This is how it happened:
I'd wanted to do some ironing after lunch, and through the window I could see 2 waterhens picking up bits in front of the garage. Got the camera, opened the window - waterhens were off:
But what was this, the ducks were in the orchard sniffing around where John had been pruning the apple trees - or were they possibly on their way to the spot where I'd thrown them some pasta and rice a short time earlier? 
They were even making use of the large blue water bowl again.
They were even making use of the large blue water bowl again.
All of a sudden - somebody gave the word - they got up and headed off in the direction of the frog pond. I got all excited, would they really go in today?
Oh yes! Well, that was a nice surprise I'd been waiting to see for 4 months, since I'd laboured to clean that pond! 2 or 3 of the white ducks didn't go into the pond at all because there was still some rice to be had - in the photo above and also below they can just be seen on the left of the tin bath water container.
They didn't stay in the water long, one of them gave the signal and out they went.
I love this photo. Isn't it marvellous how little Taffy in the middle is beating her wings to keep up with the others?
As the weather was so nice I just had to go out, the ironing could wait. John was still busy pruning the last two apple trees and had a job to get through the overgrown purple clematis there, this one:
So I cut that one back first and then went into the field to check up on how it looked in our hedge. I wanted to pull out nettles so they wouldn't choke everything we'd planted again.
This is the place where we started our clearance operation last July. Well, we can certainly see through, but we haven't managed to frighten off the rabbits - I blocked several large holes as best I could.
Bottom right of the picture you can see a plastic blue sleeve around a little copper beech, the only little tree of the many we planted over the years that survived the assault of nettles and brambles [we planned to do hedge laying there a long time ago, Micha!]
Bottom right of the picture you can see a plastic blue sleeve around a little copper beech, the only little tree of the many we planted over the years that survived the assault of nettles and brambles [we planned to do hedge laying there a long time ago, Micha!]
Finally I did some work behind the large ash tree where I started digging out a nature pond some years ago:
Water can still be seen in it, but it's totally overgrown otherwise. I had this idea of digging a sort of channel from here through to the ditch, because there always seems to be water in there.
But when I was on my way back home at four I realized I'd started the nature pond at the wrong place. Not 7 metres in the direction of the house the ground was wobbling underneath my boots, wherever I trod in an area of roughly 8 x 8 m it was squelchy wet. We had heard from neighbours right at the beginning that there was a spring at that spot ...............
When building works are starting this coming Monday at the house we shall have to ask the builder if he could dig us out a new nature pond there with their digger!
But when I was on my way back home at four I realized I'd started the nature pond at the wrong place. Not 7 metres in the direction of the house the ground was wobbling underneath my boots, wherever I trod in an area of roughly 8 x 8 m it was squelchy wet. We had heard from neighbours right at the beginning that there was a spring at that spot ...............
When building works are starting this coming Monday at the house we shall have to ask the builder if he could dig us out a new nature pond there with their digger!
Havent you got enough ponds ?
ReplyDeleteIs the spring linked to where the water mill once was ?
I cant remember which extensiom plan you are going with ???