A Healthy Pond is a Happy Pond!

The Frog Pond is alive and well.  This morning after cutting the grass, I ventured back to the pond to view the Water Hyacinths that are blooming profusely.  Yes, these are the same Water Hyacinths that are invasive if allowed to expand beyond the confines of this little pond.  I am careful not to let any escape!  I watch for seeds and never...never allow any to be moved to the Bayou.  There the plant could possibly multiply in mass quantities and clog the waterways.  That would mean an end to the Bayou as I know it.  Actually, the plants that I have growing in the Frog Pond were lifted from the marsh.  Mark saw one lone plant that some not so eco-careful person dumped into the Bay.  He scooped up the plant..like any good steward of the waters should..and brought it home.  While he had intentions of just bringing me an interesting plant, he did a fine service to the welfare of the Bay and Bayou.  In a matter of three years, that one plant has multiplied into probably seven hundred!  My Frog Pond is far too small to house seven hundred of anything other than tadpoles so each spring, I pull all but five plants from the water.  The dislocated plants are composted as fertilizer for the vegetable garden.  There they can do no harm!

As I admired the beautiful blooms of the Water Hyacinths, I noticed that the Water Lilies are also doing quite well. The lily pads are dark green and quite lush.  A lone yellow bloom sat beneath the tall-stemmed leaves.  A number of tiny American Green Tree Frogs were perched here and there on the stalks and leaves of both the lilies and hyacinths.  This is the whole purpose of the Frog Pond..to give these tiny amphibians a place to lay their eggs and then for the little ones to mature enough to keep the cycle going.  The frogs eat so many bugs!

Other bug-eaters were out in full force, too.  Dragonflies were hovering above the pond.  They, too, will lay their eggs in the cool water under the lily pads.  There is enough underwater cover to give them shelter from any predators.  Although, the nymphs, themselves, are probably the most voracious predators in the pond!  These small critters will eat their way through a billion or so mosquito nymphs during their stay in the pond.  Once they mature enough to crawl out and become full-fledged dragonflies, they will continue to dine upon flying insects.

Speaking of underwater coverage, Michael pulled another pond plant from the Bay last summer. He observed a strange non-Bay plant floating about near the pier and scooped it out for me.  This plant was none other than a Coontail.  It is a great plant to have in the pond as it provides a feeding spot for most critters.  Good snag, Michael!  What started as a single sprig of maybe ten inches has grown to fill the bottom of the pond!  This plant oxygenates the pond as well as providing protection for tiny critters.

I am quite happy that the pond is doing so well with both flora and fauna.  A healthy pond is a sign of a healthy environment.  The Frog Pond with its plants, turtles, frogs, toads, dragonflies and water beetles is quite the ecosystem in itself!  It is great to know that it has developed into such a happy place!