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Cattails in the Pond

Magic in a Clump of Cattails

Bookish (the Blog) nature


Above: Cattails along the edge of the pond, October 21, 2016

 

Ripples in the water

Reflections, November 27, 2016

Familiar places can be magical sometimes. For me, yesterday (2/21/2017) the familiar place turned magical was a clump of cattails on the edge of the pond in the forest preserve.  The pond itself is a quiet, beautiful spot, where there is always something to see at any season of the year.

 


In summer, the pond’s edge is alive with frogs that kerplunk into the water as I go past. Although I’ve tried, I’ve never been fast enough with my camera to catch a frog in a photo.  I’ve had better luck with herons. (Addendum–see frog photo below!)

Heron

Heron, October 12, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


In winter, the pond is ice-covered.

Cattails in the Ice

Cattails, January 21, 2015

Patern in the Ice

Cattails, January 3, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


pond frozen over

December 26, 2017

Ice crystals

Ice on the pond, Dec. 26, 2017. It was minus 6 degrees during the night

 

cattail seeds

Cattail Seeds, Dec. 21, 2017

A couple of years ago, the cattail clump held a surprise for me. The snake photo dates from May 4, 2015. I’m no wildlife photographer, so you have to use your imagination to see the hidden snake. But I stood entranced watching it from just a few feet away. We didn’t have big snakes like that in Seattle, where I grew up. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has an informative identification website, and looking through the photos there, I’ll guess “my” snake was a northern water snake, but whatever its name, it was a treat to see.

Water Snake

Water Snake, May 4, 2015

 


Grass disturbed by muskrats, February 21, 2017

Yesterday (2/21/2017), the same cattail clump was again showing me its magic. As I approached, my impression was that the cattails looked rather “end-of-winter” ratty. The grass several feet out from the bank was trampled revealing dark muddy soil underneath. I thought the damage was caused by people or maybe by the Canadian geese. Then I spotted a muskrat! I’d never seen one up close before. There were actually two muskrats, and they put on quite a show, diving in and out of the cattails, and periodically running out on the bank for a nibble of grass.

 

 


The muskrats made magic in my day.

Muskrat

Muskrat, February 21, 2017

Frog

A frog in the cattails, May 31, 2017

 

Muskrat in the creek

The muskrat, taking a swim in the creek, February 23, 2017

 

Tadpoles in the pond, April 28, 2017. I recorded a short piece about tadpoles for the 49th volume of the short nonfiction collection.

The Inquisition of Spain The Journal of Lewis and Clark

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