Moths

Who thinks about moths other than worrying about them making holes in our favorite old sweaters but moths are actually fascinating creatures.

Like the title of that famous jazz tune “Some fly by Night”, moths make night time a friendly place by their presence.

Last fall, on a daily sojourn along the rugged path, we espied a cocoon and then a second cocoon.  Compared to other cocoons, they were large, and crisp dried leaves had been incorporated into the outer covering of the larva’s spun material.  Secured to the branches of small shrubs about 3 to 4 feet from the ground, they were remarkably well camouflaged.   

We wished the sleeping beauties well and looked forward to seeing them in their winged form.

From those cocoons would emerge the Polyphemus Moth (Antheraea polyphemus) and like the title of Al Jerreau’s famous jazz piece “Some Fly by Night” this species of Lepidoptera  most certainly does just that. 

Though they fly by night moths are drawn to the flame or porch light as the case may be.

I am not certain as to whether this fellow emerged from one of the cocoons we saw last fall or if he hails from another location, but I am pleased to make his acquaintance as a newly emerged moth.

The Polyphemus moth was named after the all seeing one eyed giant of Greek mythology.  The early lepidopterists were impressed by the large eye spots, usually half hidden on his hind wings.  They are indeed striking with concentric rings of brilliant colour, but the eyespots on the forewings are rather amazing too, the centers of which are transparent.

Their status is rated by the scientists as “generally common” but I am sure most will agree they are anything but common.  Should a Polyphemus moth be sighted at your next star party, (celestial stars, that is), guess who shines brightest?

The Great Blue Heron

It was an apparition.  He wasn’t really there, was he?  The reeds were contorted so as to resemble a tall bird with ornate wispy plumes at his breast and on his head.  He has a crook neck and he wades invisibly and at a statue’s pace near the edge of the pond among the yellow irises and papyrus.   

My eyes had surely deceived me but then, he took flight.  The creaking sound of his wings reverberated like the heavy door to an inner sanctum being opened after many long years of being shut, its hinges in dire need of a few drops of oil. 

Of course the Great Blue Heron’s pinions were hardly in need of oil but the comparison serves to illustrate just how much effort was needed for the bird to become air borne.

Years ago, I walked with my old dog Bo Jangles by a meandering stream (now drainage ditch) and I felt badly when Bo would call up a storm and set the Heron to laborious flight.  Bo was not a malicious dog, he was only greeting his neighbours with puppy bark and playful stance. 

The Heron, in time, learned to ignore the old dog but cautiously  kept himself to the far side of the little stream and remained well hidden in the reeds. 

In flight, the Heron, with his folded neck and dangling long legs looks like some primordial bird, an escape from Jurassic Park, but then birds are a remnant hailing from the age of the dinosaurs so it is only natural that they should look like primordial creatures. 

Herons require very tall trees in which to nest. Their preference is to build one hundred feet above the ground. Often times, cliffs are a substitute location for nesting as giant trees become increasingly scarce.

We had a lofty tree on our little plot.  It was a giant Bass wood tree situated in the sacred hedgerow with other mature trees along side.  Every night as the sun was sinking we would watch as the Heron made her lonely flight in the direction of the Giant Bass wood.  The bird guides indicate Herons nest in colonies and both parents rear the young but this was not in our experience. 

When the autumn had revealed the stalwart limbs of the noble great trees, many nests could be counted at various heights and surprisingly in close proximity.   Beneath the ancient hedgerow along the rugged path, the dogs’ loved to run their noses through the crisp leaves of the Bass Wood which lay in dense lofts upon the ground. 

Looking upward, we saw a huge nest near the top of the towering tree.  We suspected it was the Heron’s nest.

The Heron is a fisher with keen eyesight and a very strong and dangerous bill.  It is wise never to attempt rescuing an injured heron as he can stab with great force.

Artisan creations of the Great Blue Heron are becoming increasingly popular as decorative yard art among the water gardener set.

Pond Watching

Admittedly, it sounds as though anyone with time enough to engage in pond watching has little else to do but truly the rewards are well worth an hour or even twenty minutes taken from our busy schedule to regard this remarkable and even mystical world very much apart from our world.

Water gardening is a method of connecting with the Natural world in our own back yards.  To sit on a deck with your morning tea or coffee overlooking a pond is a form of meditation.  Water lilies are magical.  To contemplate the lotus is a mystical experience.

To see the Great Blue Heron in his sylph like stance, so still, among the reeds, you may begin to wonder if he was really there at all or just a figment of your imagination or perhaps even  an otherworldly apparition. 

 Eventually he will take flight on cambered wings and you are again awe struck by the breadth of his wing span (70 inches according to the bird guides).  The creaking sound of his laborious take off seems somehow prehistoric.  You may not think he is aware of your presence but he sees you perfectly well.    I hesitate to use the word “tolerate”, I would venture to suggest that he “accepts” you as a neighbour. 

 

For some years there were Shiners in our pond.  We have no idea how they got there (perhaps stowaways in the shipment of water hyacinths and oxygenating plants we had ordered from Moore’s Water Gardens in Port Stanley, Ontario, Canada).http://moorewatergardens.com/

. Shiners are so called because the school of small fish just beneath the water’s surface shimmer like a jeweled bracelet caught in the sun’s rays. The school of fish suddenly takes evasive action and in unison they turn in such a way as to become invisible.

We often fed the little fish our toast crusts, watching with interest as the bread upon the waters was nibbled up very quickly. 

A turtle, an Eastern Painted turtle, would occasionally come out of the water to sun himself on the ledge or on the bough of the willow which fell in a storm.   We left it at the edge of the pond to build upon our little ecosystem.

The scientific community continues to debate about whether or not turtles can hear.  In our experience, even treading softly sends the turtle headlong into the pond licked-split.  If he does not have excellent hearing, he must be psychic. 

When the water lilies bloom, dragonflies abound. The species are many and varied.  They circle and dart and land upon the edge of a reed and just generally bedazzle the pond watcher.

There are pond skaters and night crooners and the moon’s reflection on the still glass surface of the water is a magical scene. The fragrant night-blooming water lilies makes the pond watcher fall in love with night.

To invest a little time near a pond offers so many rewards.  If the effort or expense is too great or there is not enough room, a pond in a bread bowl will work.   There are miniature species of water lilies and other aquatic plants available through many water garden nurseries.

To take up pond watching is to find a way back to your creative self. 

Be forewarned, you may find yourself wanting to put brush to canvas.  Consider Claude Monet’s works, the immensity of his collection and his inspiration?  Water lilies. 

Sources & Links:

http://www.finegardening.com/make-big-splash-tiny-water-gardenhttp://extension.illinois.edu/containergardening/water.cfm