I explored a section of the Cooley Kill, a creek too small for kayaking.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/cooley_kill_map.png)
I started out on a tributary of the Cooley Kill. Most of the first section was frozen over.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/01_icy_walkway_sm.jpg)
Ice bridges allowed for precarious stream crossings.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/02_ice_bridge_sm.jpg)
When the creek met with the Cooley Kill, the water was no longer icy, begging the question, why is the one creek frozen and the other is not?
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/03_confluence_sm.jpg)
I headed upstream in search of the answer.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/04_stream_less_travelled_sm.jpg)
The stream eventually disappeared into a pipe.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/05_pipe_sm.jpg)
A long pipe.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/06_long_pipe_sm.jpg)
Eventually I worked my way around through the Van Patten Golf Course where several small ponds perforate the Cooley Kill. The way I see it, the water is warmer because the ponds serve as large insulated storage chambers. Perhaps the nutrient-rich runoff from the fertilized golf course gives rise to biologic activity which would then generate additional warmth.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/07_golf_course_sm.jpg)
Cross-country ski tracks indicate that I'm not alone using the golf course for recreational purposes.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/08_ski_tracks_sm.jpg)
People were sledding down a long hill.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/09_sledding_hill_sm.jpg)
I reached a small confluence and chose to leave the Cooley Kill and follow the tributary.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/10_small_confluence_sm.jpg)
The tributary quickly lead to a small pond.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/11_small_conf_pond_sm.jpg)
I followed 20 turkeys as they scampered away. After they tired of my game, one-by-one the birds reluctantly spread their wings and hauled their large mass high up into the trees, perched for a moment, then flew off.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/12_turkeys_sm.jpg)
As the stream diminished it's way out of the pond-strewn golf course, the surface became solid ice again.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/13_tiny_now_sm.jpg)
I tried to find the stream again, but by now it was very small and surrounded by homes. On my way back to the car I came across the Long Kill, and started following it through a Jonesville Cemetery.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/14_cemetary_sm.jpg)
Parts of the creek were freshly eroded, reminding me of Irene's recent impact on the area.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/15_long_kill_irene_damage_sm.jpg)
Jumbles of logs ward off would-be kayakers.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/16_long_kill_logs_sm.jpg)
On the way home, I found Wonder Woman missing a leg. I thought she was pretty much invincible, but I guess not.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/17_wonder_woman_legless_sm.jpg)
It doesn't seem right.
![](http://jstookey.com/images/2012/20120116_creek_walk/18_oh_there_it_is_sm.jpg)