After several years of on and off discussions, we took a leap and began a project. A big project. A project that we have spent much time wondering and pondering over, ahem.
Tucked behind our blackberry spiral, in a quiet, unused part of our property is a marshy area. Josh is an avid fly-fisherman and he has always had a vision of a pond. As we tossed the idea around over the years, it became obvious that my idyllic vision of a pond is definately not the same as my husband's. At all. However, like many things in marriage, compromise is needed and I let it all go...so we moved forward to create a small trout pond with lots of plant life and animals.
So this is where we are at...a giant, gravelly hole in the ground. I have to swallow hard and look away from the mountain of sod (and topsoil!) that sits behind me in this photo. I do have faith in my ever-optimistic husband and that he will create something beautiful out of this crater. He envisions trout and lily pads and ducks, while I see turtles and a dock...and winter skating ~ yes!
Perhaps the word got out that there is a new habitat to explore as the children found this enormous Woodhouse toad on the wrong side of the creek.
The children delighted in following the wee hops this fella did throughout our kitchen garden. He was about 4 inches long and made the sweetest bleating sounds, just like a lamb ~ really! I find I have to constantly remind the children to be gentle with the creatures, and they did a great job with Mr. Toad. At lunch, we came inside and looked through this book, which is a wonderful beginner book for 3 and 6 year old biologists.
I hope to find more of these over the summer to make a science basket filled with magnifying glasses, field guides, binoculars, and more. With a pond in our backyard, I feel we will have hours of studying, identifying and learning right out our door.
Having said that, I am very cautious and concerned regarding the danger of water, and I am relieved that the pond is still a bit of a walk from the house, especially for little ones.
As far as filling it goes, we are looking into natural ways to keep the water from seeping out. It is fed by our creek with a drainage back into it, and we will be catching the trout to eat from the pond, so it is important to us not to use plastic pond liners. We've been told to use clay and let it settle, and we are looking into a local source for that. Does anyone have experience with this?
For now, there remains a big hole. And while it is not exactly how I envisioned it, just this picture alone tells me this is a good idea. A very good idea, indeed.

