11th March 2002 - Toadspawn appeared overnight and Frogspawn in the morning. That's 18 days earlier than last year.
4th January 2002 - Thick layer of ice covering the surface since several days. The vietnamese coriander seems to be hanging onthough. We'll see when it thaws 22nd December - Thin layer of ice on the pond this morning, for the first time observed
21st July - 5 young elfts were released into the ponds the first lilly flower is about to open, looking suspiciously white
24th June I've added the "plants" and "insects" pages.
16th June - The watercress has spread and flowered so I harvested most of it. The new water lilly stil hasn't flowered but it's producing quite large leaves.
9th June - I watched four or five pairs of common blue damselflies laying eggs on the surface of the pond. One pair got eaten by a young frog.5th June
1st June - I noticed there are still one or two newt eggs on the undisturbed pennywort in the shallow section. The elfts in the tank are growing ok.
25th May - A new floating plant purchased, not yet identified.
21st May - Newt eggs and baby newt photos added.
22nd April - Tadpoles wriggling, marigolds in full flower, water cress planted.
11th April - Some frog tadpoles have hatched out and started twitching. The water marigolds are in flower, and a second lilly leaf has hit the surface. I tried feeding the fish but they showed only a little interest.
6th April - Less activity now, with some colder weather. I have managed to spot a few newt eggs at last The toads are still spawning but there is much more frogspawn in evidence now than toads'. I may even have to remove some to give the toad and newtpoles a competitive chance.
1st April - More frogs and toads than ever are now busy in the pond, and also some newts in breeding colours. Much of the frogspawn already laid has been sunk withouit trace but is being replaced with more. I wonder what happens to the sunk spawn. Pictures added.
31st March - I found five toads outside my backdoor in the evening, then when I went out, there was a pair of toads ( male sitting on top) right on my front doorstep. I gently helped them through the house to the pond. It's getting very crowded in there!
30th March - There are now at least 4 pairs of frogs and four pairs of toads active, plus a few singles. And I counted at least 15 skaters, which is more than usually inhabit the smallpond.
30th March - Frogspawn arrived - I watched it happen. The first really springlike day.
29th March - Toad spawn appeared today - for the first time they have beaten the frogs to it.
15th March - late last night I saw a newt in the pond, by torchlight. Perhaps I'll be able to get a photo this year.
14th March - At least 8 frogs, no spawn yet. Links added to two free.uk.nature.ponds members diary sites.
8th March 2001 - Several frogs were active in the pond at midday in the rain. Picture taken and website updated. No spawn produced yet though.
5th Feb 2001 - I thought I heard the first frog this afternoon.
28th Jan 2001 - thin ice on the pond this morning.