Still Water

A long hot afternoon on long hot roads - although we once again stayed on the byways and enjoyed noticing the changes as we passed from county to county. In the borderlands of Leicestershire and Derbyshire, we found a small fishing lake and holiday centre, with a cafe that came up with a decent lunch. It was not a wild place: carefully clipped grass and marked out fishing points. The lake had precisely placed, dense islands of water-lilies, not quite in flower yet, but no other plants for lines to get tangled in. It sounds soul-less but, on a dazzling warm day, with quite a lot of people quietly enjoying being outside and beside water, it was cheerful enough. It is only a couple of kilometers from the point that is furthest from the mainland British coast, so this is as close to a beach day as they are likely to get

My little pond contrasts rather starkly with the open water of the fishing lake. I think I might have been a bit over-enthusiastic in stocking it with plants! The day will come when I need to start culling. The water is still teeming with crustaceans, though, so it must have plenty of oxygen. The slanting light of evening gives it the slightly mysterious air of a deep, dark pool