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