Seasons of the Pond 3

JULY 1998
PLANTS IN THE MIDDLE

This view looks over the pond toward the barn (beyond the pines and to the right). We are keeping it woodsy, two nest boxes appear on the far side of the pond. We tried for bluebirds but got wrens instead. The water is a big favorite of all kinds of birds.

The submerged island allowed us to put some water plants in the center.

The tall plants in the middle are in a pot resting on a bucket of sand. The funny thing is that from time to time we see that plant tilted nearly 45 degrees. It stays that way for about a day or so, then we see it upright again. All we can figure is that a turtle lives under it and wedges the put up with its shell when it is "home" and lets it fall flat when it leaves.

I don't know what kind of turtle it might be, but I'm not going to feel around to try and find out. It could be a snapper!

The cascade off the "mountain"

A lot of vegetation has grown in and softened the rocky edges of the falls. The spikey plant in the foreground (left) is a yellow iris. The astilbe further back are a bit past their bloom.

SEPTEMBER 1999
AFTER RECONSTRUCTION

Twice in 1999 we had to tear the waterfall appart and reconstruct it to repair holes made by chipmunks (see "Repairs" under "Building the Waterfall".

Now that all the rocks are back in place, you can not really tell that anything is different about it except that the garden next to the falls is rather trampled. That will grow back, though and we hope not to have to reconstruct the waterfall again. As for the chipmunks, they can scamper around the garden and falls all they like now. And they are cute, too!

JULY 1998 PLANTS IN THE MIDDLE
	This view looks over the pond toward the barn (beyond the pines and to the right). We are keeping it woodsy, two nest boxes appear on the far side of the pond. We tried for bluebirds but got wrens instead. The water is a big favorite of all kinds of birds.
	The submerged island allowed us to put some water plants in the center. The tall plants in the middle are in a pot resting on a bucket of sand. The funny thing is that from time to time we see that plant tilted nearly 45 degrees. It stays that way for about a day or so, then we see it upright again. All we can figure is that a turtle lives under it and wedges the put up with its shell when it is "home" and lets it fall flat when it leaves. I don't know what kind of turtle it might be, but I'm not going to feel around to try and find out. It could be a snapper!
	The cascade off the "mountain" A lot of vegetation has grown in and softened the rocky edges of the falls. The spikey plant in the foreground (left) is a yellow iris. The astilbe further back are a bit past their bloom.
SEPTEMBER 1999 AFTER RECONSTRUCTION
Twice in 1999 we had to tear the waterfall appart and reconstruct it to repair holes made by chipmunks (see "Repairs" under "Building the Waterfall". Now that all the rocks are back in place, you can not really tell that anything is different about it except that the garden next to the falls is rather trampled. That will grow back, though and we hope not to have to reconstruct the waterfall again. As for the chipmunks, they can scamper around the garden and falls all they like now. And they are cute, too!