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A new gardenwatch era begins

This summer has gone swimmingly with so many days of warm sunshine which have kept me busy in the garden and away from the PC. I have to confess to have been enjoying this PC/blogging free time. Reconnecting with my garden has been great! I feel refreshed 🙂

Many garden jobs that were on that were on lists are now ticked. The wildlife pond build that took a ridiculous time to commit to and complete has become the heart of my garden and far more rewarding than I ever expected it to be. I am so glad I didn’t abandon this build – I came so very close to filling it all in.

One of the best things about my new garden pond is, now that plants and wildlife are moving in, my OH will wander up to this area to see what he can see! He is very keen to see frogs there (as am I) and I do believe Mr Bushnell may have captured one small one jumping out of the water when Magpies were rooting about the blanket weed around the edge.

Today, we had a good deluge or two of rain (much needed here in my area of Scotland believe it or not) giving the ponds a good top up of fresh rainwater which I am delighted about. Unfortunately with the long period of sunshine we have had this summer my shallow wildlife pond has been heating up allowing blanket weed to get a hold.

Being truthful, I have enjoyed playing in the water, spinning the blanket weed around a garden cane and scooping free bits of blanket weed in a net leaving it on a rock on the pond edge. I’ve had fun watching all the tiny creatures making their way back into the water. It’s been quite a relaxing garden job – not a chore at all 🙂

So, I guess we are now at the stage ready for a new era of gardenwatching where new pond visitors will be photographed, videos captured and ID’s searched for. Are you ready to join us?

The first garden visitors to be spotted enjoying our new pond were seen back at the end of April. Pond skaters began jumping across the surface of the water and water beetles scurried around the bottom surfacing briefly before diving once again.

In the video clip below you can see a pond skater appearing chilled in the sunshine enjoying hanging around where below it a water beetle scurries around looking very busy indeed. Ha-ha… almost like a scene out of Alice in Wonderland – in water 😉

Pond wildlife video, 48 sec with background music, try HD quality.

So what has everybody been up to when I’ve been playing blogging truant? Have you been ticking off garden job lists or relaxing and playing with water like me? Perhaps you’ve been creative in your garden borders – I’ve had fun there too 🙂

Copyright: Original post published on https://www.shirlsgardenwatch.co.uk/ by blog author Shirley, August 7th 2014. Grrr… I need to add this as blog scrapers are currently stealing my blog content and populating their own blogs. Please stop!

8 thoughts on “A new gardenwatch era begins

  1. A pond does add another dimension to the garden. Ours is only tiny but does attract a fair bit of wildlife, including neigbours' cats who sit waiting for the poor frogs to emerge!
    I agree with Sue that there a garden is always a work in progress!

  2. Good to see you back Shirley. Glad you are rested and caught up with all those garden jobs.
    I've not been around blog land much either, just can't seem to find much time to spend online. I'm being very strict and posting both my bloomday and end of month views and catching up when I can.
    Your pond sounds idyllic. My tiny wee pond is doing nothing and could really do with something bigger but that will be a few years away I think. Each time I read of yours it will make me the more envious.
    Isn't it amazing how dry it's been.

  3. Nice to have a catch up with you Shirl. I have moved house and sadly left my garden and ponds behind, even worse I'm renting, although the garden is pretty, full of butterflies, bees and native ladybirds.

  4. Hello everyone! I am absolutely thrilled to be getting all your comments after being sporadic in posting and blog visiting over the past couple of months – thank-you 😀

    Sue, ah yes, that is exactly the way it goes for most gardeners including myself – I never said I had finished my list 😉 I am happy with progress though 😀

    L, it absolutely does. I have a tiny one too and for a number of years I have seen cats on night patrol (via IR cams) watching for the wood mouse that scurries about the rock edges (I built spaces in rocks for wildlife to build homes). It is because I enjoyed watching birds come and drink there, the tiny wrens feed along its edges and the mice disappear and reappear through the rock crevices that I decided to upscale in another part of the garden. I will always enjoy my first small pond especially in the winter with its running water for birds to drink from and I can see from my gardenwatching window. I have seen a frog there but only the once. Absolutely, re the garden being a work in progress. I doubt I will ever see mine finished. However, I feel right now I am finally finding that it is in a state that I can enjoy pottering in rather than feeling overwhelmed with the tasks that are ahead which is a great place to be. Yep… that list just starts again… I have a few tasks ahead 😀

    Patsy, delighted to hear from someone else with a small pond. They say even the tiniest of ponds can attract frogs and wildlife. I can confirm from some of the sludge in mine (added to my bigger wildlife pond ) that it was teaming with tiny creatures which are now thriving in my bigger pond. As I said to L above, I have seen a frog in my small pond however, what I didn’t say was that I don’t have edges that really suit the frog for getting in and out to keep them coming back – the new pond is sorted there though 😀

    Angie, thank-you! It’s nice to be back 🙂 I am refreshed and happy with the jobs that have been done, but as Sue & L say above the garden list never really ends and I agree with that. I’m just happy to be at a new stage in my garden and for the moment being able to look forward which has been difficult over the last 3 years. I had noticed your discipline in joining in with GBBD and EOMV – well done there! Perhaps, all garden blogs should have a few weeks off during the summer then we wouldn’t feel guilty about not posting regularly. My blog approach (can’t believe – 8 yrs old in November!) is always to post when you have enthusiasm to share images and stories. I try to be honest with that. Once again, I am delighted to hear of your small pond as I have enjoyed mine for many years. I would like to aspire to an idyllic wildlife pond but I am a few years away from that I suspect. It is going to be a very interesting learning curve that I am looking forward to sharing 🙂 Oh yes, what a warm summer we have had 😀

    Suzie, nice to catch up with you too! Being absent from blog visiting I hadn’t known you were moving house. Just done a Google search and see you aren’t too far from Brixham but the biggest change will be the landscape going from coast to woodland. I have to confess to loving woodland more than coast. Shame about leaving your ponds behind – I feel for you there as they clearly take a long time to establish (long way to go here). Guessing your renting is temporary – enjoy your present space with all its wildlife for now 😀

  5. I have often thought I would like a pond. I don't have one. I have several bird baths which I have to change the water daily to keep mosquitoes at bay. I have done a couple of small projects. I haven't been posting much. Just enjoying our summer. It has been so nice. Unbelievable really. Enough rain, not too hot. FUN. I will look forward to seeing who and what comes to your pond.

  6. Good to see you Shirl. It sounds as if you have had a most productive summer. Although we have a small stream which runs alongside one of the garden boundaries, we do not have a pond which is something that I would like. My garden to do list unfortunately remains largely unticked at the moment and then there's the allotment too 🙂 Look forward to seeing more pond life and hearing about what you've been up to in your garden borders.

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