This (Nymphaea lotus L.) White Egyptian Lotus was in full-bloom yesterday in the Big Pond.We have 4 ponds. The Big Pond holds about 6,000 gallons of water, perhaps tens of thousands of and Bullfrogs (likely Rana catesbeiana), and quite a mess of this 'water lily' which has become basically a weed that needs to be culled, regularly.
All of the giant koi and all of their offspring are dead from repeated attacks by birds, otters, and bullfrogs.
Rana catesbeiana have been reported to lay up to 20,000 eggs per large adult female. I believe we have several large adult females laying eggs, regularly. Pictured below are a couple of tadpoles from a distance of about 30'. The tadpoles are very sensitive to movement near the pond and dive when I get any closer. Each tadpole is about 3" long and 1" wide.
Full grown the Bullfrogs will weigh in well over 1 lb. each.
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Pond #4 in Debary, pictured below, is much less 'natural,' sitting atop a sandhill as it does. I've installed a little turtle fountain to circulate water in the pond. The gazebo is reflected in the water along with the tall American Syacmore Tree (Platanus occidentalis L.) that shades the pond. The American Sycamore is also a very unnatural resident atop this hill.
Regardless, and of interest to plant enthusiasts, is that recent research into the plant genome has revealed that the Sycamore is the closest living plant relative to Nymphaea spp. Thus, someday soon, I hope to get some Nymphaea (water lilys) growing in this newest pond so that they can commune, as plants will, with their cousin that towers over them.
Floating in the pond in the foreground of this image is water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes L.) a species banned in Florida as 'noxious' but most definitely a naturalized resident. The Pistia spontaneously appear in all the ponds in the spring.
Road to Rio
Swimmers to Watch
Luca Dotto, Italy
The Golden Boy
Douglas Erasmus, South Africa
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France
Frédérick Bousquet, Florent Manaudou, y Camille Lacourt, France
When he's not modeling for Chanel (above) Lacourt is busy winning Euro titles on the Road to Rio.
Frédérick Bousquet
The famous bromance continues on the Road to Rio
Vlad Morozov, Russia
What Does It Take To Win Swimming's Fastest Race?
Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy
World Record Holder
1500 Freestyle
short course
Campione del mondo 1500 stile libero
The difference is short courses records are earned in 25m long pools while long course records are in 50m pools. In theory the swimmer in the short course pool has an advantage of an additional turn with which to gain speed and a second or two to "rest." In the case of the 1500m that makes a huge difference in that Paltrinieri's record is a full 24 seconds faster than the record for the same event in a long course pool set by Sun Yang of China at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Olympic Trivia:
Matthew Mitcham performs a near-perfect 6th dive to receive gold, ending China's dream of a clean sweep of all diving golds. Mitcham produces the highest scoring dive in Olympic history (112.10), a sensational back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists, finishing with an overall 537.95. Mitcham becomes the 1st male Australian diver to win gold since 1924. Diving 10m Platform Men's Final - Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics - Matthew Mitcham (AUS), Zhou Luxin (CHN), Gleb Galperin (RUS) 8/23/2008 12:00:00 AM
And for fun, a little more trivia:
The book gets 5-star reviews
on Amazon "Twists and Turns"