Waterside Estate, Cranebrook - continued

 Knot Street Lake

It was just what we needed;  a walk in nature.  It was Sunday afternoon and good to be outdoors and exploring another new lake, for us, in the Waterside Estate.  We parked the car in Knot Street and walked across the grass to the path around the Lake.  We stooped to pick up a handful of leaves lying on the ground and rubbed our fingers through them, just to get a feel for the natural environment.  I also ran my hands over the bark on several nearby trees, feeling the different textures. We admired the beautiful scenery around us and the splendid trees planted along the pathway and watched the antics of some Purple Swamphens strutting around on the shore of the Lake.  

At one end of the Lake is the Sanctuary Community Centre which is the Leisure Centre for Waterside residents.  There is a very nice swimming pool, a hall, children's playground and a tennis court which was being used on our visit.  It all looked very nice.  The residents of this community seem to be well catered for.  There was a notice advising that the hall can also be booked by the residents for private functions.

Across the Lake, on the other side, is a deck overlooking the Lake.  We walked across a wooden bridge to reach the deck, which housed a double-sided chair dedicated, in memorial, to a past citizen.  We sat there for a while, listening to the sound of water as it rose up like a fountain in the centre of the Lake and watched the tiny droplets, shimmer like diamonds, as they descended in a silver spray.  Now and then we saw a fish rise to the surface before diving below.  I saw a dragonfly, hover in mid air, before landing on a tall bullrush by the edge of the lake.  There is a gabion wall at the back of the deck, to stabilise the shoreline.  This provides a good home for lizards, ants and other insects amongst the nooks and crannies between the rocks in the wire crates.

The native fern Azolla is growing on the surface of the Lake.  It floats in a pink mass on top of the water by means of numerous small overlapping scale-like leaves, with their roots hanging in the water.  It  changes from green to pink in the sun.

A water spout in the middle of the Lake seems to be keeping the Azolla under control, as it ensures the water is constantly churned up and moving. The fern can grow very quickly.

Here is the swimming pool  in the Sanctuary Community Centre for the Waterside Estate.  It was a hot day in Summer, yet there was nobody in the pool!  I wonder why?

The Sanctuary Community Centre is situated at the far end of the Lake.  There were two people using the tennis court on our visit to the Centre, but no children in the playground.  It seems a shame if these facilities are not being used.

We noticed this beautiful flowering Gum tree in the front yard of a property in Knot Street facing the Lake.  The flowers are very pretty.  They look like little tutu skirts that the *Gumnut babies might wear.  Flowering gums are grafted Eucalyptus trees   They make great feature trees in small yards and attract nectar hungry birds.   

We enjoyed our walk around this small lake with many features to take our interest.   In future weeks we shall look for other Lakes to explore in Waterside Estate.

Acknowledgments

1.  Wikipedia (for information about Azolla)

2. Flower Power (for information about Eucalyptus trees)

3. *The Gumnut babies are Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, children's books written by May Gibbs and loved by generations of Australian children.