At Last! A Frog!

Almost three years ago, I had a pond dug at the bottom corner of the garden.

I wanted it to be a natural pond that would attract wildlife. The birds bathe in it. One dragonfly has visited. Algae grows in it, so I've had a campaign over the last three weeks to remove mats of the stuff culminating in the addition of a bag of barley straw this evening. We've only had the straw for a year!

The few marginal plants that I bought have run riot, leaves have died and the yellow flag looks rather leggy, so I hauled them all out to rearrange them. At which point, a large frog hopped on to a lily pad in classic pose. I was taken aback. I've seen the tadpoles but not a frog before.

He jumped into the water. I continued straining the pond of duckweed etc cursing the fact I didn't have a camera to hand.

When, suddenly, I saw the frog again, peeping up between the cleft in a lily pad. I sped, as speedily as I could, which is not speedy, into the house. Luckily, the long focal length macro lens was already on the camera and I had a charged flash unit too.

So thrilled to have my very own frog photo. Expect more!

In other news, I went to Prestwold Hall at Hoton for the very first time. I've only been living in the area since 1978. It's a charming house. The reception rooms face south and take advantage of the light. I shall be accompanying Hayley to photograph a wedding there on Sunday. I hope the weather holds for me to capture some photos of the resplendent flower beds.