(Palmer, 2016)
“Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.”
– John Updike
My date with Salmon Hole came the day after the storm. In the cool autumn air I threw on a sweatshirt, a less than satisfactory choice in clothing considering the wind chill. By the time I reached the entrance, the sky was clear, except the sporadic stream of colored leaves jetting through the air.
There was something different about visiting a second time. I expected familiarity. My initial assumption was that little would have changed in seven days. Yet… I walked down to the place where my spot began last time, and my toes were in the water.
The change seemed dramatic for such a short period of time. It is evident that much runoff enters the river, and Salmon Hole provides a perfect area for the pooling of water.
Entering this place was like seeing someone you know after they chop all of their hair off, dye it bright orange, then start wearing entirely different clothes. It was shocking.
Last week the water did not touch the grass. It was mostly exposed rock, sand and leaves. (Palmer, 2016)
Not only did the water rise to the edge of the grass, cutting of my original pathway to my spot, the leaves of the maple tree I struggled to identify were nearly gone. I had to scour the ground for any sign of the leaf to lead me to the tree. I noticed that all of the leaves were gone, except some small yellow ones barely hanging on.
Based on the bud arrangement, bark, leaf shape, and color I have concluded that it is indeed a Silver Maple.
(Palmer, 2016)
After my time with the Maple, I visited the streams intersecting the patches of grass and rock. I noticed as I approached them, how vocal they seemed to be. It felt as though they were praising the rain.
Despite the cold air, strong breeze, and oncoming winter, the colors seemed more vibrant. With the rain, everything felt more alive.
The only experience or sign of life I have encountered in my time at Salmon Hole was with a small fish. It was barely breathing, resting on the leaves in at the surface of the water. I managed to get it back into the deeper water, and watched it swim away. Otherwise, I found no signs of animal activity (unless you count the red bull can and tea bags I found in the trees?).
All in all it was a beautiful day for a trip to see the Salmon, and I’m glad it shared a few surprises with me. I definitely look forward to getting to know it better.
Birdseye map of my spot. The brown lines are bare trees, the long brown stick is a fallen log, the grey is rock, and the blue and grey between the deep green is a stream. (Palmer, 2016)