Down the Brook

Part 4

The brook goes into the forest, where there are thousands of rocks and boulders.  There are several places where the water is blocked by boulders.  Instead of going over the boulders and making a waterfall, the water goes under the boulders.  This creates very strange vortexes where the water descends into the rocks and then rushes out below.  When I took the trip down the brook, the water volume was not at its peak and it was not spectacular.  The photographs were not great.  I will try again in a month or so, when the volume is high.  I may even get some motion pictures.  I could not resist taking pictures of some boulders in the area.  Also, I found a heavily used animal trail, which I photographed.


These pictures were taken in late February.  It looks like an early spring with very little snow this winter.  The brook wraps around seeking the lowest place among the rocks and boulders.  Trees grow right beside the brook.

Here is the first obstruction created by the rocks and boulders in the brook's path.

This is where the water flows from underneath the rocks.  There is still ice and snow despite the high temperatures that occurred this day.

This is the view from beyond the drop.  There are two more of these downstream.  This is not very impressive because the volume of water is still small compared to springtime.

This is further downstream from the vortex.

And the brook continues to flow.

Winding around the rocks and boulders.

The water becomes still as it approaches another vortex.

It is so still that you can see reflections in the water.  Come springtime, there will be strong currents here.

I could not resist photographing more boulders.

The light spot near the center of the pile of boulders is a space between the rocks.

And a closer look.  There are caves where animals can live.

Here, the boulders are part of the stone wall that separates fields and properties.

As I started heading north, I noticed a well-travelled animal trail from the brook.  It is a small animal, since it goes under a small branch.  I decided to follow it.

The trail follow the stone wall.  It is well travelled.

As I followed the trail, I wondered how far it went.

It just kept going!

And going!

The footprints had partially melted and the animal could not be identified.

But, the trail continued.

This is where the trail ended.  It may have continued beyond this point, but was not visible because of melted snow, or this may be where the animal lived.

Could it be under this boulder?

Or maybe this one.

I continued north along the stone walls.  Here is a junction of two walls.

Here is another boulder as part of a stone wall.

After walking for thousands of feet through this horrible snow, finally civilization.   A telescope.

I will get more pictures of this stretch of brook, when the water level is higher and the vortexes are more interesting and impressive.