The Great Pond Project

[~Anastasia~]

Beautiful!!!

 

[afishamongmany]

Just a quick update. Now three months since the pond came on stream, so to speak.
There are now at least three resident edible frogs, small water snails, pond-skaters (Gerridae, probably about 50 at any one time), water boatmen (Corixidae) and other beetles and unidentified creatures. The stars though have been dragonflies and damsel flies, 4/5 different sorts of both. There is a nymph case on one of the pond plants so there has been a full life cycle in the pond.
A few days ago a male Blue Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea) (75mm length) came and hovered in front of me just about a metre away giving me a look over for about 6/7seconds. Then in the afternoon I watched a female laying eggs in the damp moss at the edge of the pond.
The photo is a male Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa). The abdomen is in reality a pale chalky blue.

The plants have mostly all established well and are giving the pond a very natural look. This water lily is I think the fifth flower produced since planting 17th July. I didn't know before that water lilies only produce flowers one at a time. They last for about five days, closing up each night then go back under water and the next one comes up a couple of days after.

7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
Job 12
><>

 

[~Anastasia~]

Just a quick update. Now three months since the pond came on stream, so to speak.
There are now at least three resident edible frogs, small water snails, pond-skaters (Gerridae, probably about 50 at any one time), water boatmen (Corixidae) and other beetles and unidentified creatures. The stars though have been dragonflies and damsel flies, 4/5 different sorts of both. There is a nymph case on one of the pond plants so there has been a full life cycle in the pond.
A few days ago a male Blue Hawker dragonfly (Aeshna cyanea) (75mm length) came and hovered in front of me just about a metre away giving me a look over for about 6/7seconds. Then in the afternoon I watched a female laying eggs in the damp moss at the edge of the pond.
The photo is a male Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa). The abdomen is in reality a pale chalky blue.

View attachment 206816

The plants have mostly all established well and are giving the pond a very natural look. This water lily is I think the fifth flower produced since planting 17th July. I didn't know before that water lilies only produce flowers one at a time. They last for about five days, closing up each night then go back under water and the next one comes up a couple of days after.View attachment 206817

7 “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
Job 12
><>

I don't have space for a real pond but I wonder if I could tuck in a mini. We have TONS of frogs that live in our yard anyway. Some nights it is hard to sleep. But the chickens eat any frogs and lizards they can get. (Chickens are penned in a run.) Dragonflies would be so welcome. They eat mosquitoes, don't they? We tend to have an over abundance of them. And I love water lilies.

Your pond is wonderful!

 

[Humble me Lord]

Love the dragonflies, they eat tons of mosquitoes. Here in MN, the mosquito I call the state bird. When the dragonfly hatches happen they swarm the farm and you can actually go outside in the evenings without bug spray on.

 

[afishamongmany]

Love the dragonflies, they eat tons of mosquitoes. Here in MN, the mosquito I call the state bird. When the dragonfly hatches happen they swarm the farm and you can actually go outside in the evenings without bug spray on.

Hi Humble, good to know you're still out there keeping those wheels turning.
Not long before you'll be able to 'stay indoors' a bit more. I've cut up and brought in a whole heap of wood ready for the first fire, probably in October.
A swarm of dragon flies, that would be something to see.
Yea there were loads of mosquito larvae in the pond in the early days but after a while I couldn't see any.
Go well
><>

 

[Humble me Lord]

@afishamongmany , any new photos?
I bet the pond vegetation has really taken off by now.
Was wondering how fast the water lilies multiply and expand their territory.
Hope this finds you well, brother

 

[afishamongmany]

Hey there Humble! How you doing? Is the good earth yielding up its richness to you this year?
Yes 'the pond' is a delight, now part of the scenery. Thought about posting an update but ... you know - life. Painting - as in ceiling and walls - is taking my time these days. Any way you got me to get the camera out.
It certainly looks naturally untidy at the moment. We've seen 6-7 resident frogs grow up to be10cm ish nose to tail. AND in the past few days we've had a heron visit. I think the frogs may not be so many now buts that's ok.
Go well ><>

Looks like there's going to be more than one flower at a time. If you look close you can see a frog's head.

This is how it looked in May when the wild rose and water flags were flowering.

Grey Heron, an elegant and stately bird.

 

[Humble me Lord]

Hey, Fish! Glad to see you're still here. The best part of the pond, I think, is that it does look natural.
I have seen several that look like man-made ponds, yours looks like it's always been there.
Yes life certainly does happen and time sure marches on.
We have blue heron's here and they are an elegant large bird.
Our weather pattern here has been a copy of the last two spring's, very wet, and even had some major flooding in the small town closest to me. I'm thinking I should have converted all my gardens over to wild rice patties. We pretty much went from a late thaw right into summer, and no late frosts, so the wild berry and hazelnut crop should be bountiful.
I didn't even get any potatoes in the ground, but have onion's, peas, sweet corn and lots of tomato plants growing. The strawberry patch is really producing now and the wife's herb garden is doing well.
We have two goats giving milk since late last fall and are swimming in milk, cheese and yogurt.
So we are very blessed and thankful to the Lord for all He has been providing for us.

The old cell phone doesn't take very good pictures, but the yellow finches spend their summers here and we have several families that visit the feed sock often.
God bless you and your family brother.