Fish, tulips, wet woods
Joe Shaw (Tue, 05 Jun 2007 17:26:51 PDT)

And are the mosquito fish the sort which will burrow into the mud as the
water evaporates and survive in a little capsule (somewhat as those west
coast frits might do) until the next rain?
===============

Hi Gang,

In cool wet periods the woods behind my house stay flooded for months. The
forest slowly drains into a low area at the back of my lot, and then the
water runs off across a meadow. In heavy rains, when the soils are
saturated, water accumulates in the meadow for days at a time. The meadow
water is apparently deep enough to encouarge mosquito fish (Gambusia) to
traverse the 1/8 mile from a pond to my backyard. Wet springs are wonderful
and the frogs start in January and never seem to stop their music until hot
weather. This year the cool spring has provided excellent conditions for
crayfish, frogs, snakes, a few turtles, myriad invertebrates, and mosquito
fish. Last year the low area never accumulated water for more than a week
or two at a time, and no mosquito fish were apparent. This year the water
has been continuously present for more than 6 months.

Of course the fish are doomed, my yard alwasy dries in time and then I must
mow the thic. In the interim the fish are very welcome because the do keep
mosquitos controlled in my backyard. However, it really doesn't matter
because the adjacent soggy woods seem to provide enough breeding places for
unlimited mosquito numbers. It can be a real blood bath some evenings as I
work in the garden.

The extra water is good for native irises, Crinum americanum, H. liriosme
and other plants. Proabably the whole area will be bone dry by the end of
June. Summer heat takes the water away quickly.

The forest behind me is full of trees and shrubs that tolerate or enjoy
seasonal flooding: dwarf palmetto, willow oak, water tupelo, yaupon, red
maple, and others. Though they are found in wet areas these plants all
endure fair amounts of drought. These plants are all clearly intelligent,
but I think not so intelligent as tulips.

Cordially,

Joe
Conroe TX