Coming to a close: Wonder Blog #4
7/11/2022
The prospective concepts of this project clogged my mind for many days. I had already covered much of the obvious such as visible species of plants, trees, animals and had looked into the reasoning of the patterns I had noticed. I had covered the important environmental history and evolution of the pond and in spite of this, I was clueless as to what I could look at for this last entry. Stoney Pond is peaceful, so peaceful in fact that the life of the State Forest could be considered sedentary.
Then it came to me, to expand my options, I simply had to explore the regions of the State Forest I had not yet… the pond itself. I secured my kayak to my car, checked my SCUBA equipment and headed off for this last visit.
My goal was to observe the life of the pond below the surface as well as the rest of the park from the waters eye. I began with a SCUBA dive into the pond and quickly found my fair share of troubles, there was rooted aquatic weeds everywhere, and the visibility was poor so I was forced to maneuver slowly. I determined that the deepest part of the pond (from my bearings) was ~13 ft. The composition of rock throughout the pond was primarily metamorphic and igneous, with very little loose sediment. This aligns with my online findings that Stoney Pond was likely formed as a result of the Alleghany Orogeny and sits on the Alleghany Plateau. I retrieved some rock and plant life samples (shown below) and then dived again to attempt to observe other aquatic life. I waited a long time, but eventually saw numerous fish which I did not identify until later recounting details of the fish to fishermen throughout the pond. As they report, the fish I encountered were Black Crappie, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Bluegill and Largemouth bass.
I later explored the pond further from the seat of my kayak, and found large populations of frogs (pickerel frogs by my guess) in the swamp borders of the pond (no pictures :(, they were too fast).
Shown below are the samples I collected throughout the pond. I observed that there was not much variation in the types of aquatic life or rock types.
As I noted early, I have found the State Forest to be refreshingly peaceful, this has meant that I have had to find beauty in places I normally would have not, instead of having a plethora of possible subjects I have had to loom elsewhere towards what may normally be considered boring or lifeless. Shown below are the best photos I took from my last visit to the pond. Taking these photos, I was trying best to visually capture the simple wonder that has fueled this blog and sparked a reborn curiosity for woods, valleys and other natural sites I had previously grown tired of visiting.
This blog overall, has trained me to have a higher attention to detail, patience for timely and an acceptance that beauty can be found in the simplest forms of our surrounding environments. Through hiking around the pond, SCUBA and kayaking I have come to understand the existing components and the geological history and makeup of the State Forest. Though there are areas where I wish I could have expanded further (wildlife sightings, underwater imaging; to name the two I am most regretful to have missed) I am content with the progress I have made in my field study habits and methods. Looking back, I wish I would have realized sooner the vast opportunities the pond itself presents (though solo SCUBA diving in this environment was quite difficult), but I am left with enough insect bites across my body tonight to be satisfied. Most importantly however has been the realization that there will always be more to be explored, nooks and crannies to uncover and understanding to gain.
Thank you Wonder Blog
– Jacob Ives