Some people go to Corkscrew to commune with nature …
Others put their plant and bird spotting skills to test.
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| Swamp ecologist at work |
I on the other hand go to check on my hydrographs.
By check I mean cross-check to make sure what they are showing matches up with what is actually there in the field.
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| Hydrographs need to be field checked |
On this particular trip I was focused on the pond apple.
My hydrograph showed them to be dry, i.e. water levels had dropped about a half foot below the pond apple forest floor. I was happy to visually (and in first hand) confirm that my hydrograph was correct, or mostly correct. One spot showed pond apple to be plentiful in what appeared open water.
I was baffled:
Could the pond apple really be that wet?
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| Pond apple took root on tussocks where once was just open water |
The trick was they had taken root on slightly elevated micro-islands of peat, rock and old tree stump remains called tussocks.
The swamp’s topographic slight of hand almost tripped me up.
