MW-2.3 — Moss and Water

Till Bovermann

First encounter — 2019-09 Link to heading

A mixture between creek and pond with an enourmous amount of moss and lots of other inhabitants.

Here is an excerpt of the ambience recording:

The live coding session was the basis for the piece Breathing Microworlds (part of the Saanajärvi Science Trail):

Second encounter — 2023-08 Link to heading

Moss and Water consists mainly of a water well and is located in the upward slope of the Saanavankka opposing Saana. At one spot, its origin, there are lots of rocks (rakka in Finnish) from where water emerges and drips down into an open space that is full of moss.
There are lots of different cavities in the Rakka that make very distinct bubbling and gurgling sounds. On the side opposing the moss, the sound is more that of dripping, possibly originating in a steeper part of the hidden creek.

The basin is full of moss residues and other decaying plant material. I hear only very small blips and bloops.
Although the water is clear, I can see the ground only at some spots within the basin. At other spots, I cannot see it at all because of the moss cover.

I can differentiate between different kinds of moss, it seems to be a reasonably large variety of species. The moss under water is of one particular kind and has lots of bubbles to it. There seems to be not enough water current to pull them away from their release points.

There is a water spider sitting on the water.

I see a small island with a variety of cotton grass.
On the sides of the pond grow some grasses and crowberries and a very small crippled birch.

There is a side pond that is a little bit higher than the large one, fed by the current of the water.
I guess it is not always filled because it has lots of grass and algae growing within.

Similar to the rocks at the Ice-age pond, the few smaller rocks in the basin that break the water surface seem to be very connected to the ground, yet they are wiggly and moving when I step on them.

Some of the underwater areas remind me of small fairytale kingdoms. It is a weird word for what I see, underwater woodlands with little citizens going (floating?) up and down.
Apart from those, I do not see any other dwellers in the water. Maybe they will show in the water sample under the microscope.