The frog and the pond

We have a pond in the back yard. It's about 20" deep, 7' wide, and has three tiers. Lots and lots of rocks too.

When we put our pool up two years ago, I was so inspired by the digging and water features that digging a pond felt like a good idea too. Digging began and before too long I realized that although it would be neat to have a small and easy to dig pond, it would be neater to have a big pond, even if it were hard to dig.

So, I put the digging on hold and explored the cost of making a big pond.

After a few quick rounds with the web browser and some visits to the local pond supply stores, I determined that $500 was the minimum entry point for new materials to make a big pond. This was more than I spent on the pool and I was not up for that kind of expense. Yet.

The pond could wait.

Now and then I would look at Craigslist to seek out a cheap pond deal. This year I struck gold. First, there were several pre-formed pond liners available, and second, the price was right. The pre-formed liner gives the huge benefit of providing defined structure. In the area where I was digging, the structure did not lend itself to a pond. It was more of a puddle with some trees nearby. By putting the preformed liner in place, I quick know how deep to dig, how wide to make it, and when to stop. Very nice.

Within about 24 hours of bringing the liner home, I had water and fish in it. As the pond was still not quite "ready", the fish went back into the house for the night.

Things were coming along well now. Over the next few weeks there were a few more rocks to move, tree pruning adventures, a short battle with a pole saw and seven stitches in my forehead, and finally a trip to the fish store for plants and fish.

We went to Uncle Ned's in Medway. They have a big selection and no pretence on presentation. That always gives me the feeling that I'm not paying to much.

We bought two little plants, two little fish, one snail, one tadpole, and one mostly formed frog.

Uncle Ned requested that we let the plants and fish out of their travel bags as soon as we got home. This did not happen for the frogs. The pond where the frogs were to live needed about 2 hours of renovation before the frogs could move in. This meant a much longer stay in the bag.

We moved rocks, installed a new pond liner, stirred up lots of water, and got a filter going to clear the water. Then it was time to let the frogs out. The tadpole was spunky as ever and swam quickly to the bottom of the newly-relined pond. The frog was almost gone. I coaxed him back to life with CPR (no frog kissing mind you, he was on his own if it came to that). He hopped a few times, and with the girls watching, we figured all was good and the frog was in the clear. So we put him by the pond where he twitched and squirmed a few more times before settling in.

Then he stopped squirming. I picked him up again. Spoke to him. Sang a song or two. CPR (again). No more jumping. No more squirming. Nothing. It took us a long time to accept it and it took me a longer time to forgive myself but the frog did die.

We dug a little hole, put him inside, and said goodbye.

The pond is looking good and, if all goes well, the tadpole will grow nicely into a happy frog. About 15 feet from the pond is a small oak tree with some fresh soil turned up by the base. This is the resting place of the frog that lasted just long enough to see what the new pond-home looked like. But not long enough to swim in it.