Pond Makeover

Did a job in the garden today that has been nagging at me for ... oh ... years.

When I made the little pond many moons ago I didn't manage to get the levels of the walls equal, so there is always 2 or 3 inches of pond liner visible.  The problem has got worse because the side of the pond that was designed to be lower anyway (to allow easy access for arthiritic frogs) has been degraded by the roots of this iris plant.

Problem area on left side

and right side squidged bit

So with the washing up gloves on I dived in.

Taking up the stone edge was surprisingly easy because it was a slate-like rock from Cornwall that  sheered into many thin layers that came away easily.

Small slabs of concrete protected by newspaper were put under the lining to raise the level, and then the remains of the Cornish slate were put back.

Then, after whispering a prayer to the pond spirit, I filled it with water.

And, blow me down, it's worked.

Can you spot the frog?

Doesn't it look sumptuous?

And over 5 hours later the water is still at the same height.

Coffee On The Lawn

Today the essential morning coffee was taken in the flower meadow under the silver birch by the pond.

Of course the ‘meadow’ is really a patch of unmown lawn with some daffs growing in it, and the pond is still traumatised, but if you squint it was almost like a scene from a Merchant Ivory film. I am so grateful to have a garden in which I can sit for a moment and feel some peace.

The water level of the pond has fallen a great deal but it is still a mystery where the tear in the liner is or what caused it. The fish have come out of hiding now the weather is warmer. There are 6 of them when last year there were 8 orange ones (shubunkins I think) and one grizzled orfe that I nicknamed Charles Bronson. Unfortunately it looks like he and 2 of his flashy mates have been eaten, by cat or heron I don’t know. It is difficult to work out how either managed to put a hole in the pond liner. I can’t imagine a cat’s claw being strong enough to rip that strong plastic. And would the attack by a heron be so violent it could result in its beak stabbing through? Maybe the reason is just an ordinary area of decay in a fold or something fell in and ripped a hole. Come to think of it I did rescue a bird feeder that somehow had gotten to the bottom of the pond. But then how did that happen? Curiouser and curiouser.

At the moment the plan is to let the level drop as far as it will go. The course of action after that is open to debate ... and a lot of procrastination.

The deep end of the pond has a stack of bricks acting as a platform for the frogs to get out. Now the water level has fallen I took the top stone off to make it easy for them to climb up. This revealed some nasties – leeches and water slaters (or water sows) and some other things I can’t identify. Since I’ve started this blog I’ve enjoyed learning about the wasps and bees and grubs that appear, but crawly things in water don’t have the same appeal.

I’ll leave you with the photos. You can go google them if you want. I don’t think I want to know the results.

Planned Parenting

It seems the frogs this year have been quite exuberant.  It must have been a great party because they’ve left a huge amount of frogspawn.  

 

Unfortunately this new generation of frogs are disadvantaged right from conception.  Not only are there goldfish shouldering through the weeds trying to eat them, but this year there is the added menace of a curious cat.  She (or he) is new on the scene; a neighbour’s cat that spends a lot of time in this garden.  Earlier in the year it was the toilet facilities that attracted her, but now she is fascinated by the fish and frogs.  I thought cats hated water, but this one doesn’t mind poking her paw into the water, and I have seen her get her nose wet.  This means she has managed to pull out gobbets of frogspawn onto the side of the pond.  Poor little potential tadpoles.

 

So today I transferred some frogspawn to the other pond. Although it’s smaller in size there is no overhanging edge that the cat can peer over, and it’s deeper. I don’t know if I’ve done the right thing. I’m mixing spawn from different frog populations and maybe I’ve inadvertently introduced different bacteria or weeds into the small pond.  Time will tell I suppose, but hopefully some lives have been saved.

Just as an aside ... this morning I was in a post-Tesco slump, but as soon as I picked up the camera it disappeared.  Nature – creativity - rescue mission = elevated mood.