Spatterdock or Yellow Water-lily
(Nuphar lutea)
I'm always looking for the perfect water lily and water lily leaves in the pond in August, looking too for little green snakes and frogs reclining on the leaves in the sunshine, for rainbow winged dragonflies floating above the smooth dark reflecting waters. This year the pond is much lower than it usually is, but there are water lilies blooming there nevertheless, and how wonderfully they light up a late summer morning.
Sometimes, a beaver swims by, or a muskrat perches on the far shoreline and peers at the blundering human on the threshold of her home. Once, a visiting otter climbed on a nearby rock and regarded me curiously for several minutes before dismounting and swimming off toward a nearby connecting river - it yawned occasionally showing the bright red interior of its mouth and a wickedly sharp set of teeth. There is always something going on here.
Water lilies (of course) are home to many varieties of pond insect life as are their leaves, and the tiny residents make their way into every image taken. The odd perfect silvery and unattended leaf floating on the pond notwithstanding, every festooned and nibbled oval is perfect just as it is. Little green snakes, frogs and dragonflies are wonderful, but bees, beetles, thrips and leafcutter insects are grand adornments too - splendid icing on this wild and watery cake.
I need a new set of chest high rubber waders to get a little closer to them all.
3 comments:
Hi Cate
A very nice post I was quite jealous that you had seen an otter.
Regards
Guy
Once . . . the eighteen foot open boat was beached and as I started to the stern I felt I was not alone. I turned toward the bow and was astounded to be looking into the large soulful eyes of a sea lion. We were both frozen for what seemed like an eternity as the realization came to me she had to be enormous beneath the waterline. The minute I said hello she just vanished. There was no ripple nor wake. Nothing but glassy still water all around me. It’s an enchanting encounter I will carry with me to the end of my days.
Oh! That is so lovely.
Post a Comment