Location: kayak launch next to marsh Freeport Maine.
Date: July 2nd 2024, 1:00pm
Weather: sunny, 82 degrees and some clouds with low winds.
Notes: When I arrived i could tell that the area seemed a little dryer and less vibrant green like before. It has been super dry the past week so that could have something to do with it. Because there was hardly any wind there were a lot more insects, small and large around the area. There were a few dragonflies, and butterflies flying over the marsh. They were further away so I couldn’t get any pictures or see anything up close, but overall there was much more bug activity than the first two visits. As far as everything being dryer, the large puddle from before in the middle of the path had dried up quite a bit leaving the trail all muddy but less water.
Why question: why are there little bubbles coming out from the mud underneath the surface of the puddle every couple minutes.
Answer: It is Marsh Gas. It is a mixture of mostly methane and smaller amounts of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide that is created naturally in some sorts of marshes or swamps. The process of it bubbling up and out is called ebullition, and is one of few ways that methane from decomposed organic matter can escape the ground.
Taking pictures had me zoom out a bit and look at the whole site and what larger images i could take to capture the whole site, while also taking a few close ups that captured the smaller features of the marsh. with drawing it was harder to draw the landscape of the marsh without it just looking like a field, so it was easier to capture the larger picture on camera.
I really enjoyed taking pictures more than the drawing because I was able to get a better image and portray the area better than drawing. It was also cool comparing drawing things like the cattail to photographing it.