The Mystery of our Stream

Down at the bottom of our fields we have woodland. Beautiful woodland that we love to stroll through with our dogs. When Llamas become accustomed to longer treks, we will also stroll through these woods with the Axel, Savannah and little kissy lips Orion. This is our current goal, and Nigel and I are dedicated to getting our 3 trekkers out daily, we are reaping the rewards. 

Orion, Axel and Savannah are also reaping the rewards as they munch on the untouched nettles, chestnut leaves and long grass outside of the llama field. Now our difficulty is getting the little monkeys back into the stable with the adults of the herd. The same adults that watch with envy as their off spring munch away. Now don’t feel sorry for them, we are literally days away from opening up another few acres of pasture for the herd to devour, and Nigel, my man of northern steel, is actually a soft touch, on a daily basis he takes the llamas apple branches and vines, both with their fruit still attached. Everything in moderation.

Now back to the woods; when we moved here at the end of June, we noticed that the stream that feeds our lake had dried up and the lake itself was shrinking from its former glory. We can only guess at its former glory from where the edges look like they should be and where a little fishing boat has been tied up. We felt it was such a shame as it is incredibly beautiful, and Nigel is a keen fisherman, who dreamed of fishing the lake one day.

Onward one week; Nigel returned from a walk, whilst I melted in the July heatwave, he was excited that the stream was once again flowing, not a dribble but actually roaring along. We set about 2 days hard graft, clearing its path to the lake. It had lost its way on the last stretch, the area had become marshy as the stream struggled to weave its path through the reeds, grasses and mint, I think it is mint, it looks like mint and smells glorious.

Day 3; we walked to the lake to see if its level had risen and take satisfaction in our graft. The stream once more was dry.

An explanation for this, we have none. It hadn’t rained in the days before it came back to life. We thought maybe a dam had cleared itself but that doesn’t explain it stopping again. It has been suggested maybe a farmer pumps from the stream further up and it takes a while to get going again.

The good news is that we discovered this morning that the stream is once again roaring along and the lake looks slightly higher, how long before it runs dry again…. This is the mystery of our stream.