We added the water feature to the garden two years ago. Mr P and I worked together, and also had the help of a friend. It was hard work but most certainly worth all the effort.
I have many plants in the pond. This is our native water soldier (stratiotes aloides). It floats on the surface of the water. During the autumn, as temperatures cool, it sinks to the bottom of the pond. When the weather warms up in spring, it floats to the surface again. Last summer it looked really pretty when in flower. A spike rises from the centre and it has the perfect white bloom.
Yesterday as I sat sipping tea by the pond, I noticed a red damselfly. She carefully placed herself on the water soldier.
Slowly and carefully she started to lower her body into the water.
Is she laying her eggs I wonder? It was at this point I start to become anxious for her. Several damselfly have been pulled into the water this week, possibly by the Great Diving Beetles that frequent the pond. They will attack anything.......
I thought the creature looked anxious.......I can understand why.
Slowly her small slender body disappeared beneath the surface of the water.
After watching for around ten minutes I left her.........I went back a little later to find that she had gone. Hopefully she is a survivor.
I have read many books about wildlife, watched many programmes........they say experience is the greatest teacher of all, I am inclined to agree with that. These are the moments that stay with me, they have meaning and take me away from the problems of everyday life. I am truly blessed......
Happy Sunday safari.........
24 comments:
Oh how I hope she survived - life is short and can be cruel can't it?! Lovely photos Cheryl and always such a calming feel to your posts.
Jane
Hi Jane.....wildlife always manages to make me realise how fragile we all are. I also hope she survived.
Tku for your kind comment.....
Hi Cheryl.
Thank you for you comments on my blog, And congratulations you are the first one ha ha.
Just looked at yours and WOW you have some fantastic photo's.
Chris.
Drama in the garden. I hope she survived too. I have never seen such a thing happening. I remember when you and Mr P installed your water garden. Gosh can it have been 2 years already?? Time flies when you are having fun.
Love your water pond , if we didn't have our giant lab baby of a dog we would have one ( as she would interrupt any peacefulness in the pond ). thanks for sharing your moments of tranquility, Gina
Hi Cheryl,
Amazing to see, I'd love a pond to be able to experience such wonders too. One day maybe!
I do hope she survived, at least if anything her eggs did!
Have a wonderful week
Hi Chris....it all has to start somewhere....honoured to be your first visitor....
Tku for your kind comment....
Lisa....yes two years....where did that time go?
Hi Gina....tku....
so funny.....I think with a large lab you could get a bit of a soaking....lol
Hi Liz....if anyone needs water in the garden you do. Your photography would be amazing.
I have a feeling she may have survived ....but as you rightly say, her eggs will.
Have a fun week.....
Cheryl, Such beautiful photos of a beautiful subject! I'm envious of your water feature, and that delicate looking damselfly is a new creature in my experience. That is the wonder of reading different blogs - you can take a trip, you can learn about nature, and most especially, enjoy the "experiences" of like minded folks. Thank you for sharing, and I hope she is stronger than she looks!
Dear Cheryl,
A wonderful photo essay of your beautiful Damselfly laying her eggs. The experience of nature is the way we truely know we are one. Being quiet and letting Nature teach us is for me the best way to live. Nature has shown me how perfectly balanced her world is. When I am respectful I feel the peace that passes all understanding.
Your pond is a small wetland. It is in balance. You have restored some of the damage done to your land. I am weeping about the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. I am weeping. I am angry too.
Thank you for today's Safari. I shall grab my camera and go hunting in my backyard. Summer arrived yesterday and the Orioles are migrating North.
Namaste,
Sherry
Amy...tku for such a lovely comment.....it is so nice to know that there are like minded people out there. It gives me hope.
Interesting about the water soldier, good to know.
Not seeing many bees or dragon flys at the moment...think we'll have a good year regarding wildlife.Time will tell.
Dear Sherry....you do not weep alone. I am horrified by the oil spill.....I am sad and so angry.
I have witnessed the devastation these spills can do. We have had many serious spills on our coastline.....wildlife has been devastated. The damage takes years to heal.
I do hope they find a way to stop the leak.....it is a serious situation.
It has taken a while to bring balance to the pond....I was determined. I am getting there slowly. Mini wetland....I like that.....
Happy Sunday.....
Lovely pictures, Cheryl. I saw a Damselfly yesterday flitting in and around the larkspurs. Nothing quite so dramatic as your story. I do hope she was laying eggs, and flew to safety.
Hugs,
Jenny
Hi Cheryl
Amazing pictures, I also hope she made it.
Oh yes. Few things are better than watching Nature's activities right under our noses.
Since I have no quiet water close by, I seldom see damselflies or dragonflies. They are very beautiful and interesting creatures.
Marnie
I do hope she survived! What a fantastic series of photos, Cheryl! Perhaps she was just taking a little dip in the pond? I'd like to think that was what she was doing, but realistically, I know that nature's laws are not always gentle. I joined you in spirit on your Sunday safari yesterday--I was watching all the butterflies cavorting around the yard and garden here. So many red admirals (thank you for teaching me the difference between them and painted ladies last year!)--it looks like it's going to be a good year for butterflies!
Hi Rose....I believe she left her eggs on the water soldier.
I do hope that you are right and this will be a good year for butterflies.
I do know that numbers are down in the UK. How about the US??
Enjoy your garden Rose....
cheryl,
i love that your water feature rises and falls as the weather changes. we have a small pond that freezes over so a solution like yours might be nice.
what a wonderful set of photos with the damsel~fly. she is gorgeous and i hope you are right about the egg laying. that means babies at some point. i will have to research that.
how wonderful to sit and drink your tea and see such beauty right at your fingertips. gardening is so good for your state of mind and the peace it brings to your spirit.
happy may.
At my last home, I built a big water garden (with a waterfall) and often miss it. It was an oasis for many forms of wildlife. Your pictures and stories reminded me of it. Thanks for sharing, Cheryl. I am always enjoying your stories about your granddaughter Poppi. Here is a post about my granddaughter, who is here for a visit. It is about a hike we took this past weekend. Art
http://o2bhiking.blogspot.com/2010/05/nature-hike-with-my-granddaughter.html
Cheryl, I am smitten with your garden and now this closeup of the dragonflies has almost convinced me to add a pond! Life in the garden is dramatic and dangerous for small creatures....I hope she laid her eggs so her offspring will fill your garden.
I would have loved to have visited with you~and knowing we were that close makes it more diappointing! The Sissinghurst visit was a last minute decision~that morning when we woke to sunny skies Victoria said~"Let's go to Sissinghurst not Wisley." and I didn't have my computer with me to email. But I am going to visit again and then we can spend time talking and maybe have a cream tea!
xxgail
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