About Ponds & Other Things

Is anyone else startled by the early appearance of autumn? Maybe you are not experiencing temps in the fifties where you are … but WOW … after such a wet and humid July, having this cool crisp air is mighty glorious.


Not only that but my ponds are looking prettier — with the wind and rain driving the algae to the edges.


I guess I failed to mention my ponds in the last post . . . we have ponds. 😊 


When we looked at the property in February, we had only the aerial view from google maps to “see” what was here. We anticipated pretty and clear waters, but found somewhere around the end of June the “greening of the surfaces” and it threw my celebration of our new property into the shadow of doubt.


One pond is very near and open to viewing from our home. It’s the smaller and disappointingly, the worst looking of the two:


The larger pond was hidden by the underbrush of the wood’s edge. In May, we saw the sunset reflecting on the larger pond and set about clearing underbrush so we could see it from our deck. And it was exciting — until its surface also became blanketed with green.

My mind kept circling around “HOW can I clean the ponds?” And I wanted to do it for free.


“Maybe there is a government program,” I thought . . . I called the county, and they referred me to an extension of Wisconsin’s university, and they pretty much had nothing for me. I consulted google and found a good number of tools that may or may not work.

Should I spend the money? Do I have the time?


I also tried a pool net with a long handle — but found the reach was never going to reach and it would take a month of days to do it that way. Who has time to stand by the edge of the pond and swoosh away algae?


Then I thought, “Maybe I need a sturdy little row-boat and then I can design a tool. A rowboat would be fun for the family too. And I would want a trolling motor.”


One day as I was browsing Facebook Marketplace, what should appear? A sturdy little rowboat with oars and a trolling motor. So, I mentioned it to my man and he was all in. After our little anniversary getaway to the North Shore, he brought it home and set it on the ground near his workshop.


When the four little men showed up at our house on Saturday, of course they wanted to sail away in our little boat. This desire prompted our assessment of where we might be able to get the little boat on the water without a dock. The skidsteer came out and started clearing brush, knocking down dead trees, and then we all grabbed saws, clippers, and some had waterboots to play near the ponds edge as we blazed a trail into the woods.


The process of working together in the woods on such a gorgeous day was the most fun we’ve had in awhile. And the reward was entirely sweet when my girl took her boys for a ride.


I also posted about it on Instagram.

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Thank you for bearing with me as I figure out my technical dilemmas with my blog. If you are a subscriber, you saw my glitch was NOT fixed. So, today I’m trying again. HOPING to see only a portion of the post land in the email, and then you can go to the blog to read the full post.


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