Wish me luck — I’m into the pond

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My pond in season

As you read this I’m cleaning out the muck in the pond. (That’s if you’re reading it in the morning US Eastern Time.) It’s a job I both dread and look forward to. It means the start of pond season for sure.

The planning is nerve-racking. I want to do it before everything starts mating and laying eggs but after the water warms just a little. I thought this would be a good year because it was mild. Then April wasn’t. Then it rained. Even I am not crazy enough to go in the pond in the rain.

Water temperature is running around 60 degrees. That’s cold but if the sun is shining and I have my chest waders on, it’s not bad.

There is prep work. The filter has to be put together with new inserts and the hoses and buckets need to be found (they are like screwdrivers – they have feet and walk away from where you are sure you stored them).

I was gearing up. Today is the first really nice day in a long string of lousy days.

Then I heard it. The toads were singing. Not just any song either. They were singing the mating song. You know the one. It’s starts “Hi gorgeous, you alone? How about a drink?”

Ack! There they were. Two toads looking a lot like a pile of leaves doing it on the stone wall in my pond. For hours! I don’t want to disturb them (in the act) and I don’t want to disturb the eggs.

Before I wade in, I will check around for toad eggs and mating critters. Perhaps it’s time to get out the Barry White music and a bottle of wine. My pond is such a love machine!

Here are the green frogs having a good time last year.

47 thoughts on “Wish me luck — I’m into the pond”

  2. I walked up to our pond this morning, and we had frogs too! (doing the same thing) When we bought this property, the pond was little more than a sludge basin with pockets of stagnate water for mating mosquitos. Every year we do a little bit more to clean it out. It’s now free flowing and about four feet deep, but wildlife has been slow in coming. This year we have frogs! Maybe next year we’ll have fish???

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    • You will have to put the fish in because they can’t walk on the land to get there like the frogs do! You should be able to support fish as long as it doesn’t totally freeze over and it’s deep enough (it is) for them to sort of hibernate. I bought tadpoles many years ago to get frogs started here and it took several years. Now I how a nice noisy group. The toads come on their own. If you have water they will find you!

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  3. I am hoping you are feeling fine today after all that work. A few weeks ago we were listening to spring peepers. For some reason they didn’t last long. Now we have the sound of frogs that is on your videeoh. I love hearing them but I have to admit that at night they are a bit much. We have a large farm pond below our lagoon and they are in the lagoon too. I do enjoy the spring peepers and could listen to them forever. I have a sleep app on my phone called Relaxing Melodies and two of the many sounds offered are peepers and frogs. I have peepers selected every night! Great post Kate… I am glad the pond is up and running, or croaking, or cavorting!

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  4. True signs of spring! It is hard work to get the pond in working order after a long winter, but it must be so rewarding at the end of the day. Our pond is coming to life as the lilies wake up! I’m sure your little frogs are once again happy!

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  12. White noise varies, right? One of my nieces lived in the city until she was 3. The first night they settled into a house out on 25 acres in the summer, she moaned and thrashed until my sister came in and asked what was wrong.

    “The crickets, Mommy! The crickets are SO LOUD!”

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  14. I like the sound of the toads/frogs for a little while but not as background noise when I am trying to go to sleep. My husband closes the window when the crickets are being their noisy selves as well. Enjoy your clean pond.

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  18. I admire you for going into cold water but I know the rewards will be worth it. The clean pond signaling start of summer. I enjoyed learning about the adventures of the toads in your pond. We had a pond once. The toads were so loud during mating season!

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  19. I love toads concerts…. sadly my husband always wants to close the windows when this guys have a gig :o) It’s a not so funny work to remove the mud, but after all you crossed the pond in shortest time … take that Miss Concorde :o)

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