Above you see a stream with no name. It flows as a drain from wetlands, down through the woods, into a culvert and under Back Road, and out to Great Cove, where it will sweeten the sea with fresh water. Recent rains and melting snow have engorged it and sped its flow. Compare the above image to the one below, which shows the stream’s calmness during the rainy snow two days before:
And that’s an example of the problem – we’ve had some good precipitation here lately, but the ground is so hard from the ongoing drought and a few freezes that the rain and snow can’t soak into the soil well. They mostly become surface runoff that drains downhill, while the land continues to be stressed, fire danger remains elevated, and there is likely to be an adverse effect on spring growth. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine on December 10 [snow] and 12, 2024.)