Bus Stop Entertainment

 

The creek with the grass and the tree.
When I arrive at the bus stop it's still dark and when
I get home it's dark again.  So the picture is dark.

The bus stop where I catch the bus to go to work is on a bridge over a creek.  Everyday when I get to the stop, provided I am not running to catch the bus, I look at the creek to see what the water level is.  It started in the spring when one morning I heard the ducks quacking in the creek. Everyday I'd look to see if the ducks were enjoying an early morning swim. One morning after a particularly wet day I was amazed at how much the creek had risen after only one day of rain.  The next day the level was back to normal.  Thus began my ritual inspection of the water level of Fanno Creek.

I'm constantly amazed at how sensitive the creek is to any kind of precipitation.  It seems that it only takes a little bit of rain to raise the level and a day of dry to drop it. Sometimes I wonder if I just happen to be seeing it as the rush of water is coming through, like opening the flood gates and ten minutes after I'm gone it goes back to normal.  I know this is ridiculous but I can't help wondering where that water goes. 

This winter after a few days of torrential rain the week of Thanksgiving the creek rose to the highest level that I had seen it.  After the water went down, the grass on the banks was laying in the direction of the flow of the river, it is easy to see how high the creek was at its highest point because of the grass.  There is also a patch of grass growing in the center of the creek that I use as another gauge to the water level. If I can see the grass in the center of the creek it's lower, if I can't it's up.

The last few days have been clear and cold.  Since there has been no precipitation the water level has dropped quite a bit.  I would guess it's almost back down to summer levels. The patch of grass is well above water. And this morning there was another surprise. Along the back was a tree, or at least a very large branch of a tree.  It makes me wonder how long it has been down there caught in the grass.  Did it get caught months ago and is just visible now or did it float down yesterday and get caught as it was going by? 

These are the questions that I ponder as I wait for the bus.