MORE PHOTOS FROM WALNEY POND, FROM OUR VISIT ON 4-21-26

 

This is my favorite spot at the pond. There is a bench under the shade of the trees, and this natural arbor sets the scene beautifully. It's a very restful place even though there is a road you can just see on the other side, that gets quite busy when people are coming home. There are a few other benches around the pond, and I make use of all of them. Each has a nice view across the water.

The red leaf is from a White water-lily, the American white water-lily it is called. Scientific name is Nymphaea odorata. It has quite a few other common names; White water-lily, Fragrant water-lily, Sweet-scented water-lily, Beaver root, Tuberous water-lily, Alligator bonnet, Fragrant white water-lily and Sweet-scented white water-lily. There are many on this pond and when they are in full bloom, are a sight to behold. 

The Pickerelweed is appearing but no blooms yet. If you click on its name, you will be able to see what they look like.

This was the only Yellow flag iris I saw blooming that day. I am looking forward to going back and seeing more. They can bloom from April to August depending on what region they are in. It originated in Western Asia and Northwest Africa and is now considered a highly invasive species in over 40 U.S. states. Not a good plant as pretty as it is. Considered toxic to humans and livestock if ingested, and the sap can cause significant skin irritation or blistering upon contact, so best to wear gloves and long sleeves when handling it. Note to self as I found myself moving a leaf or two so that I could get a clearer view of the flower. Not doing that again and now we know! I didn't know about this particular plant being oblivious until finding out the information for today's post, but I do warn family and friends not to handle any plant when out and about along these paths. I need to take my own advice. I am usually more wary of such things. 

A much better alternative to this Yellow flag iris apparently, is the Blue Flag Iris, which is a stunning native with violet-blue flowers that thrives in the same wet conditions. 

Another bench is calling to me. 

I have a wonderful time looking at all the new growth as I walk the path. In the photo above I tried to showcase the Common greenbrier. It is a native woody vine found throughout the easter half of North America, and ranges from Florida north into southern Ontario and Noa Scotia, and west to Texas and Oklahoma. While often considered a nuisance by hikers and gardeners due to its aggressive growth and sharp thorns, it is a vital part of the local ecosystem. I found much of my information about what I am sharing today online.

This is the Garlic mustard and is not a native plant in North America. It is originally from Europe and parts of Asia and was originally brought to the United States in the 1800s for herbal, medicinal and erosion control purposes. 

I came across the Bush Honeysuckle which is the last plant I took photos of.  I left links on the names for you to learn more if wanted.

The turtles are on a new wooden platform. They seemed to be enjoying the sun.

The last photo taken on that visit was the dog and her companion.

We were already in the car when we saw her, and driving back home shortly afterwards. I daresay we will be going again in a week or so.

A WALK AROUND WALNEY POND TODAY - A COLLAGE - TUESDAY - 4-21-26

 It was 62 degs. F. on the 21st (17 degs. C). Chillier than other walks lately but with the sun shining, and dressed accordingly, it was perfect. The weather has been like a yo-yo. Today (as I write this on Thursday the 23rd) it was 83 degs. F. (28 degs. C).

I put together a few photos in a collage and I will share the larger ones once I have those sorted out.

Thanks for visiting everyone and 

have a great day.

WALNEY POND - A FEW PHOTOS FROM 3-12-25

We park our car on the right-hand side... 

and walk across a wooden boardwalk to get to the other side of the pond. This is another place I have shared many times over the lifetime of this blog.

If you carry on and go over a small bridge, there is a trail that will eventually take you to the visitor center. Normally we turn left and enjoy our walk next to the water. There are new shoots of Yellow flag iris showing in the shallows.We took the photo of the beaver lodge below our little friend here as we were making our way back to the car, which looks a bit torn apart, and is actually a dozen or so feet away from the previous location. There was also a wire fence preventing access to a water pipe I noticed. You can see this delightful animal below, a photo taken from a previous post. 

I wonder if the park people are trying to discourage them from damaging any of the trees, but that's what I thought last year? And then we saw beaver swimming into the middle of the waterlilies. Hopefully we will be seeing the same later on. We were a bit too early today I think. Fingers crossed! If you would like to see that post of our North American Beaver, click at this link.

We were welcomed by a pair of ducks. They started swimming towards the center of the pond when we appeared, and there were several tortoises resting on a platform nearby.I liked the patterns in the water that the ducks were causing. The sun was shining in the wrong direction and reflecting off the lens but I was happy to get these.They and the tortoises seemed to be enjoying the sunny and warm weather, as we were.We sat down on a couple of the benches and always like to read the plaques put there. There were new places to sit I noticed.

Some of the messages are very touching. There are donations you can make to the "Honor or Memorial Park Bench Program." The price of each 6-foot bench is $1,500, all made of recycled materials. You can get a personalized plaque installed up to 3 lines, 42 characters per line, I read. More information about this program is here.

This is one of the two overlooks. I see people who enjoy looking into the water, some with fishing poles. I didn't see any fish today though. We usually look when all the waterlilies are blooming and there are many here, but not yet.

I will leave you with a couple of photos of "ducks, beautiful, comical things." 

F. W. Harvey was so very correct. I have his poem which you can read here, but you can see all three verses at this link. I didn't realize there were others, only having seen the first.

I was so very happy to see the ducks today, and the tortoises of course. I am hoping we will see the North American Beaver next time.

Thanks for taking a look, always appreciated. 

Have a great day.

BACK AT THE POND...AMERICAN BEAVER

This photo was taken as we were sitting under the trees.  We have our favorite spots in various places and this is one of them at the pond.  

It also happens to be next to where a lot of activity was going on.  A channel of water had been excavated, and a narrow dam was being built.  I have seen much larger ones elsewhere, but this seemed to suit his needs.

Our beaver is the largest rodent in North America, and here he comes.

At first he was bringing back big mouthfuls of mud to pack down the top of his lodge, as his soggy, wet, muddy face attested to.

After watching him several times press the mud packs down on what would have been his lodge roof, adding caked mud on top of other caked mud, he then started bringing back larger twigs and leaf matter to build his dam. The next photo shows him from a different angle, as we approached on the other side of the pond when we first arrived. You can see his paddle-like tail sticking out of the water.He keeps a wary eye on us at the same time, but we don't move from the bench and we had our zoom lens to take these photos.  We found it interesting that he chose a spot near to where people walked along the path, also excited children who were getting their first look at an American Beaver.  Many of those people, just like us, had come to see him.  We talked to several who were delighted that they were back.  I think the park people are letting them stay for a while.  Several well-established trees around the pond had a frame of wire mesh at their base.  To protect their trunks from sharp teeth no doubt.  There are plenty of trees in the woods on which they can nibble.More back and forth going on, not stopping at all.

At one time we saw him disappear in a sea of green weed.  Before that he was in the middle of the pond nibbling on water lily roots.

It took us a few seconds to realize that the big clump of green floating towards us had something underneath.

Out popped a nose! This plant is called Common pondweed, also called Yankee weed, Canadian waterweed, Water thyme, American pondweed, to name a few.  It is native to North America but considered an invasive species in Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa…

as it has been widely sold in the aquarium industry for its oxygenating properties.  Unfortunately, in the wild it outcompetes native plants, clogs up rivers and streams, and drainage channels, also obstructing boats.  

Not good news at all but the beavers love it here, so in that sense it is helping our environment, I hope? More research on that subject is needed.  You can read more here.  There is also an interesting pdf file at this link on what they eat.

As we observed them during our time spent on the bench, we realized we were actually seeing two, a male and female. We saw them swimming together briefly.  Someone had also seen two babies but there were none visible to us. As mentioned earlier, our very talented, dam-building Beaver is the largest rodent in all of North America. They have a wide variance in terms of size. They can range from 33 to 75 pounds depending on where they live and what they have to eat. They usually average about 45 pounds and the males are larger than the females. 

Anyway, we could have stayed there for another hour but it was time to move on.  Other people arrived at the pond and sat down as soon as we left.

I found the following illustration online. You can enlarge any of my photos and diagram to see them more clearly.  

This website has great photos and fun facts.  I read the following:

"Beavers are like little submarines.  They can stay under the water for 15 minutes.  Their lips close behind their teeth allowing them to hold a branch with their teeth, swim under water and not drown.  And they have a set of transparent eyelids that cover their eyes as they swim, much like we would wear goggles underwater.  While submarines have propulsion systems to help them move in the water, beavers have webbed feet to propel them."

There was another visit last month that I haven't shared yet, but I will wait awhile before I do.  

I daresay we'll be going back to see how they are in a week or two.  It has been very enjoyable watching their progress so far.

WHAT DID WE SEE AT THE POND?

North American Beaver!

Our little friend Seraphina (from yesterday's post) had been looking in this direction.  Lily pads were covering a good part of the pond.  It grows considerably each year and the petals close up in the evening.  In the center, after adjusting our eyes, we finally saw movement.

Another furry friend was having a feast of water lily shoots.   At other times we have watched them dive and resurface a couple of minutes later, with those shoots between their claws.  

This is the beaver we saw for the first time a few weeks ago.  They had been absent for two or three years, and rumor had it that they had been removed.  I don't know if this was true, but their lodge was nowhere to be seen and every time we visited, we looked for these industrious little animals to no avail.  Other visitors we talked to had wondered the same thing.  In the photo below you can make out that famous 'paddle' tail. There is a reed on it.

Happiness for everyone I spoke to, on our previous visit and this one, to find them back at the pond.  Our North American Beaver had returned, not only one but three others.  There was a mate and two babies.  People told us they had seen the babies, but we saw the parents and that was wonderful.  The mother is considerably smaller than the male we were told by a knowledgeable man who had been taking photos also.

This fellow photographer was very generous with his information.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  There will be another post on our encounter as soon as I can put it together.  Enjoy your weekend!