All That The Water Brings

Words by Michelle Witte, Nature Education Director

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter. We’ve been hearing the many sounds of rain, snow, and rushing waters of local creeks this spring.

We can sometimes find ourselves yearning for nothing more than a sun-filled hot day once the resorts have closed and we feel winter has truly ended. However, part of our high elevation life comes with the unpredictable nature of the Rocky Mountains’ weather, especially in the spring. It can be helpful while stuck inside on a rainy day to remember the wonders that the incoming water brings to our entire community. The natural world and our lives would be nothing without the life giving compound.

In chemistry, a compound is a pure substance composed of two or more elements whose composition is constant.The compound known as water, comprises two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. These two simple ingredients combined are, to our current understanding, the only required ingredient to create life. Sunlight, carbon, nitrogen, and several other things are often on the lists of ingredients needed to build and sustain life, but water is the constant throughout all life on earth. Our best guess to find life on other planets is in the search for water on these far distant worlds. It is quite amazing when you think about it, how a simple thing like water can create all the magic of the natural world and our lives. 

Water is a force that builds life, and can also be destructive. Water craves valleys and canyons, like Boulder Canyon. Water can wash away a place and form something brand new sometimes over eons like the glaciers that helped shape our beloved peaks, or sometimes simply in seconds through avalanches and floods. In all its natural beauty, water provides us ample opportunities to play, from skiing and snowboarding on the incredibly important yearly snowpack, to kayaking and rafting. It can be a source of peace and rejuvenation whether through hydrating our lands and bodies, or a blissful day at your favorite river spot or hot spring.

With a bit of patience, we will see that sun peek out from the rain clouds and begin to feed the seeds under the melting snow and moist soils. Already we are seeing many flowers, animals, and budding trees give their thanks for the winter and springs’ watery ways as they emerge to give us a marvelous display of wildlife. This can be in the early morning song of riparian loving birds like warblers, or the steady emergence of a rainbow of wildflowers with each passing day. With the wetter spring the right moisture is present for certain plants to thrive, like the elusive Calypso Orchid and many other species. 

Whatever the weather of the fickle  Rocky Mountain spring may bring, it is worthwhile to pack a backpack with a rain jacket and explore the local trails during this truly incredible time of year. Living in such a seasonal and transitional place takes a little bit of hardiness from its residence as many of our wildlife teaches us, but the wonders that come with nature’s phases are incomparable.