Water Closet for 4-2-10, Vernal Pools
March 31st, 2010 | by Middleton Stream Team
Young boy admires wood frog egg mass on Vernal Pool hike, 3/28/10
Spring came on calendar time for a brief week. Five warm days followed three of cold rain. Just a few weeks before, northeast winds were laden with snow. Wet buds received bright light with swelling joy, or at least we walking in their midst so imagined. While we did not swell, something within us surely did. A woodland walk found pools full and without ice. Their dark bottoms absorbed light coming through clear watery lenses. Bird songs and wood frog choruses arose from around and within these warming sanctuaries beckoning amphibians, crustaceans, and insect larvae. Our pace around these temporary ponds slowed as we searched in their shallow margins for animals not seen since last year. Through a bottom paved with oak leaves (more…)
High Flows – The Water Closet, 3/30/10
March 31st, 2010 | by Middleton Stream Team
WATER RESOURCE AND CONSERVATION INFORMATION FOR MIDDLETON, BOXFORD AND TOPSFIELD
| Precipitation Data* for Month of: | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar |
| 30 Year Normal (1971 – 2000) Inches | 3.96 | 3.80 | 3.22 | 3.88 |
| 2009-2010 Central Watershed Actual | 5.47 | 3.86 | 5.63 | 18.32 to 3 PM 3/30 ! |
Ipswich River Flow Rate (S. Middleton USGS Gage) in Cubic Feet per Second (CFS):
| For March 30, 2010: | Normal . . . Â 134 CFS | Current Rate . . . 907 CFS
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Rain Barrel and Composter Sale
March 26th, 2010 | by Trish
Discounts if you order by March 30. Save water and money by getting a rain barrel. IRWA is partnering with New England Rain Barrel to offer discounted rain barrels and composters. Order your rain barrel online at www.ipswichriver.org or call 1.877.977.3135. Pick up your order at Riverbend on Saturday, April 3 between 9 am and noon. Be sure to order a barrel or composter before March 30 and specify IRWA as your pick-up site.
Fish Count
March 25th, 2010 | by Jess
Jess counts herring at the fish ladder in Ipswich.
The 2010 Herring Count begins April 1 and we need your help counting river herring (alewives and blue back herring) swimming up the fish ladder in downtown Ipswich. Trained volunteers sign up for 10-minute time slots , as suit their schedules, from April to June. Email Kate at fishcount@gmail.com to sign up or learn more.
