The Ponds and tranquility
We have two ponds at Coed y Berclas – or water features. The upper one is a rill on the terrace in front of the house. It contains water lilies, irises, oxygenating plants and a few water insects. The lower one is larger.
In addition to having similar plant and insect life, it is also home to a number of newts, and in spring we are visited by two or three Mallard ducks. They stay only briefly and always fly off to a safer roost for the night.
A less welcome visitor is the occassional heron. We worry that it will eat the newts or puncture the pond liner. Fortunately, there are no fish to keep it visiting, so I suspect it flies away disappointed but has a short memory!
Unfortunately, we also have blanket weed in both ponds, which is very invasive. Therefore, from spring throughout summer, I have the task of taking out as much as possible, to stop it taking over. I don’t think we will ever get rid of it, but there was hardly any in the upper pond this year. That was very encouraging.
This might be seen as just another task to add to a long list, but here’s the funny thing: I really look forward to getting out my specialist equipment and spending ages by the pond picking out masses of fibrous bits of blanket weed.
I put it down to the magical relaxing effect of being by tranquil water. My equipment may not fit most people’s idea of ‘specialist’. It’s a pink plastic hairbrush tied with string to the longest cane I could find. It works really well at picking up clumps of the hair-like fibres. I always look carefully at the blanket weed for wild-life. I have found snails, dragonfly larvae and small newts. They are all returned to the water as quickly and gently as possible.
The dragonfly larvae are fascinating. when mature, they climb up reeds and cling on while they metamorphose into beautiful electric blue insects which dart backwards and forwards, across the pond, on their iridescent wings, hunting for food. I can hear the whirr of their wings as I seek out fibres of blanket weed. It’s wonderful. The old outer cases of the larvae are left clinging to the reeds or fall in the water. I have wondered if they are the reason for the name ‘dragonfly’.
The sound of water trickling from the upper into the lower pond also adds to to the sense of peace and serenity. Guests staying in the Luxury Holiday Apartment at Coed y Berclas, step out from the sitting room onto a patio with table and chairs, which is close to the pond. While enjoying the view of the Strait and Snowdonia, they can also listen to water falling into the lower pond.
As a member of Cwilt Cymru I produced two quilted textile hangings to our chosen theme ‘Cynefin’. Cynefin is a Welsh word which refers to a place where one belongs. It has a spiritual and emotional dimension as well as a physical one. Because of my relationship and sense of belonging, I chose to create images for Cynefin based on our two ponds.
Daf and I were both brought up near water. I lived close to the North Sea and Daf to the Menai Strait. Neither of us would wish to live too far from water. At Coed y Berclas we are on an island surrounded by water, we overlook the Menai Strait, and over Bangor Pier to Snowdonia, and we have our two ponds. This makes us feel very ‘at home’.
Dorothy
12 June 2016