The river rose this morning between 7 a.m. when I walked the dog and about noon when I took this picture, the result of nighttime rain and more snow melt. Leaf fragments, sticks, branches and logs rushed under the bridge in the turgid brown. Around eight, Elizabeth had driven by Gulf Stream, which feeds Barnard Brook and then the Ottauquechee, and witnessed unusual force and volume. Gulf Stream carved some of the valley Rt. 12 follows north from Woodstock. Gulf Stream funnels waters from brooks coming out of the Prosper Valley, an area "defined by the ridgelines running through Barnard, Bridgewater, Pomfret and Woodstock." A University of Vermont website names this valley a watershed all its own. The top of Mt. Peg offers a great view of the Prosper Valley. Tropical Storm Irene wiped out a bridge on Gulf Stream not far from its connection to Barnard Brook.
Today's higher waters hint at what the river has done before, and will do again.
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