The Story of a Log (as told in pictures)

Last Wednesday (29 November), I posted several pictured from Mill Pond Park.  One of the photos showed a log partially submerged in a creek.  I mentioned that I had photographed the same location multiple times in the past.

Here is the picture that I posted last week.

The image from last week

Looking back in my files, the oldest image that I can find of this location is one that dates from either 2005 or 2006.  I'm not exactly sure of the date of this picture.  It was photographed on 35mm film and scanned at a later date.  I like all of the angular lines in this picture - the branches, the creek, the reflections in the water.

 Spring 2005 or 2006 (scanned image)

This scene became one of my favorite recurring photography sites.  This next picture is from December 2008.  By this time I had converted to a digital camera.  I like the interplay of dark branches and shadows with the bright snow and sky.  I also like the sunburst coming from between the branches in the upper left.

December 2008

The next image is from January 2010 - another winter day.  The light in this image is not as good as the one above.  It looks like it was pretty much a grey winter day, but I still like the lines of the tree and the contrasting snow.

January 2010

The next picture that I could find dates to May 2013.  By this time the tree has died and fallen across the stream.  It has been dead long enough for the bark to have fall from the trunk and most of the branches.   In this image I like the vibrant green grass and its contrast to the muddy brown water of the creek.

May 2013

By January 2017 the tree had decayed enough that many of the branches had fallen away from the trunk.  Given enough time invertebrates and fungi would have continued their work of breaking down this tree and its remains would have turned into soil.

January 2017

This process was disrupted by the heavy rainfall that hit mid-Michigan in June 2017.  Approximately 11 inches of rain fell in less than 72 hours, causing the Chippewa River to reach its highest levels in thirty years.  Flood waters filled the floodplain lifting this trunk from its location along the creek.  When the water receded, the trunk was carried closer to the river before snagging in the creek where it rests today.

November 2017