Ponds and Frogs and Other Things

About a quarter mile from our house is a nice little pond that the neighbors have graciously invited us to enjoy at our leisure. The girls and I have been over a few times, but try not to wear out our welcome.

We were introduced to the pond by one of the families who owns the place and particularly enjoyed frogging along the banks with their kids. The pond predates the current owners, and the previous owner, and a recent cleanout revealed that it is quite deep. It spreads nicely up its inlets in the spring, and by now has settled into a fairly oval hole. The outlet looks like it has been aligned with a natural outcropping of granite - nice planning on someone's part.

With no fish in the pond, there are countless frogs/toads. They're among the largest I've ever seen. V particularly enjoys catching them, though has had her greatest luck in the evening with the neighbor's kids guiding her. They have a lot more experience with the local setup. As we walk the edges of the pound, the frogs let out little froggy screams, then leap into the water leaving a splash that rivals the wake of a duck's landing wake.

We swam in the pond earlier in the season, when the water was fresh and new, but with no fresh water entering the pond, and none leaving, and an ecosystem that exists almost solely of frogs and the bugs they can't catch, it's become a little less inviting at this point in the season. Sure, it's been well above 100 for more than a week now, but we have our limits.

Someday we'd like to get the old pond here back in order. It's on the long list of some-day items, each of which comes with a financial cost as well as a time commitment. We're knocking it down one paycheck at a time.