The lake is a permanent feature of life here. It has a unique ecosystem but it’s not a popular place unless the sun shines. To us it has a special charm all of its own.
I don’t remember swimming in it at all until my two nephews, who live in Sweden, came for a visit. In Swedish culture, lake swimming is the order of the day. At that time were were still finishing off our house and had no running water. Not a bother to the two lads who put their wash bags under their arms and wandered off down to the lake to check it out. They gave it the thumbs up and from then on we have enjoyed the special magic of fresh water swimming.
As you can see from the photo, there are several metres of reeds on one side. On the far side there is a selection of small beaches. At this time of the year wild mint, fragrant meadowsweet, angelica, purple loosestrife and woundwort are abundant at the edge. Now all that might seem idyllic but part of the whole experience is dealing with insects, swimming mink, and a murky swim through dense vegetation. I make my way in to the water with a few yells and warnings to the beasts to stay away!
A few years ago when a lot of land was reclaimed for agriculture, I thought we had lost it all and the lake struggled. Now a few years later I am thrilled to say, that this lakeside is at as good as ever it was. Nature is thriving. For now.
There are many changes afoot at the lake. Like so many wild places, it won’t stay like this for much longer. As with other environmental challenges, I’m pretty sure our grandchildren will the ones to prevent a full blown catastrophe and rescue the planet. If it’s not already too late.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy some of the calm energy that still inhabits this place……
You can read more observations about my small patch on the Trasna site where I wrote a photo essay about walking in lockdown.
So beautiful! We had a small pond on our family farm. We never swam in it, but we certainly fished or just hung out reading a book. It was delightful. You captured it brilliantly!
Thank you so much Robin! Ponds each have their own atmosphere. I can just imagine you as a kid, hanging out there. x
Such a beautiful place. I love the detail you get into in the piece you wrote for the other website. I wish I knew my home area so well. I guess I have the time and slowness to get to know it better now. I have my tiny, man-made pond in my backyard full of koi (since they reproduced themselves). Even fish seem to have personalities that make them interesting, and each one has a unique color pattern that I love to stop and study.
Ah yes. I think I need to make a garden pond too, so I’m hatching a bit of a plan. Well you said it!! I think I know this place too well. Looks like we are going on through the winter with our friend Covid 19, so plenty of time for even more observations!! Secretly I would love to be on the road. But trying to be patient. x
Such a serene and wonderful place to have near you, and glad to see it is surviving so well! Thanks for sharing the images, as it brought back memories of my youth playing in the ponds and lakes in north central USA. I feel so sorry that our generation has made such a mess of the environment and can only hope that our country (USA) can make a dramatic shift away from the seriously poor leadership we have. It is with great guilt that we have left it to our children and grandchildren to fix. We are in a state of serious challenge right now and I hope with all my heart that we can get back on track to lead with awareness. We are at a crossroad!
O Harvey, if only we could all get better leadership!! I dread to think about it all at times. Imagine a young girl, Greta Thunberg, has to try to tell the world to get real! There are still pockets of land that are being well managed and cared for though. And I suppose each one of us can do our bit in a small way. Thanks for being there, and for thinking so well about it all.