Pond Perks

It's very popular here in upstate South Carolina to live "on the lake," but I don't think I would enjoy it very much.  Noisy boats, loud parties, close neighbors, people talking right offshore?  No thanks.  However, I can't say enough about living on a large semi-private pond, and having a sun room overlooking the water.

PEACEFUL.  Quiet.  Beautiful light.  Best of all, we don't even have to go outside into the heat to enjoy the water, although we do, quite a bit.

After all, how can we resist a visit from our "goz," who come right over when we walk down to the water's edge?

Our resident heron is always around, although he's pretty cranky and squawks in irritation when disturbed.

I've talked a lot about the little mammals we've had...the river otter, beavers, and muskrats...but we also enjoy a dizzying array of dragonflies (this is a Slaty Skimmer, single and mating pair)...

...and colorful butterflies.  By the way, this is Limenitis arthemis.  The tiny orange spots tell predators that it's poisonous, but it's actually not.  It's mimicking the poisonous Battus philenor, but this little guy is perfectly harmless.

A hawk pair hunts here regularly.  They're really beautiful, majestic creatures. Check out those talons and the strong beak!

Here's the male across the pond.  He dove onto some small rodent and then ate it leisurely.

Really beautiful birds. 

We've got an abundance of anole lizards here.  More beauties.

Not always seen, but always leaving their presence felt, is our pack of white-tailed deer.  Scat all over the driveway and garden...

...and they're nibbling everything.  This liriope grass should have large arching fronds, but it's trimmed tidily by the deer, all over the yard.

The deer don't turn to the liriope until they've exhausted everything else, so this drought must be having quite an effect on them.  There's more scorched grass than tender young shoots at this time of year.

Staying inside, I've been doing a ton of crafting and cooking in my spare time.  I'll try to devote my next post to those projects.  Have a great week!