Friday October 14th Late afternoon,
I stand on the bank watching some tiny winged creatures dancing together in the warm autumn sun. They could be fairies; they are moving so quickly I can’t really see them, their long legs trailing beneath fast-beating transparent wings. A robin (Erithacus rubecula) is flitting from one bush to another, calling every so often. As I walked back along the track the bird seems to be following me; I hear the same call and catch glimpses in the hedgerow.
Sunday October 25th
I lie in bed listening to the rain and think about my pond. It rained hard last night, and it’s also been raining, sometimes torrentially, for the last week. There must be some water in it now. I think about the pond in the wood a lot – imagine what might be happening there… whether other creatures are passing through… how it might look at night…
The wind blows me along the track towards the wood. Yes, finally there’s water! Measuring with my stick it’s about 17” (43cm) deep, not as deep as it was when I first started to visit, but in some places the water has spread to where I first placed the circle of sticks.
The roots of the two Alders are still sitting above water on a small island; in January they were submerged. Pond Water Starwort’s star-shaped leaves are floating on the pond’s surface, while a now submerged stinging nettle is looking rather sorry for itself. I wade around – looking into the watery depth - a merging of with reflections of the trees and sky.
reflections
Colour reflections
It’s sheltered here in wood but its pretty noisy, the wind is whipping through the thin branches above my head, sending cascades of leaves down around me.
