The rumble of this afternoon's storms did little to bring us water. The showers passed--the dryness is still here.
I walked the mud flats--for the first time, able to walk the edge of the pond, without sinking into the mud. Little toads, barely visible hopped everywhere. Young American Toads? Tiny, camouflaged against the muddy flatness, where the pond had been.
The water in the shallow arms is green with growth--on top and throughout, giving it a soupiness, suitable for frogs.
This dragonfly was depositing eggs into the water.
From such an unpretty beginning--such a lovely treasure--with jewels on her wings!
Birding Zaagkuilddrift Road
22 hours ago
6 comments:
Lovely lovely photo of a dragon fly.
We need rain too-but thankfully it rained a bit more here today. Hope you get your showers soon.
The girls and I were caught in the mucho-macho storm today while at Krohn's. And I had left the windows down in the car. I'm still soggy.
The dry spell seems to be ending. I didn't worry too much...I plant natives and they can take it for the most part.
Love the little frog. We heard cricket frogs at Lake Isabella today! And they DO sound like crickets. Crickets on steroids.
Dear Nina,
Hope your dryness ends soon. Love the little frogs and Dragonfly is worthy of a frame! Great photos.
Thanks so much,
Sherry
I'm actually most concerned for the water source (and life source) that our pond is--such a supplier of insects (minute hatchings for birds...), frogs, fish, ....the beginning of the food chain that will be affecting everything else if it dries up.
Whenever I walk our property, I go there first. I'm drawn to the water, as is everything else.
When I was a little girl, we lived on acreage with a pond. I'd change out of my school clothes after school and first thing I'd do would be to run to the pond to check it out. Your photos are such a beautiful reminder to me of those happy, carefree days of summertimes long ago.
A dry spell can be very stressful on a pond, but with a good storm and lots of runoff, that plant will straighten up , the tiny frogs will have the safety of the shore, and that lovely dragonfly can rest,happy that a new generation is on its way.
Ponds, like people, have their ups and downs --- with the right conditions, they too can bounce back and soon return to their own,rich self.
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