Monday, 7 August 2017

ADVENTURES AT JABI LAKE MALL


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Front view of jabi lake mall



There is something quite exhilarating about spending time outdoors by night each sound, each rustle in the shrubbery and splash in the lake indicative of hidden treasures lying just out of sight amid the gloom. Watching the gentle nature of the lake at night is quite intoxicating, plain and and simple that the thought of you taking a step further to touch the soft nature of the lake wanna make u rush for joy seeing Mother Nature all around you and this has become a hobby of mine lately. A pastime born of necessity, with my days of late spent catching up on work, carrying and out a host of more menial tasks, thus leaving time for adventure.


lakeside view of the mall
visitors having the best of fun by the lake side
the lake side
beautiful view of nature
beautiful view of nature
the land is green
Last night, I spent three hours at the jabi lake mall, watching, waiting and, most rewarding of all, listening with only the blue glow of my actinic moth trap to light my way. My watch beginning at 10pm as, with the light fading fast, the local pipistrelles arrived to feed. Their coming timed to perfection to coincide with the departure of the first moths from their daylight hideaways. Indeed, as I watched, more and more moths emerged - springing forth from the Privet hedge and the nearby hawthorns before heading upwards, often with the bats in close pursuit. I am yet to see a bat actually catch a moth, though I did witness one interesting piece of behavior as a rather large individual - a large yellow underwing, I think plummeted downwards, rigid as a stone, clearly having caught wind of its would-be pursuer. An interesting defense mechanism, and something that, to date, I have only seen on TV.

Paddle the canoe gently
Before long, a faint rustling in the compost heap diverted my attention away from the trap. The sound of crunching, desiccated vegetation easily audible as a fleet of Common Frogs began to emerge. Ambling forward, into the open, before splitting up in all directions: towards the lawn, lake borders and hedge. Easily counted by torchlight, a total of seven frogs were found, with another, concealed in some waterside vegetation, croaking loudly upon my approach. This particular individual joined amid the Water Mint by a delightful Smooth Newt. The latter watched and enjoyed as it emerged from the shallows before sinking, with surprising speed, out of sight. My efforts to facilitate my local amphibians are paying off, it would seem.  

My night outdoors finished as it began: with the security guards at the lake mall telling us it was late already and we needed to start going so I left with a fulfilled mind of how my outing turn out to be.

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