When I was a child, I was told of two kinds of trees: deciduous and conifer. This distinction seemed odd, for these are not matching classifications: deciduous refers to a seasonal shedding of leaves; conifer to a reproductive structure. Skepticism was appropriate: there are, in fact, broadleaf trees that are evergreen — the arbutus, and conifers that are deciduous — the larch.
Indeed, my favourite deciduous tree is the larch. Each fall, it decorates the mountainside when its needles turn golden before being shed.
The Western Larch flows down this distant mountainside like ringlets.
These backlit larch appear orangish.
And nearby in bright sunlight, the larch is golden.
Underwater spring
Video: It is rare that I think that a posting would have been improved by the inclusion of a video clip. I am usually more concerned with stopping motion than showing it. However today, a movie clip would have helped the communication. Alas, I do not have one.In mid-August, two springs appeared on the bed of Kokanee Creek (at ~400 metres from the mouth). They persisted until early September, when they disappeared. In mid-October, one spring reappeared.
Visually, the springs were a churning mass of a lighter shade of sand upwelling from below which then spreading sideways.
On September 1st, Gary Munro waded out and took temperature measurements. Thrusting the thermometer deep into the upwelling fluid, he got a reading of 7 °C. At the time the water flowing in the creek was 11 °C.
This suggests that the source of the spring water was not elsewhere on the creek, but possibly ground water from off the mountainside. But, who knows?
One of the springs on the bed of Kokanee Creek in mid-August.
Churning sand rises from the bed of the creek in mid October.
