During that nice spell of warm weather we took the opportunity to open up our backyard pond for the season. We took off the mesh covering which catches the leaves over the winter.As you can see there's always a lot of work to do at the beginning of the season. We usually have some perennial visitors when we open the pond- snakes, frogs, masses of frogs eggs, but last year was a first. We opened the pond on March 20, 2011. It was the first day of spring and a lovely way to celebrate.The following day, when my husband came home at lunch time, he found two mallard ducks happily swimming around in our little...

  This past summer we had a garter snake who was a frequent visitor at our backyard pond. I found out why, on a hot, sultry day in July, when I witnessed the snake catch and devour a frog. A few weeks later, I spotted the snake again stalking his quarry. He was poised on a rock eyeing his prey with his tongue flickering in and out.Since I can generally be found in the backyard with my camera in tow, I caught the chase from his first leap to capture. The snake eluded me for several shots as he took his prey underwater and undercover of the shaded water lily leaves. Perhaps he was raising...

Every summer we patiently wait in anticipation of the bloom of our lotus plant. We fear it did not survive the harsh New England winter and then we are greeted by that first distinct leaf which dwarfs the other standard day lily plants. This year was no exception. Then begins the long wait until the plant matures and forms a bud. We silently exclaim," please don't burst into bloom the week we are on vacation or the day we are attending an out of town wedding!" For part of the drama of the lotus is that it lasts for only 2 days. The first day you can see the emerging bloom in hues of luminous...