A tablespoon of Wetland

This is what a tablespoon of springtime wetland water looks like. A month or two ago it was clear. Now microscopic creatures have begun the cycle of life and nearly every speck in the picture will become an insect, snail, or other creature with aquatic beginnings. Most of the specs are midges---tiny insects that begin life in water. Some are the beginnings of this May's mayflies. There's also a very tiny snail to the left of center.

Most of these creatures will be the bottom of the food chain and will feed frogs, dragonflies, and birds. This is the beginning of life's cycle for the year---in a tablespoon of pond water in the wetland.    

Water

A week ago was Blog Action day where bloggers everywhere drew attention to the world's water. I participated on one of my other blogs, but such an important cause deserves another mention here.  

Whether it's the water in Lake Michigan, part of the world's largest sources of freshwater  or the water in my favorite fishing hole; water is something that I can't live without. Having grown up in the Midwest where water is more plentiful than elsewhere, I am fortunate. However, our water is often so polluted that we can't even eat the fish caught in some areas.

And still there are people who are so shortsighted that they would build factory plants in the middle of a flood plain, risking some of our less polluted areas.

The time has come for us to make long range plans and commitments to protect our precious resourses for today and tommorrow.

Please navigate to this website and sign the petition to protect our water and make sure all humans on the planet have access to clean water of their own.  

Enjoy the short video below that I took of one of my favorite streams, Coffee Creek, here in Northwest Indiana. Coffee Creek flows right into Lake Michigan.