a little pond

When I purchased the woods I had dreams of a 1/4 acre lake/dam and invested time identifying a locale and internally promoting the feasibility.  After all, what can be more satisfying than a sheltered expanse of water nurturing fish, a watering hole for the wildlife, a solace for the stresses of life.  And so on.  But, apart from a good watershed which flowed plentifully during heavy storms, which we get over here,  there was no ongoing supply of water such as a spring.  And then I heard of the failures, the couple who had a good dam constructed but it never filled.  And I concluded that even if I had a well sealed dam, evaporation during the summer would undo the concept.  So recently I focused on the only spring in the woods and almost lost my bobcat in the mud which I was trying to excavate – see post  “lucky save”.  So with the help of a contractor and excavator (I broke my rule to do everything myself) I enlarged the existing hole where the spring appears but could not make it deep because there are large boulders which are difficult to extricate.  An unsatisfying result – for now.

With my lofty aspirations now reduced to a small pond I decided to make the best of it and visited a pet store and bought some small goldfish and minnows and fish food and a water plant.  I hoped the fish would survive.  And they did for about a week.  Now they are gone – eaten I suspect by the frogs.  The drainage pipe which extends over the water is one of the launching pads of the frogs.  They enter the water like arrows and I suppose the percussive impact of their water entry stuns the fish and makes them easy prey – like shooting fish in a barrel.  So instead I will look at the other insect and wildlife when I visit the pond and I am growing various herb and other shade loving plants to introduce among the ferns, which proliferate.

pond
small pond with drainage pipe and unusually sized brick in foreground, found at location

On the way to the pond I have noticed a number of turtles – here is one from this morning.

turtle near pond
one of several turtles exploring the woods not far from the pond

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