Flower Friday : : Rudbeckia*

We waited long enough. It had to be done. Our 'pond' was full of tiny frogs, half-frogs/half-tadpoles, regular tadpoles, dozens of creepy almost transparent crawly things that we decided might be Jerusalem cricket larvae and algae.  

We stopped putting algicide in the water as soon as we realized back in March that the pond was full of tiny tadpoles, but the heat of the summer  caused the algae to become so thick that we couldn't always see what was in there. Still we left it because it provided cover for them and we thought perhaps they were also eating it. But today was the day...we formed a plan....

I was pretty good at catching the tiny frogs in my hands but OilMan was the master of netting the tadpoles. (see extra) He also perfected the art of squishing the other things between his fingers...eeeew. The tadpoles and frogs went into a bucket which I took down to the creek and released. 

We emptied the water , scrubbed the inside and left it to dry thoroughly. The many finches who come there regularly to drink and bathe are coming and looking sadly into the rocks as if standing there for awhile might make the water reappear. It's pretty hot out there now, so OilMan is refilling it and turning the pump back on.  

Another exciting day in the life of Wildwood Trail....

*This Friday for the great Aretha Franklin who passed away yesterday. She will be missed.