Do I restore a natural pond?

[dragoneggs]

Finally got a couple hours in the seat yesterday until the rains were miserable enough to shut me down. I was down moving a little debris left from a huge excavated pile of trees, stumps, brush, etc. from clearing three years ago. I have salvaged most all of the firewood, burned a bunch, and have a few large stumps I am still wrestling with.

There used to be a small natural pond at the low end of my property that held water year around mostly because it collected water off the hillside from a few natural springs. One of the debris piles the excavator built was right on top of the pond. Since then the pile has broken down, decayed, and has created some 'high' ground. In the first picture you can sort of make out the pile being built behind the tree being torn down. In the second pic, the tractor is actually sitting on the top of where the pond used to be. The last 4 months, we have seen record rainfall and now my springs are finding new routes down the hill.

Thinking I need to start digging the pond back out to restore it and divert the water back to where it was instead of flowing down my lower natural driveway (3rd pic). It doesn't look like much but it actually is quite a bit of water. I am concerned about the erosion. My wife is concerned about inviting frogs and mosquitos with a new pond. I tried to remind her that they were never an issue before we cleared.

If I start digging now I think I will have nothing but a tractor in a bowl of soup! Opinions? :confused3:

 

[mapper]

I can understand your wife not wanting mosquitoes but not frogs. Frogs will help keep the mosquitoes in check and provide a nice chorus at night. We love the Western Chorus Frog performance as soon as the weather starts to warm up each year.

 

[oosik]

Mosquito larva will drown in "open" water(wind & resulting wave action). If you do rebuild the pond, keep it free of cattails, toolie weeds etc. The larva will thrive and reproduce in still water. That's why mosquitos seek out areas such as - water in old tires, water in open containers etc.

 

[PhysAssist]

I can understand your wife not wanting mosquitoes but not frogs. Frogs will help keep the mosquitoes in check and provide a nice chorus at night. We love the Western Chorus Frog performance as soon as the weather starts to warm up each year.

Plus, if it is a year round pond, adding even a few fish to live in it will keep the skeeters down- in contrast to having little areas of standing water collecting in various locations where fish couldn't live.

 

[PhysAssist]

Finally got a couple hours in the seat yesterday until the rains were miserable enough to shut me down. I was down moving a little debris left from a huge excavated pile of trees, stumps, brush, etc. from clearing three years ago. I have salvaged most all of the firewood, burned a bunch, and have a few large stumps I am still wrestling with.

There used to be a small natural pond at the low end of my property that held water year around mostly because it collected water off the hillside from a few natural springs. One of the debris piles the excavator built was right on top of the pond. Since then the pile has broken down, decayed, and has created some 'high' ground. In the first picture you can sort of make out the pile being built behind the tree being torn down. In the second pic, the tractor is actually sitting on the top of where the pond used to be. The last 4 months, we have seen record rainfall and now my springs are finding new routes down the hill.

Thinking I need to start digging the pond back out to restore it and divert the water back to where it was instead of flowing down my lower natural driveway (3rd pic). It doesn't look like much but it actually is quite a bit of water. I am concerned about the erosion. My wife is concerned about inviting frogs and mosquitos with a new pond. I tried to remind her that they were never an issue before we cleared.

If I start digging now I think I will have nothing but a tractor in a bowl of soup! Opinions? :confused3:

Hi DE,

My specific to thread comment is above, but I find myself having to ask about your tractor's seat.

I am curious as to whether it was OEM, or aftermarket and if the latter, where from?

If it was the former, I am jealous of all the BX owners and will be calling my dealer tomorrow to see what the upgrade will run.

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Gary Fowler]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

 

[cat fever]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

X2 I'm with Gary.

 

[dragoneggs]

Hi DE,

My specific to thread comment is above, but I find myself having to ask about your tractor's seat.

I am curious as to whether it was OEM, or aftermarket and if the latter, where from?

If it was the former, I am jealous of all the BX owners and will be calling my dealer tomorrow to see what the upgrade will run.

Thanks,
Thomas

The seat is stock OEM came standard on my BX25D. The higher back more comfortable seat was one of the improvements over the BX25 it replaced... big improvement too IMO. I'm 6-2 230b for a data point.

 

[dragoneggs]

We have ponds all over (4 total) plus a creek that is dammed up to hold water year round. We had 2 when we bought the place and then dug 2 more. We hardly have any mosquitos but we do have fish in all the ponds PLUS a bunch of various species of frogs. Between the fish and the frogs they keep the mosquitos under control.

Agreed, I would never have filled up the pond with brush to start with, but for sure would restore it if at all possible.

Yeah, it wasn't my plan to have it filled up but there wasn't really enough area 'out of the way' to put it elsewhere and the excavator operator was well into it before I realized where he was piling. As it was, I hand another huge row pile on the other side of the clearing. Almost completely cleared/burned everything except for a small pile and some stumps too big to move far.

 

[dragoneggs]

Plus, if it is a year round pond, adding even a few fish to live in it will keep the skeeters down- in contrast to having little areas of standing water collecting in various locations where fish couldn't live.

Yeah would love to put some fish in there and see about keeping it circulating enough and filled enough in the summer. I am an reef aquarist and that would be a fun project to create something 'live' outdoors!