History of the Pond
Part III (Summer '97)
With a Stoke of the Brush
The construction is done and the rain has stopped. Ok, so the rain only stopped for a few hours. It was enough to allow us to get some plants and fish for the pond. We also began the massive task of relandscaping the back yard. We are starting around the pond and working out from there. Right now, we have about two yards of dirt sculpted around the pond, and have started adding some interesting plants. There will be much more to follow, but you have to start somewhere.
We Have Seen the Enemy and He is ...
Well, we have silenced the slippery slime. We have rallied against renegade raccoons. Now we can sit back and enjoy our pond. Right? Ha! Ha! Ha! You primitive ponder. You must now harrass the hungry heron.
That's right. Within days of completing the pond and adding fish, we were visited by a Great Blue Heron. Since we are both avid bird watchers, you would think that we would be very pleased to have such a distinguished visitor. We were until it bellied up to our sushi bar. At several dollars per bite, we would soon go broke. Shoo! Go away! Those are our babies.
Rumour has it that herons are rather territorial and that a well placed heron decoy will keep them away. I thought it was worth a try, but could not find a heron decoy. Instead, I bought one of those silly pink plastic flamingoes that people put in their yards (why, I will never know). I then bent the legs so it sat more upright, and I spray-painted it blue. Since the heron lands on the roof before coming down to the pond, I attached the pseudo-decoy to the edge of the roof. It doesn't seem to be working so far, 'cause Mr. Heron still comes to visit. The decoy is not really where he lands, so maybe I will try moving it. In the mean time, I am still trying to find a real heron decoy. I hear that some of the speciatly hunting catalogs have them, but since we don't hunt, I have not brought myself to go somewhere that might have one.
Same Bat Channel
Stay tuned. The saga of Bateman Pond continues...