86 Spot the legs!

This morning I decided to tackle the blanket weed in Tiny Pond. I’ve been away for a few days and the problem has developed and taken over. While tadpoles and pond snails seem to like eating it, or whatever is stuck in it, they can also get stuck. And it looks unsightly too, obscuring the plants and pebbles. So something had to be done.

Here’s some blanket weed pulled out by hand. This is about 5% of the total I scooped up. The task took about an hour because every time I pulled out a sheet of weed, I had to check for trapped tadpoles, snails, and other small pond life. So first I put the weed into a washing up bowl full of pond water, to allow tadpoles to swim free and be rescued.

Although blanket weed is a nuisance, it does provide hiding places for pond life. I disturbed a lovely stripey frog while scooping from the bottom.

I disturbed this stripey frog while scooping out blanket weed from the bottom of Tiny Pond

Once the blanket weed was mostly removed, I decided to move some pond weed from Lily Pond to restore the shade and create some new hiding places. This might sound like an odd thing to do, given that I’d just spent an hour removing weed, but pond weed is a different thing altogether. It multiplies quickly but is easily removed as it just floats on the surface sending down fine roots into the water. And it is also a great oxygenating plant, whereas blanket weed blocks sunlight and reduces oxygen levels.

Pond Weed in Lily Pond
Pond weed added to Tiny Pond
Pond weed provides oxygen, shade and hiding places

Lily Pond had plenty of pond weed to spare and the gaps will fill quickly. In any case, I want to keep some clear spaces so I can see the tadpoles developing and so that other plants don’t become choked.

While scooping up pond weed, I noticed the sedge, tucked in beside the leaves of the giant king cup. This is definitely not a showy plant, but the delicate drooping spikelets are charming.

The Cyperus sedge (Carex pseudocyperus)

And you might be wondering why this blog is titled Spot the legs! Well, I’ve been monitoring the tadpoles to see if they have legs yet and today I saw quite a few in Lion Pond. I snapped away and the result is several pictures with at least one pair of legs visible. See if you can spot them.

Here’s a video of a group of tadpoles fighting over something that just dropped into Lion Pond. Quite a few legs to be spotted.

And if you miss the best pair of dangly legs, here’s the last two seconds again.