Meg's Pond Report

Bulcamp, Suffolk UK - 9th June 2002

Meg Amsden

I was about to write a glowing report of my pond's spring awakening - describing the great clump of golden marsh - marigold flowers, (that almost came out in February, then waited for a better moment in April) - when I noticed the ones near the fringe were rather nibbled. The next day even more had gone, and I saw the entertaining family of pheasants that had been hanging round the bird table were picking them off. I built a fence of beech twigs and saved half the flowers from destruction but the pond didn't look good enough any more to take a photo. (The pheasants vanished around the time I found a beautiful cock down by the road with his neck broken).

Even worse was to come. Soon after that a mole-hill appeared on the edge, then the mole worked his way round, throwing up a new one a day, till they encircled the pond, making it look like a rural building-site. The soil stared to pour down the hills into the pond making the water cloudy.

Then Mr Eldridge came for a visit and this first thing he said was "But it's so small!" and then "Where are the animals? I want to see some animals." So we looked but couldn't find any apart from some tiny water-boatmen skating over the surface, which did not impress him. By now I was beginning to feel distinctly inadequate. A week later, blanket weed started to invade and all the plants I had put into what had once seemed quite a large pond doubled, quadrupled in size.

But then the water hawthorn which has a waxy lily-like flower, strangely like hawthorn blossom, started to flower profusely. I hoiked out the weed and a lot of black leathery beech leaves that even now show no signs of rotting down, filled up the pond a bit (the lawn's roots are hanging into it and drinking it up), and then, there were the animals; three or four adult newts swimming about courting and mating, twiddling their tails with little twisty snakey movements. If only Mr E. had been there to see them. I have only seen one pair of damsel flies so far (a blue one and a green one joined by the tails, mating), but we have had very few hot still days this year, and so much wind, which they hate, from every direction of the compass. I took a sample of the water and though there were a lot of tiny green plant forms, there were only a few water-fleas to eat them up. I wonder where I can get some more? I don't want the water to turn into green soup, like so many ponds in this part of the country.

My next job is to divide and separate out some of the plants. I'll give them away to anyone who wants them - water plantain, gypsy-wort, water mint, speedwell, water hawthorn, and the miraculous water-clearing stone-wort/charaphytes. The plants are taking over. Soon there'll be no room for the animals. Mr E's right, I need a bigger pond.

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