on her face suggests.

Authumn at the Resevoir

The receded water left many large rock-outcroppings in the middle of the field. Many of these could easily pose as inspiration for an iguwami-style aquascape. The rocks, merged with the brook and autumn leaves really left a nice environment for a stroll. Most years, the leaves would be a much more intense coloration, but due to the severe drought our area has had in recent months, they’ve held back a bit.

Authumn at the Resevoir

I was quite startled halfway through our walk when I nearly stepped on this snake, slithering from the cracked earth and moving toward some shade. I haven’t a clue what type of snake it is, but nevertheless, I let it go on it’s way. Fortunately, the dogs didn’t see it!

IMG_1474

The only downside of the afternoon was that our pants and boots were covered with hitch-hiker seed pods that did quite a good job at sticking through our pants and into skin. They came from some thistle-looking seeds pods on the top of some really beautiful red-leaved plants. Unfortunately, I’ve tried growing that plant before submerged, and it melts.

Authumn at the Resevoir

Otherwise, it was a great way to tucker our dogs out a little bit, and enjoy the fall weather. I’ll be sure to post some more aquarium-related posts this week, as I’ve been doing work on my 75G and 40G scapes. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Authumn at the Resevoir

6 Responses to “Autumn Resevoir Visit”

  1. Lauren Says:

    Amazing photos – the one of Bella is SO crazy. She looks like a gremlin!

  2. Lolly Knitting Around » Autumnal Awareness Says:

    […] ~More Autumnal Eye Candy at Kris’s Blog~ […]

  3. Addie Says:

    Loved the pictures! Bella is a scream in her “grinning, running dog” shot. Where’s our lovely Jen?
    Autumn is wonderful for me as well. I think it’s just the wonderful crisp temps and the leaves changing. The smell of a smoke from a warm fireside is so nice, as well. It’s a reminder of the pleasant things to come, like Thanksgiving & Christmas, cozy fires, the first snowfall and drinking hot cocoa.

  4. Addie Says:

    P.S. I think the snake is a racer or looks like one in the shot. XXOO

  5. guitarfish Says:

    We got some pictures of Jen, but they weren’t as newsworthy. 😉 Thanks for the ID on the snake. It does look like a racer.

  6. Reservoir Trip-- Guitarfish Says:

    […] Last year when we came, all of these flowers had already melted away, and we were left with hitchhiking seeds on our pants, shoes, and tails (dogs). I wasn’t really paying too much attention to the aquatic plants this time, but I did spot some Rotala ramosior, Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny), and a Polygonum species. […]