The area on the lower terrace which I had mown
at the end of June is
showing a nice contrast with the unmown area. It is much greener and
lower and these transitions are usually very attractive for all
kinds of wildlife.
A comparison with the situation of
exactly one year ago is also
striking. I hadn't mown that time but the vegetation was uniformly
low, which was probably due to a very dry spring.
The vegetation was nevertheless even greener than now and that was
certainly caused by the heavy rainfall a the end of September that
year. Very interesting to observe how closely the vegetation
reflects the hydrology.
Same place but exactly one year
ago: 14 October 2006 at12:27
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Hydrology is also the main factor for the recovery of the vegetation
in the south-eastern part of the terrain. The former owner had moved
the soil and levelled these terraces but the vegetation had quite
some difficulty to cover the area again (compare the situation on
1 August 2006). To help
the regrowth I had left the prunings of the winter and some hay of
the spring as a kind of mulch layer on these areas and the effect
can now be clearly seen: only under the patches of hay and branches
the grass is starting to grow. Another example of the extreme
importance of a mulch layer in the fight against erosion and
desertification in the Mediterranean.
Middle terrace in the south-east, looking east.
Saturday 9:47
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Also good news from the pond front. The water had turned crystal
clear! Many water insects could be seen and the most striking were
the dozens of Backswimmers (Notonectaundulata).
They swim exactly like that: on their back, but they can also fly.
They are fearsome predators and may give you a nasty sting but use
the same needle to suck mosquito larvae and that is really good
news.
The pond with transparent water of an amber
colour. Looking north-west.
Saturday 9:50
Looking east. Saturday 10:12.
Two Backswimmers tanking oxygen.
Sunday 10:01
Flocks of birds could be seen drinking and
bathing.
Photograph taken on 21 October 2007 9:47
One of the first colonizing
plants in- and outside the pond is the grass Setaria
pumila. Photograph taken on 21 October 2007 9:33
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Another voracious animal is this small caterpillar who has been been
able to leave many branches of the wild roses completely without
leaves. Something similar happened
with the honeysuckles this
summer but here the destructors were probably aphids. They had
attacked all the honeysuckles in the neighbourhood and it is clear
that these kinds of plagues are not exclusively a characteristic of
modern monocultures.
Yet unknown caterpillar on a wild rose.
Photograph taken on 20 October 2007 16:33
