Koala and the Frog Bog

This is February and it is cold....well, not for long of course, the temperature will rise to above 30*C by tomorrow.We had just over an inch of rain last week which was so welcome.Not only did it  refill our rainwater tanks  but I didn't have to water the garden for at least two days.

This morning the Magpies were giving their questioning call again so I went out to see what had sparked their curiosity. There in the fork of the tree was the local Koala, quite comfortable and not worried about the camera.

Last week, just before the rains started, Ben from the Mt Compass Yarrabee Water Garden, came and brought us the Apricot water lily Brian had wanted as the ones we have are red, white and yellow, so he wanted a contrast. Ben also brought more oxygenating plants for the pond and put in those, as well as a heap of water lilies I had propagated from the old plants which came out of the totally congested pond last September.
I had kept a lot in the old bath stationed under the pepper tree and re-potted them into ice cream containers. It will be interesting to see if they will thrive in those tubs.

The pond is looking so much better with all this new vegetation and we can actually see the goldfish now enjoying the much more spread out cover. For the time being the White faced Heron has given up trying to use the pond as a breakfast bar as there are so many more places for the fish to hide. I have even seen little fish as well now so the big ones are breeding as well. Some of the little ones are quite black but some are showing gold as well. This pond gives me more pleasure than an overseas trip.....it is just delightful

Besides the pond plants, Ben also brought us bog plants for the frog bog so that too is looking much better. There is water parsley, water celery and a buttercup which looks pretty dominant at present. The plant on the right is a ludwiggia and will hopefully grow and hang over the edge to give more cover. I can still only hear two frogs at night calling to each other but today a frog with a very loud call sat and barked most of the day.....
do we have day frogs?....
There are also some tadpoles Ben brought us and they are sitting in a tub growing fat and developing legs we hope, ready to join the night chorus eventually...a Frog Bog Symphony......to look forward to...