Pond Life

When I moved here I wasn't bothered about a pond at all - now I think I'd cry if I lost it.  It has given me hours of pleasure and I'll often be found kneeling quietly beside it watching the wildlife.

It's only small and is very much a wildlife pond (apart from the inherited goldfish and his friend), and has lots of rocks and ivy around it where the frogs, and probably other creatures, like to hide.

The tadpoles hatched several weeks ago and were really lively in the warmth of the sunshine today - I love how they twist as they come to the surface (sad I know!)

(I'm not sure why the video ended up so small, it's probably because I took it and edited it on my ipad and then had to transfer it to the pc to upload it, it all gets very complicated at times!)

But the star of the show at the moment is Mrs Newt who appeared a month ago.  I was getting rather worried that she'd left but I saw her again today (she's rather camera shy but can just be seen relaxing on the weeds)

 

It doesn't look as if she's laid any eggs in the newly planted water forget-me-not, but I'm hopeful that she's decided to take up permanent residence so we might have newt babies in the future!

The sun has come out here today, but sadly I seem to have hurt my back rather badly this afternoon so gardening is out of the question - I think I'll take a cuppa back to the pond instead.  Enjoy the sunshine if you have it!

There's a Newt in the Pond!

I'm so excited - I have a newt in my pond!  Some of you will probably now think that I've lost the plot but I've wanted them for ages, and now I have them, well one!

I'm not sure what type it is (it's about 8cm long) but I'm guessing it's female as it's pale, but as it has some small spots on it I'm not really sure (sorry about the quality of the pictures, it's hard to focus through the water without dropping the phone in!)

If anyone can tell me what type it is and if it's definitely female I'd appreciate it.

I've just ordered some water forget-me-not in the hope it'll stay and we might have some babies! (Sadly I had to order it as a trawl of the local garden centres and nurseries proved to be fruitless).