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                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2008 April 19 & 20, Saturday & Sunday

Spain has been placed in a corridor of depression fronts these days. During our stay at the weekend it was raining almost continuously and quite heavily at times. We were a bit worried about the water deposit and the risk of the rainwater eroding the underlying soil, but fortunately nothing serious had happened. The deposit of 2000 litres was filled to the brim but stood firmly and level on its base (which is partly solid rock).

As it was raining so much I took the opportunity to study and check the water flow through the drains, ponds and deposit. I dug some special drains around the deposit to avoid the accumulation of rainwater there.
In the second pond I raised the outlet to the deposit a bit so as to keep more water in the pond.

Cumulonimbus above the motorway Huesca- Zaragoza.
Sunday 18:04

The water deposit with the improvised cover of plastic (against mosquitoes and dirt and in summer also against evaporacion) and woodsticks (against animals).
Saturday 17:19

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The flow of the water through the ditches was spectacular at times. The water had the typical 'café con leche' colour which is the result of the lack of a proper vegetation layer in some areas. I expect that this will become less of an issue in the future when the vegetation closes in. In the meantime we procure not to tread these areas to favour the upgrowth.

Fortunately the water that arrived in the second pond via the stone covered canal was a lot clearer than the water in the first pond. The many stones will probably filter part of the dirt and when plants start to grow between the stones the effect will even be bigger. Perhaps I will introduce some more gravel to stimulate this proces.

Almost bare soil but with promising seedlings.
At the back, the first pond.
Sunday 12:29

The 'café con leche' entering the first pond.
Looking east.
Sunday 12:07
 

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In my enthusiasm for stimulating plant life, I had some bad experience with the buying of some species. Our ponds have still very few oxygenating submersed plants so when I saw some of them in a garden centre I decided to buy them. They had familiar looks and common names ('Waterpest', 'Milfoil') and I didn't pay much attention to their scientific names. But when I looked them up in the caravan on the terrain they resulted to be wolves in sheepskin: aggressive invaders from the tropics which are even banned in some European countries (Myriophyllum aquaticum and Egeria densa). Without thinking twice we got rid of them. I would have mentioned and warned for the company that is commercialising these harmful species but I could only find the name of the company ('Floramedia') that is responsible for the very slick and 'professional' presentation in the shop. I even suspect, because of the use of Dutch common names, that the company is from my own, dear, supposedly ecology-conscientious country.

I had also bought Spanish stonecrop (Sedum hispanicum) and this time I had paid attention to the scientific name and supposed that it was native for Spain. Again a failure: despite its name it comes from the Eastern Mediterranean. But it has become 'native' in a couple of European countries and its vigour has nothing to do with the aforementioned species so we planted them in the rock garden.
The lesson I have learned is quite simple: never buy if you are not sure what you are buying.

The malicious product in question:
Myriophyllum aquaticum.
At the back on the right Caltha palustris, bought at the same time.
Looking east.
Saturday 16:41

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With this photograph of a toad which I took with flashlight in the darkness, I was able to identify it: the Natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita, formerly Bufo calamita). It's  typical for recently formed pools and ponds with little vegetation, which it finds with its typical running gait (they don't jump and are called 'Running toads' in Spanish). They start their reproduction activities after heavy rains and it is only then when they prefer water as their habitat. So their presence and activities in our ponds correspond seamlessly to their ecology.
The males can make a tremendous noise with their vocal sack, similar to the sound of a ratchet. They need it to call the females that may be kilometres away in other temporal pools.

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This species is also in its correct niche: calcareous, sloping grasslands in relatively warm and dry climates. It's  Zebrina detrita ('Zebra snail') and is omnipresent on the terrain.

Zebrina detrita on some dry stems of Picris hieracioides. Another argument for not cutting all those dead stalks of grassland plants (at the same time).
Sunday 12:47

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Some 7 Lady orchids (Orchis purpurea), which I reported on 20 March 2008,  started to flower on dispersed places but generally on the middle terrace. I still discover new rosettes and their total number must be over 50 now.
The present flowering of the Walnut tree (Juglans regia) is of a completely different nature but almost of the same beauty.

Orchis purpurea on the middle, eastern terrace.
Looking south.
Saturday 16:46

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2008 Apr 26
<< 2007 Apr 12