Backyard Nature: What a difference some rain makes!

Broad Branch stream, dried up.

by Marlene Berlin

Until a few days ago, the reengineered and daylighted Linnean and Broad Branch streams were a sorry sight.

The only part of Broad Branch stream that had any significant water was where Linnean meets it.

As the days went by with little to no rain, they lost what makes them magical places to visit: the sounds of the gurgling streams between the ponds, and the frogs splashing and swimming around.

The streams and ponds were at their the lowest and driest since the stream rehabilitation work was completed in 2014.

At Linnean, my favorite tree frog pond was dry. The silence of the frogs was disheartening.

Linnean is fed by stormwater from 32nd and Fessenden Streets emptying into drains. Broad Branch starts at a natural spring behind Politics and Prose, and stormwater is piped in from 36th Street and Linnean Avenue. Both streams were engineered to slow and filter massive stormwater inflows, but drought conditions left them idle, and left their amphibian residents high and dry.

I captured the streams in their withered state on Friday, September 8th. Then, on Sunday, it rained. Down the rain poured, bringing welcome relief. More rain arrived Monday, then Tuesday night. So on Wednesday, I returned to Linnean and Broad Branch in hopes of finding a metamorphosis. I was not disappointed.

The Linnean tree frog pond, full again of water and life.

These streams are once again magical places to be. Take the kids and go for a stroll early in the evening to catch the last of the daylight. Or get out early in the morning. At any time, they are a delight.