I've just had another look at the RSPB Homes for Wildlife web pages and see that September is the best month for clearing some blanket weed off of the garden pond.
After the frantic time of summer holidays, when it's as much as I can do to remember to mow the lawn occasionally or throw a bucket of water on anything that's drooped dangerously, we are edging back to the normal routines of work, school and ... a bit of gardening. I've just had another look at the RSPB Homes for Wildlife web pages and see that September is the best month for clearing some blanket weed off of the garden pond. How apposite, I'd noticed the pond was looking rather green and cloudy and had made a mental note to do just that.
Since I renovated the pond, after last year's leak, it has remained relatively clear, but the hot July started a cloudiness in the water that now sees the Canadian pondweed in the centre smothered in algal growth. Previous clearings of the weed have led to some interesting discoveries.
The first signs of dragonfly colonization were revealed in the several large larvae dredged up at once. I had seen the common blue damselfly, Enallagma cyanthigerum, often enough and counted dozens of the empty larval skins around the edge of the butyl liner on hot summer days, but these were great fat nymphs. Later that year a large female broad-bodied chaser, Libellula depressa, emerged and sat drying her wings on the overhanging ivy for all to watch.
Another time we learned that foxes liked to play with the drying weed left on the pond edges. Early one morning there were three or four young cubs out there frolicking with the stuff. Apart from snatching it from each other and playing tag with it, they particularly liked tug-of-war. Bits ended up all over the garden. There's not that much weed to pull out this year, but we'll soon see if the foxes are interested in a bit of play time.
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