WITH RAIN FORECAST - something of a tradition for an English bank holiday weekend - I decided to top up the pond with the rainwater from the water butts (2 on the house, 1 on the shed) so that they can recharge if we have a decent downpour tomorrow. After numerous visits from a pair of mallards our king-size bed-sized pond is looking a little the worse for wear. Refilling is my first step in putting things right.

Yellow Flag

Sunday, 25th May, 2008, page 1 of 1

Richard Bell’s Wild West Yorkshire nature diary

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Drawing Yellow Flag Iris reminds me of drawing the plant at a pond by Mrs Smith’s small white-washed cottage near Loch Garten when I was a summer Osprey Warden at the RSPB reserve in the 1970s. In her cottage in the tall pines, Mrs Smith, who I always picture wearing a head-scarf and apron, would have been a magical character in a children’s story. She took in washing from the Osprey Camp and, by some magic she could always get it dry, even in the spells of continuous rain that can be a part of a Scottish summer.

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