Year 1 of Transforming My Yard into a Wildlife Oasis

This is how my backyard looked only a year ago it was nothing more than your standard grass covered lawn riting instead I wanted a nature Paradise where I could coexist with Wildlife only feet from my house however that wasn't going to create itself the first step was to install a large pond that would serve as the hubcap from which everything else originates I've landscaped and built ponds before so I Thought I knew what to expect little did I know I was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime as a full-blown nature documentary unfolded

only feet from my house to get a better understanding of how this all occurred we got to go back 7 years at the time I was keeping a few goldfish in an aquarium they're one of my favorite fish specifically the ones with natural body shapes the common and Comet varieties they're beautiful graceful extremely Personable and make great pets however they get large and prefer to live in groups and thus require a lot of space although a giant aquarium or stock tank can work an outdoor pond is the best option I always intended to house mine

in a pond but that wouldn't happen until I got my own home in 2018 that's where I painstakingly made my first ever DIY Pond despite the fact that I had to dig it twice it was overbuilt and kind of ugly it functioned Flawlessly me the fish and wildlife enjoyed this feature for 3 years here I befriended frogs toads bread and the fish who I built the pond for overwintered thrived and multiplied for its duration however it ran much longer than intended not that I thought it would fail but I wanted to replace it with something

larger as early as 2020 thankfully various circumstances hindered that from occurring allow me to Explain building my first Pond was a lifelong dream come true what I didn't expect was for it to spark a friendship with the folks at Aquascape who came to my house only Weeks Later needless to say I ended up with a second pond all that gave me the pond bug and I've continued building them ever since I had a very specific idea in mind for the DIY Pond redo that Ed the pond Professor was going to help me with in fact

he came to my house to plan it out and we intended To build it in 2021 there was an issue though I was running out of space to run my other channel Serpa design I didn't want to waste time and money to build a new Pond if I was going to move so I scrapped the idea all together fast forward to the summer of 2022 when my wife and I found a home that could permanently accommodate Serpa design I glanced at the backyard and my brain immediately went to a water feature for the fish something

similar To what Ed and I had discussed earlier we resumed plans and things came to ahead 11 months later Ed and Tim from aquatic Edge arrived to finalize the vision for this design we also went to a rock yard to handpick the materials I wanted to use Sandstone because of its moisture wicking properties which makes it great for growing Moss I love Moss I got to say having the opportunity to handpick these was incredible and I forgot how nice they were until they Arrived at my house before I get ahead of myself there was something

else I had to do originally I wanted the pond to sit between these decks but unfortunately they were in rough shape although some of it appeared new the foundation was bad and most of the boards were warped from not being properly fastened I reluctantly dismantled the whole thing with the help of my parents and salvaged what I could in saying that I don't see how we could Have built the pond if we didn't pull them out hanging out with the dragon here to just try to get a little bit of Peace for all of the

chaos that's about to ensue planning for this has went on for well over a year but the day has finally come the day to break ground I'm excited nervous stressed all these different emotions because there's so many variables at play here and you never know what's going to happen truly you Don't it's already started raining in this day and I don't know if it's going to happen as we're building I'm sure it will because you always get the obligatory water feature rain I've yet to build one where it didn't anyway all the contractors are going

to be here soon and things are being delivered and whatnot so it's about to be crazy and crazy it was before I knew it excavators were rolling up the driveway through the rain we marked the rough outline of the Pond and began digging it was so satisfying and from that moment forward my backyard would never be the same even with Machinery manual digging was unavoidable you just can't do the detail work otherwise like cleaning the edges removing loose areas and ensuring the surfaces are flat however this excavation only accounted for the first shelf there was

even more to dig typically I build these by myself using hand tools seeing how quickly Things happened with machinery and the five of us was wild all that excavation resulted in a lot of dirt that had to be moved somewhere else luckily the hillside needed more height and regrading so that was easy enough things were going well and just as we finished the ini dig it rained we had to take a quick break and a muddy mess lay in its wake this area that will become the filter took shape after cleaning the mess but it

was getting late and the Rain picked up again so we called it quits the rain continued all night which meant more clean up the following morning the mud made access sketchy for the excavator so they leveled the burn while Trevor and I set a skimmer we also picked out rocks and debris to create the best foundation possible it was finally ready for the geotextile underlayment that would protect the main liner from punctures against the weight of the Stones next was the EPDM liner itself it came in a single roll making installation as easy as it

could be it was very heavy though so it took all of us to muscle it in place the boulders are massive so we added another layer of fabric for good measure and just as we did that they arrived the stones were large and full of character some were even covered in Moss however we couldn't add them to the hole Yet first we had to add some components to the intake Bay which is where the water will be drawn into the filter next was this block wall it was a feature I wanted to include to create

a more dramatic overhang and to save space that otherwise would be taken by rocks once it was tall enough the stones could enter I had never set Boulders like this prior so I watched them do it first it's an exciting process that comes with a unique set of challenges especially when Working with large materials I was thankful to experience this and learn how it's done after a little more excavation the day was complete we tried to address the overhang on the final day of prep work this Boulder was huge and pushed the limits of the

Machine by some miracle we got it over to the hole but couldn't do a test fit because of its size that's when I came up with the idea to create a template of the stone however after Determining where it should go there was no way to move it further and we had to admit defeat our time was better spent focusing on others that arrived in the second delivery there was an even larger border than the one we couldn't move but for whatever reason Ed thought we could T yeah it's 10 ft tall I'm saying no

way he says yes we'll see I'll admit that we did move it but not very far we spent so much time trying to relocate these things that we only had enough time to Make a fish cave I wanted to include plenty of these to give the fish refuge in security if Predators ever arrived at the pond finally we filled the Basin with gravel and concluded work on the pond for a week the theme of this Pond was rain and a lot of it it may appear like the Basin was filled with water but this was

an illusion this was actually displacement from water that ran under the liner after draining everything we got a Better look at this water bed bubble unfortunately the intake Bay was ruined as well everyone's going to be here soon so I'm going to get this thing drained down before they arrive so we're not wasting our time the thing is though is that as I've been looking at this for the past week I'm getting kind of concerned with it honestly the thing is that once we start adding all these giant Boulders in here it's just going to

get so small Really quick basically the size of this middle area here which I mean what's the point of digging this giant hole if it's going to be so small so I'm going to talk to them and we'll get that addressed and we're just going to have to Pivot with a design I discussed these revisions with Ed and proceeded accordingly we still had to remove the water bubble which was quite the process a rock had to be moved to access the water with the pump this likely wouldn't Have happened if we finished and filled the

pond before the rain so we proceeded to dig a trench and create a sump pit to remove groundwater if needed and of course the intake Bay needed reassembled the fish cave also had to be fixed I finished it with more details this time including an incredible piece of Driftwood since the stones are giving us so many problems before we got a larger excavator the rocks didn't stand A chance well that's what we thought at least they were still challenging to move but the foundation was in place it just had to be shimmed and leveled for

stability we also hit a fish cave under this before leveling off the wall and backfilling the land the transition into the intake Bay had to appear seamless luckily there was a Fallen Oak Tree in my Woods that I attempted to age but to no avail Tim chopped it into a usable chunk that was precarious to move and Had to be fine to for the perfect fit the space behind this log will be a significant component of how the water is filtered most of it will be void space created by those blocks that will be hidden

by graffle this is the same area where the skimmer will be located we worked out from this area which included Plumbing components these pipes will send water from the intake Bay to be filtered by a bog or turned to The Ponds Basin for circulation Controlled with ball valves this installation serves is a focal point for an event where Aquascape educates contractors on building ponds everything we've done till now was more or less the grunt work to put more emphasis on the technical elements to follow during the event so at this point we basically have two

days to complete the pond today and tomorrow we got all of the stuff down here in the Basin more or less addressed we got a few rocks to Put back on this wall near where the waterfall is going to go to stabilize that and with 40 of us it should be an easy test task to complete but we'll see how it goes I knew there would be many people but I didn't anticipate the Whirlwind that would kick up there were about 40 people all doing different things at once waterfall rocks were set a trench was

created for drainage the intake Bay was detailed lights were installed at key locations the skimmer Was joined to the liner and more all the while it rained but remember that was the theme I'm a man about the details and one that excited me was this Mossy log I found it while hiking my property and set it aside months earlier it wasn't alone though Tim brought a whole truck full of them earlier that we could finally incorporate I believe these helped make what's essentially a hole filled with rocks look like a proper Pond before I Knew

it the boys pulled a much larger piece of Driftwood Out of the Woods I guess it was the other end of that tree from before I did not expect that the final features we could address before being rained out with some Edge work and that section above the block wall Big Country used my paper technique from before to create guides for cutting flagstone slabs if everything goes according to plan this should be the final day of Building I hope that we don't get rained out because last night we got a ton of it it was

kind of annoying but I guess in some ways it may have worked out cuz it kind of rinsed off all of the rock work and everything like that we'll certainly get more dirt in there but as you can see the water down the bottom is pretty dirty so I'm running the pump right now before everybody comes to get that dirty water out of there and the water should be here pretty soon spoiler Alert we didn't finish that day but it was eventful the crew started working on some of the Landscaping while I filled the Basin

that DED bubble returned so I did take this thing on its maiden voyage and direct the groundwater to the sump pit while it filled while I was getting soaked others prepped the patio area ran more tubing graded the Hillside and began incorporating some plants including a magnolia tree and a weeping cherry my yard also had some good vines That would look better by a pond meanwhile the Wetland bog could finally be excavated it was constructed much like the pond but with a few additional components to transform this area into a proper bog filter this configuration

of pipes creates an upflow system that breaks down sediments to clean the water biologically without chemicals all this was joined to the plumbing from the intake Bay before being hidden below Several feet of rocks this and the Pond's Basin would be connected through a series of waterfalls I had a particular vision for those so getting the stones just right took a lot of work the details mattered too Driftwood and Moss immensely helped soften and naturalize the appearance of the edges achieving the optimal water flow over the stones was essential and adding expanding foam and gaps

ured that would occur this was the final stretch of the Installation things finally found a place and thankfully the rain gave us a break the respite was great but we were still getting stuck in the mud bu one of the most unique elements of the entire feature was this stump with a rock and its roots we had to Showcase it at the very top of the waterfalls I should also mention that all the contractors caught wind of my Moss Obsession and before I knew it everyone was collecting it from around my yard I just kept

finding Different buckets full of it working well to the night we continued adding moss and grle pro tip getting into your work is crucial for Success although we couldn't appreciate the fruits of our labor yet ending the night with a light show was well earned it's fair to say that we were all exhausted by now but there was still more work to be done and only a few hours to complete the task at hand before everyone had to leave the final Section of the oak made its way to the bog the plumbing was buttoned up

and I even pulled out the remainder of the aquatic plants from the old DIY Pond where I found a friend and we got a little friend in here this frog so we have a better home for him we finalized The Edge work topped the bog with some small gravel completed the work in the waterfall and finally let it rip the bog holds so much water that it took nearly 10 minutes to work its way Through we just added a few small rocks and chipped off the edge of a St Stone to dial in its appearance

till then we had been laboring through less than ideal conditions and everyone was tired seeing this was the morale boost that everyone needed to cross the finish line it was funny that one of the last rocks we added was that giant from earlier it and the accent Boulders brought everything full circle then everyone took a final look at the waterfall we Set our goodbyes and the team dispersed the rain finally stopped afterward which meant I could landscape in peace I had a few sentimental plants from the old house including this Pine it was the resting

place for my late American bullfrog of 14 years MJ I couldn't leave this at the old house and I even found his remains during the move which I could finally return to the rightful spot under this tree when I placed the statue I realized the new Friend had arrived frogs are very special to me they're my favorite animals and likely why developed such a connection to Wildlife with MJ as part of the feature and the new Frogs who came of their own accord this was a serendipitous moment the water cleared up significantly ly in the

following week the pond may have been up and running but it was a blank slate there was much more I'd have to address later like cord Management finishing the flagstone patio adding an upper seating area and much more simply put only the initial phase of the project was complete because of all the setbacks the rain caused things were extremely muddy both inside and outside of the pond I mean a lot of mud it rained so much that this Mount of dirt couldn't be removed until it all dried up once it did a few weeks later

the boys from aquatic Edge returned to even that out framing the left side with More Stones roughing a seating area and the flagstone path from here I'd have to address everything on my own anyway this swim pond holds roughly 8,000 gallons of water and is over 5 ft deep the water is pulled into what we refer to as an intake Bay here the skimmer removes floating debris and water is pulled through the bed of rocks that water is then pumped up to the wetlands bog filter bacteria colonies living in the rocks and robust plant growth

will Naturally process the water I only had a few items then but eventually it would be filled with plants after being processed in the Bog the water Cascades through the falls and into the pond creating a loop my vision for this project was to mimic the types of waterfalls and Creeks I saw while growing up in Western Pennsylvania characterized by polling areas and wide blade waterfalls this feature captured that Aesthetic qu and was made possible with material sourced from PA and my yard yes I really did just go and make an 8,000g Pond for feeder

goldfish I purchased most of them for only cents a piece from one of those wretched feeder fish tanks while I sought out the shunin separately most of them are quite old but one that's very special to me is py when I built that Old Pond it held water High ASN I put some of those in an Aquarium and must have harbored eggs because baby fish emerged we raised them indoors for a year but only pety survived it was a joy having pety indoors for a year but I knew he belonged outside with the other fish

he's grown significantly since and here he is 3 years later but that's not all I also adopted a different group from a home that no longer wanted them I put some in a pond I built for my mom and kept the rest for myself anyway I Netted up both groups and temperature acclimated them then came the release I can't explain how satisfying it was to watch them slowly enter what may be one of the most elaborate goldfish ponds [Music] ever they swam around clearly enjoying their new home although this continued for a few weeks winter

was on the horizon so it wouldn't last for long the time came for them to retreat to the Bottom where they would rest for the foreseeable future months later the pond lay dormant literally Frozen in Time leaves are suspended in the ice as was much of the pond itself however looks can be deceiving because the water was still running one of the questions I get most about having a pond is what do you do with it in the winter the answer is simple if it's set up correctly Nothing the Basin for this Pond is about

5 1/2 ft deep which is well below the frost line so although the top is Frozen the bottom is not and just to be clear you don't need to go even nearly that deep to pull it off usually it's about 18 in or more meanwhile the the waterfalls continue as usual beneath a thin layer of IES the flow ensures the environment remains highly oxygenated for the fish as they patiently await warmer Days although not inhabited by fish and kind of unrelated the same was true for my Fountain I had to show this because I thought

it looked incredible the display at night was pretty intriguing too portals emerged from under several inches of ice as snow fell from the skies above these ephemerals sculptures and Landscapes wouldn't last forever though slowly but surely the days got warmer and more hospitable for Life as spring descended upon the land a very distinct call began sounding each and every morning it belonged to the Eastern Phoebe who had returned to their nesting grounds I made sure to leave their nest from last year because they often reused them however the new vantage point over the pond was

more preferable because they were busy building a new one out of mud and Moss now that's my kind of bird they specialize in eating flying insects And prefer to Nest near man-made structures and bodies of water so in building the pond I unintentionally created a more optimal home for them while the pair built spring rains brought sustenance to life that had been seated months prior flowers bloomed and all of this beckoned more Wildlife to return this green frog was eager to bask collecting warmth after months under ice all the while the deer sought Refuge under

nearby trees in the Brush the fish overwintered well too they were becoming more active at the water's surface and begging for food I couldn't feed them yet though the temperatures weren't consistently warm yet and during the colder Seasons goldfish can't digest food algae in pawns is inevitable and new pawns often get a lot of it string alga had formed everywhere especially in the waterfalls it's fairly easy to remove but why did it happen in the First place the most significant variable at play is usually excess nutrients introduced during the construction process in this case all

that mud as you can see here the algae is even harboring a lot of it unfortunately whenever we built this a lot of dirt was introduced and I also haven't had a chance to Reed this Hillside and finish it all up so every time it rains mud just gets sent right into the pond so lot of excess nutrients Plus the sun equals algae that's also why the water is so cloudy it had been fairly clear at the beginning of the season but non-stop rains were continually sending muddy water straight into the pond all of this

meant that some spring cleaning was required I shot off off the pumps to better access the algae with a pressure washer I don't know about you but seeing it fall away like this is just so satisfying it takes a while for the Water to make its way back up to the wetlands but once it does the flow washes the debris Downstream effortlessly I then used the net to get what I could at the bottom of the falls while the remainder had to be skimmed from the basin all of this concluded in a slight water change

and thus you have my spring maintenance this work combined with rain and warmer weather must have set the mood because everything changed that Very evening as the skies darkened over the waters and surrounding landscape a new sound filled the air waves it was very loud and something I was all too familiar with Wetlands all across eastern North America Harbor the little creatures making this tune that would be none other than the spring peepers unlike many of the other species that prefer the warmer days to come peepers are mostly active during the Cooler transition and early

spring these chorus frogs can stick and climb to things so you often find them in reeds and other plants in proximity to bodies of water this was just the first wave of them so only a few males were present on this evening although I removed some algae the day before this wasn't a proper solution if I had any hope of dialing things in I'd have to do something about The runoff especially on the right side for now I plan to Simply add some grass to bind the soil after manually raking the rocks and breaking up

the top I spread the seed long term I intended do something different but I needed an immediate solution at that time just as as I finished blanketing the seed the peepers reemerged and began singing their song Once More only this time it sounded like there were a few more in the chorus now when I say these are Small it's not an exaggeration here's a full-grown male which is right around 1 in long it's truly astounding that their sound can be heard from up to 2 miles away meanwhile things in the water feature were really shaking

up I noticed a completely different species which is very special to me American toads truth be told they're probably the single species that truly sparked my interest in animals they were everywhere and making good use of the entire water Feature some in the waterfalls a few in the Basin and elsewhere much like the peepers the males typically arrive first as they call out to attract potential mates this Symphony continued well into the evening and would for many more in the following days I saw the Phoebe spending more time at the nest but they weren't building

instead they were taking turns incubating a clutch of eggs although Valiant their efforts were Being challenged in the nest were four pristine Eggs three looked clean but the other was covered in dirt right not so both parents work in unison incubating the eggs and shifts idle time between gave a parasite free access to tamper with their nest this egg actually belongs to a completely different species of bird the brown headed Cowbird these are considered brood parasites rather than build their own nests they instead lay in others the Host Birds then raise the cowbirds as their

own if they don't recognize the eggs as foreign objects however cowbirds usually hatch and develop faster out competing the initial brood for now there was there was no telling what would happen here but I did notice something else when reviewing the time lapse footage did you catch that it happened quickly but if we slow things down you'll see exactly what occurred that's the female cowbird and It returned to the nest to give her baby an upper hand via less competition shortly after this robbery mom returned completely unaware of what just occurred I was absolutely shocked

to see this but something just below their nest caught my eye as well a ring neck snake these tiny snakes spend most of their time Underground so this was a pleasant surprise it was likely under nearby Leaf litter and wanted to bask however I was Doing work in the area and didn't want to harm it so I moved it to a safer location nearby spring rains continued rolling through the lands at as the Thunder subsided the sounds of frogs permeated the airwaves once more and I swear the volume was turned up I suppose with a

few days under their belt the peepers were at full strength even so there didn't appear to be any Mates the Toads were calling out as well and the competition was fierce they're generally way more males than females and they must be persistent any movement in the water could be a potential mate so they're quick to latch on even if that's on each other but a quick squeak lets them know to back off however all their hard work paid off because a female was in their midst she was unimpressed with the ones near her though and

escaped their radar Underwater as soon as she surfaced and before I could catch it a linkup or what's known as amp plexus occurred I was hopeful this pair would be successful Reigns continued the following day this was the perfect backdrop for the Toads to continue doing their thing the pair from before still hadn't reproduced implex can last for a while and perhaps the location wasn't ideal luckily the males are smaller so it was Easy for her to cart him around in search of the ideal location the weather picked up continuing for the entire day these

rains which ushered in the frogs to begin with caused things to cool off in the days to follow and thus the symphony subsided only a single toad remained eagerly waiting to start again you'll see that my efforts to minimize mud runoff were beginning to Work too despite days of rain the water was fairly clear my fish remembered this means food but it was still too cold to feed them I was also curious whether the Toads from the other day were successful they must have been because a huge cluster of eggs was wrapped around the plants

where I last saw them that wasn't all I found a second cluster so I ecstatic right now because the Toads were Successful right down here in the intake Bay or I guess thousands of toad eggs all wrapped around these plants here so these ones should be good they're only concern really is the fish but I don't really think that they'll bother with them so I'll leave those ones be however there was also a bunch of them up here in the wetlands filter right in the quiet Corner my concern with this area though is that as

the tadpoles make their way out of there they could Potentially wind up all the way over here into the waterfalls and who knows where so I think what I would like to do just to ensure their success is as high as possible is to make a little Dam around here just to kind of keep them secluded to this little area so that's exactly what I did I created a little Dam around the eggs to give them a better chance it wasn't pretty but I knew it's something I'd have to get used to it would take

time for them to hatch Out of their eggs and develop into toadlets meanwhile a completely different species took up residence down in the Basin water striders these little Predators effortlessly Glide across the water surface searching for prey I've always found them to be extremely captivating and graceful as I watched them skate back and forth I heard something new it happened a few times and just as I discovered where it came from it stopped up in the weeping Cherry tree was a new frog in town a gray tree frog its gray coloration camouflaged it perfectly on

the bark my presence must have made it bashful because it refused to call again holding this position until I went in for the evening I had done very little around the pond till then it drove me nuts but I still wasn't ready for much my plan was to make usable Recreation areas with IND designated pockets of plants and other features for the animals that Would take time to create but I collected a few plants to begin moving in the right direction however this entire area was excavated Beyond being usable for its intended purpose I had

to raise everything by about a foot to fix that I couldn't do it all at once because I worked by hand in the meantime I collected soil from around the areas with too much that I used to elevate the upper portion of the Seating area this platform was designated for a swinging bench I measured and excavated for that before setting the posts a few weeks prior I also seated the lawn with Dand Lions it was coming together but as I said my long-term plan with this would be much different all the while the deer passed

through and one of the Phoebe watched from the fence I heard that tree frog again and Found him in the most unexpected place behind the old ledger board this foreshadowed what was the most Lively evening in the Pawn's existence so far the night began as many others before with toads and peepers calling for mates however something was off there were at least 50 male toads scattered around which was significantly more than previous nights then I saw her this little lady was lorded in quickly making Her way to the the breeding grounds she Dove deep into

the water and the boy sensed her movement but they just missed her while attempting to track her down I noticed something bizarre a toad was latched onto a green frog with another nearby I was so distracted by this that I completely missed a pair connecting the Peeper efforts seemed to pay off as well a female was on the search for the best match that said I Never saw them in amplexus there appeared to be more peepers than previous nights as well scattered in the grass there was a green frog in their midst which I imagine

was hunting them down but I can't confirm with certainty the great tree frog called out again after making its way to this rock when I went to get a closer look I discovered someone I was not expecting to see an American Bullfrog it was quite young and likely migrated here sometime earlier because this was the first I ever saw it I couldn't help but think of MJ because that's exactly what he looked like when he was young anyway it was awesome to get a better look at the tree frog its camouflage was impeccable it looked

just like a piece of Lykan on the Rock there were well over 80 frogs in or around the waters on this evening alone in a way it was kind of a full circle Moment because this was the final night of the Toads breeding season the pairs just had to finish reproducing the following day the process takes so long because the females lay thousands of eggs that the male fertilizes with as many as 20,000 this was the last of nine confirmed clutches which means there were upwards of 180,000 eggs within the pond the survival rate of

frogs and toads that make it to adulthood to breed Is estimated only to be around 1% that's not very many even with a good starting [Music] point this all happened over a few weeks so despite these ones being less than a day old the others were already emerging as free swimming tadpoles their long and challenging journey into toad Hood was only just beginning they weren't the only hatchlings Though while all of that unfolded the Phoebe were feverishly watching over their nest you'll see that they slowly rotate the eggs around the nest during incubation to ensure

the embryos properly develop as expected the Cowbird was the first to emerge from the confines of its EG the Phoebe raised the bird as their own unaware of what they were doing their baby started hatching a few days later but by the time they did the Cowbird was already well ground these developed alongside it for the majority of its time in the nest but the size discrepancy took a toll eventually they were smothered out and the same would happen to the third when it finally hatched as the only remaining nestling with no competition the Cowbird

grew even faster when it gained enough strength to stand and observe its surroundings instincts kicked in and it Flew away leaving the Phoebe with nothing but an empty nest nature may appear brutal but life often develops unexpectedly and things are not always as they seem cowbirds often Target Eastern Phoebe nests and they must know it although they may appear helpless these monogamous birds in fact have a Belin fail safe for scenario just like this the ability to produce two Broods each season I was hopeful for their potential Redemption but only time would tell if they'd

lay again for now they were enjoying the tail end of the spring rains they weren't the only ones either the deer often passed through during these rains grazing on foliage at the wood m these rains were persistent and strong continuing for many days the grass and plants in the surrounding areas really appreciated This all the water gave them the strength to continue developing which further helped with the previous runoff issues the Lone gry Tree Frog from before seemed to like the rain as he hid within the slily only now he was no longer alone there

was competition the banter ended shortly after this though it wasn't until the following day that something genuinely amazing Occurred seemingly out of nowhere gr tree frogs were everywhere and I mean everywhere unlike the others before them these frogs had the freedom to climb and stick to whatever surfaces they wanted many were on rocks a few near the water and others on the Driftwood there were even two pairs already in an plexes it was surprising to see how much more balanced the male to female ratio was compared to the previous Species that said such a Meetup

only occurred on this night so perhaps they showed up all at once rather than over appear period of time again I just want to take a moment to appreciate how remarkable their camouflage is it looked so much like like in that I just couldn't get over it as the males called out the females were carefully assessing their options this one specifically was very particular initially she was lured in by This one near the intake Bay after some thought she determined he wasn't right and returned to the waters she then climbed up this rock and stared

at this one for a while it looked promising but she rejected him too the one on the Rock behind caught her attention but not for long the previous male ended up being right after all and she accepted his embrace [Music] This all continued well into the evening it was very special to me I had only seen these frogs a handful of times in my life prior to this spring yet here I was only feet from my house surrounded by a cacophony of froggy trills it was music to my ears this evening and the many before

it serve as a testament to how remarkable frogs are their fine-tuned senses allow them to locate water sometimes traveling miles to get there what a way to end the Season of frogs I never saw eggs the following day and unfortunately there wasn't much foliage in the pond at this time I believe they may have been eaten by the fish but I can't say for sure either way I'll ensure they have more appropriate arrangements next year now that the migratory frogs are done with the pond the res and green frogs appeared at ease within this new

found Silence I was finally able to work in peace now too I didn't have to worry about potentially harming anything because the green frog stuck to the waters anyway this platform required some drainage a simple French drain was sufficient to ensure excess water wouldn't sit around and make the dirt all soupy Above This I added a layer of geotextile to mitigate erosion layering rocks Above This would further Help with that the look was solidified with pavers and mulch it's awesome finally starting to see some of the dirt disappear this thing has just been a mud

pit for I don't know however long now tired of seeing it so to see some of the landscape filling together is awesome little bit of work to do there still but this whole area here I got to raise it up like I did that and And it's a hot day so got to get to work hauling countless wheelbarrows full of dirt through this heat was a challenge but necessary because I had to raise the platform I packed it down and added fabric around the edges before sending the French train through this area and finishing it

off with a top covering funny enough the Phoebe appreciated the adjustments I made to the landscape the top of the swinging bench became one of their favorite Perches while they attract insects it and the weeping cherry gave a perfect line of sight to their nest where they were roosting out once more in the week since being bested by the cowbirds they carefully sprued things up and gave things a second [Music] try while these eggs were being laid new like emerged from old ones in the days and weeks leading up to this the remainder of the

tadpoles were Developing in their eggs as they hatched they were quite small and not Adept at swimming meanwhile the others from before were much larger every square inch of the pond was inevitably swarmed with tadpoles a remarkable sight indeed however it created an issue they liked resting within the algae which was forming again I wanted to remove it but not at their mment so I decided to wait for their metamorphosis and the Toads to complete first also the dam and the Wetlands intended to preserve their location failed despite my initial concerns they managed to end

up in the other polling areas without being harmed their presence was also very apparent at night it was one thing to know that thousands of tadpoles inhabit these Waters but it was another to see it [Music] they would typically feed on algae or swim around the fish together against The backdrop of the NightLight they created an otherworldly [Music] display meanwhile the green frogs looked over at all happy to have reclaimed their Pond since I couldn't address the algae yet I was only able to add the annual plants impatience and Papyrus to be specific I thoroughly

removed the soil land everything from their Roots before peppering them throughout the landscape Which added nice pops of color the fish are always curious about anything I'm doing this was no exception you'll see that the iris and other flowers were blooming too although these plants would help with filtration it would take many more to make a difference part of why I raised the ground was to create another seating area this one consisted of a configuration of posts that I set in the ground I continued the fabric and gravel Around them before topping it all with

pea Pebbles hauling material up the slope to the seating area made everything a challenge it might have been fine if it had just been a few trips but I had to do this hundreds of times to raise the dirt and achieve the desired effect I didn't only want seats here though I found a few stumps on the property that would allow me to integrate more plants I broke up as much dirt on them As possible with a pick and pressure wash the remainder I knew I wanted to stump to go here it was just a

matter of getting the right configuration it started getting dark so I took the opportunity to line up all the posts with the laser level while doing all of that I kept hearing faint little chirps which could only mean one thing the Phoebe eggs were hatching she managed to lay five healthy Eggs which thankfully went undisturbed they were carefully incubated until the babies entered the world calling out for their parents they flew around the pond and surrounding area non-stop for weeks Gathering insects for The Brood they track prey from a perch collect it and land on

a different one to inspect the surroundings once the coast was clear they'd fly to the nest feed the babies and Repeat this commotion continued for hours daily as they grew which happened quickly because of all this hard work only days earlier they hardly had the strength to move now they were extremely alert and becoming ever aware of the world that waited Beyond the confines of the nest what once cradled them was now struggling to contain these energetic nestlings it was in luck because the Curiosity of what lay Beyond could no Longer be avoided a brave

one made its way onto the down spout with another just behind and in an instant the second one dropped to the ground petrified by what just occurred the first refused to jump and hunkered down near the nest while the others scanned the horiz horon for their parents eventually it navigated back into the nest where the four remained until the next Day once eager to feed their young the Phoebe now called from the roof and a tree near the Woodline attempting to lure the fledglings from The Nest they were unsure but as the day went on

with minimal interaction from their parents they got restless eventually this one gained the courage to leave the nest where it attempted to gain attention from the down spout it couldn't help but test its wings before gliding to the Ground it was unsure of the surrounding area but not for long two of its siblings dropped down right after with the three of them on the ground their parents chirp non-stop as a dist action and to lure the fledglings into the woods I assumed they were on high alert for my presence but then I realized the new

danger was present a hawk they occasionally fly over to scope the scene and must have kept tabs on this Nest I Was relieved it didn't appreciate my presence though because after circling for a few minutes it soared off into the distance with the looming danger out of sight the parents calmed down shortly after the babies dispersed one flew into the grass where it sat for a while nervous to continue its Journey this little one mustered up the strength to fly but only briefly it clung to the house unsure of its next step mom stopped by

a few times for Encouragement once it knew what to do it flew into the woods with its parents and the one from the grass following behind the other was much slower and didn't appear to have the flying prowess of its siblings it hopped along the house calling for its parents between each step all the while the fifth and final bird remained in the nest it hatched many days after the others and wasn't ready to go just yet The landscape was always intended to be a crucial component of this Pond but it was still far from

complete I was finally making steps toward that ultimate goal though I cut the anchored posts in the seating area which were the Footers for the benches that would sit around this fire pit these are of minor importance though it's the area behind the benches where I really had to put Focus luckily I had just enough bricks Left over from the retaining wall inside the pond to create an another one here this would frame everything in help with erosion and allow for additional features by reducing the grade of the hillside I did the same in other

locations with a few large Boulders and a segment of that oak tree then I regraded everything before adding geotex stle the purpose of this area and what it would soon become as a pollinator Garden of sorts with the stage set I just needed a lot of plants most are natives with a few slight non-natives and items directly from my yard the process of adding them all took several days typically I'd plant much denser than this but I left room for these to grow and for others I couldn't get now either way it was already starting

to work because butterflies were flocking to the milkweed I noticed there were many more green frogs now too all inhabiting different niches throughout the pond this large male was attempting to court a female or fighting over territory I'm unsure which in either case it persistently followed the other around the outskirts of where it [Music] resides a development occurred with the deer as well because now they had fawns there were two moms each with two Babies it's funny because the adults just wanted to graze in peace and although the babies would nibble on things here or

there they appeared to be more interested in playing with their friends that was until mom told them it was time to continue traveling the Phoebe were doing something similar with this one as well they fed it for five additional days before deciding on this wet and rainy afternoon it had enough enough like its Siblings they stopped coming to the nest to encourage its exit eventually it got the hint and left The Nest Landing at the top of the pond soaked invisibly unsure of its surroundings it decided the best thing to do was take its first

bath it slowly made its way to the woods as instructed by its parents inching closer to safety mom couldn't help but sing her song as if to say my job is Complete while this young one sat and observed the unfamiliar landscape the Phoebe sounded a few more times before swooping down to say goodbye they both disappeared in the woods where they would remain for the rest of the season until migrating south for the winter and returning to the pond next spring to breathe in their absence the flying insects were free to do their thing again

especially the Pollinators after adding some of the plants to their Garden I came up with another idea that began by undoing some of the work from before I pulled back the liner to access the soil moved the plants and excavated a square shaped hole [Music] then I T the base to remove inconsistencies however I had to check its level to understand how to proceed adding sand to the low spots made it Easy to level out a foundation for papers I aligned these and fill a gap around the edges with gravel just like the pond I

put geotex style over this to protect the liner luckily I had a lot left over from the pond I just had to cut it to fit I did my best to conform this to the sides of the hole before adding more geotextile and a series of milk crates these would Elevate hard gate material above a water reservoir to Create a fountain it was a nearly perfect fit with the back being taller than the front that said I peeled back the liners to back fell of soil making things very stable there's a Creek in the front

of my property where I went to collect some things I've had this drift Ro on the side for safekeeping for a while now I knew it would be perfect perfect for this I needed a few Stones as well with these items I could turn this Odd structure into something incredible I began by covering the crates with Fab brick to retain smaller elements I rolled the largest stone on top using it as the starting point the drift would fit perfectly around this followed by a few smaller rocks this wouldn't require a lot of flow so this

little pump was perfect I cut a hole in a crate to gain access to produce the desired effect I added a liner on under the top Stone so It traed over I then filled the gaps with expanding foam which I hid with moss after filling a void with small stones it was ready for water and thus a testron this was all close to what I envisioned it just required more details I added foam pee Bubbles and Moss to finalize the features interior then I removed the excess liner along the edges and backfield to create a

seamless integration with the Surrounding landscape this stump also helped with that I adjusted some existing plants to better match the layout before adding more natives to the surrounding areas [Music] the purpose of this Fountain was to create a drinking area for insects with things like butterflies in mind the pond doesn't really include those features because the Falls are quite turbulent my instinct is usually to Include as much flow as possible but I had to dial it back for this one the goal is to dampen stones and mosses to create safe resting areas I knew that

having this near the garden would be beneficial too that and the surrounding area was far from complete but these new details further evolve the dynamic of everything from an aesthetic and functional perspective in no time butterflies and bees were enjoying the Flowers as needed as that was an elaborate microcosm was at play just below the surface which could be easily [Music] overlooked invertebrates of all kinds inhabited nearly every square inch of space spiders wo webs to ens snare their victims while millipedes marched up mountainous terrain it was incredible and on a fundamental level invertebrates are

the backbone and Foundation of any healthy Ecosystem in fact 97% of animal life is comprised of such beings without them nothing works as it should the frogs wouldn't have anything to eat the birds wouldn't be able to rear their young and so much more that's why I put so much thought into develop in features like the pollinator Garden I love the appearance of beautiful flowers and the bright colors help draw on the pollinating insects who meticulously search for nectar or pollen in each Flower as a result this became an extremely active area at the pond

because butterflies moths bees and other creatures worked nonstop there were even hummingbird moths which are an odity they they look just like hummingbirds but are in reality moths the milkweed even attracted the most famous butterflies of all monarchs it was late in the season so I believe they were simply passing through To gain sustenance as they migrated South with their offsprings Offspring returning to this very plant the following year another creature use this plant as a place of Refuge milkweed aphids swamp milked like this is one of their favorite places to congregate and feed they're

toxic the most other creatures but one of their few Predators was aware of their presence and aphids are one of their favorite foods this ladybug was Hot on their Trail it hunted them down and began feasting milkweed bugs also fed on the plants if they weren't breeding there were even bizarr looking creatures emerging from the waters to complete their transformation into something beautiful damsel flies and dragon flies these gorgeous little jels of the pond flew back and forth in search of prey occasionally resting on marginal Plants some were even curious about the tripod like everything

some thrived and others did not luckily the ants were ready to recycle their remains these micro Titans of the animal world are key to the health of many ecosystems here colonies are peppered throughout the landscape around the pond feverishly marching back and forth they gathered food for their growing numbers and lands unseen their presence caused an Unfortunate issue aphids on the water Liles ants often Farm them in exchange for their excrement a sweet nectar known as honeydew this made the lilies appear worse for Wares which I didn't appreciate the days were long and hot with

much activity but the evenings were just as eventful different creatures like spiders predatory beetles and moths emerged meanwhile the fish and tads Blissfully swam throughout the backlit Waters unaware of their surroundings a few raccoon occasionally scavenged the rocks for fish food I may have dropped in the skies above bats quickly darted around allowing for just a fleeting View however the real action was occurring in the surrounding areas thousands of little lights blinked on and off from the ends of bioluminescent insects Fireflies they were in search of one another hoping to mate something equally astounding began

occurring at the pond which I noticed one day while cleaning the Basin I went and cleaned out the skimmer here just a little bit ago and as I was walking over I thought I saw a bunch of crickets jumping around until I realized what was actually going on the thousands of tadpoles that called these Waters home for many weeks were Completing their metamorphosis into toads some still had tails While others took their first steps on Solid Ground these toadlets which were hardly the size of a fingernail were everywhere they hid within moss plants and rocks

one of their preferred hunting grounds any micro Critters were on the menu the area near the top of the waterfalls was especially teaming with them their parents were wise to produce so many eggs which resulted in thousands Of toads the journey into toad Hood wouldn't be without Peril because they too were on the menu being this tiny made them extremely vulnerable to any predators in the area the grounds were full of spiders much larger than them the ring neck snake from months prior also returned and likely to eat toads a garer snake was on the

prow too as adorable as these little toads are there would likely be an imbalance without predation checks Imbalances naturally occur as one species takes advantage of another while small the toadlets would remain close to the pond they'd slowly move away from the water and toward the woods as they grew throughout the rest of the season however they weren't the only animals growing that random bullfrog from Spring decided to make this Pond home and was getting big funny enough almost immediately after the Toads left The Waters of the pond newcomers emerged the Goldfish must have been

doing their thing in the spring because baby fish were everywhere this was exciting to see and surely will happen year after year that's no problem for now because such a pond could easily accommodate more fish with the Tad poles gone I could finally remove the algae too getting it out of the way is always so satisfying especially in this area Handful after handful the wetlands were freed from its grasp I also took the time to thin out and trim much of the mint all the while a young frog observed from a nearby Rock I also

noticed some commotion at a recently planted tree where a little song Sparrow watched over a brood of eggs in no time they hatched and were completely reliant on their parents luckily they collected food Non-Stop as The nestlings grew however it all happened so quickly that I completely missed their departure this all made room for plants that I got months before they had been sitting in this tub for so long that many were growing out of the sides of their pots anyway I planted these throughout the wetlands as they grow and develop they'll bolster the filtration

capacity Of the pond by pulling excess nutrients from the water column which means less algae the added foliage would create more habitat for various animals too all of that helped bring balance but not for long things were about to slow down and go to rest for the foreseeable future the vast majority of that occurred during the spring and summer months now leaves are falling from the trees temperatures are dropping days have become shorter in many creatures Who frequented the waters seemed to have moved on until warmer days return however Pond season wasn't over yet despite

how things may have appeared life was still in full effect and more secrets were about to reveal themselves these pawns don't require much maintenance but I find it most important to do it in the spring as you already saw and now the fall I wanted to do as much as possible before it got too cold little did I know What I'd soon discover when I got to work the algae I was battling returned yet again and it had to go as I explained this will eventually stop being an issue when the environment gains equilibrium which

usually takes about 3 years until then I have to see it or remove it and I don't find it particularly appealing so I'll take the ladder all of the plants I've been adding will be critical to the algae's Natural decline by removing nutrients That feeds on maximum plant growth is the goal but that mint was going wild again keeping it in check is essential because as you can see it gets way out of hand and in fact I likely remove it all together when the other plants fully integrate I was going through the motions netting

algae without a second thought until I saw movement on the Rock thankfully there was some water to sustain an unexpected tadpole I returned it as quickly as I could and sifted Through the rest I didn't see any others in what I removed but many were in the pond which had me perplexed why was I seeing them this late in the season I thought to myself four unique species of frogs including American toads spring peepers gray tree frogs and green frogs were trying to breed at the pond all would have laid their eggs months ago and

froglets had already left the waters to grow up I failed to document the green frogs but they were growing well I Also occasionally find pristine young toads in the outskirts that inspire me and make me hopeful for their future maybe one day they'll return to the waters where they were born to have children of their own the these were too large to belong to anyone but the green frogs or so I thought until I realized something I just kept seeing that random bull frog at any given time it and several other frogs were visible with

silly antics often Ensuing for a while I thought this was the only bullfrog but as some of the others grew I realized there was quite a few of them the green frogs did their thing but I never heard the bullfrog's calling or saw breeding however tadpoles from both species take years to complete their metamorphosis and look similar to finding them this late in the year makes sense I won't say definitively but based on their characteristics I think these are most likely bullfrog Tad Poles either way this brings up the audience concerns about them being here

I'm honestly fine for them to live here even if they'll eat a few things because they're another native species of course I'd prefer if they didn't eat the smaller frogs or my fish but that's probably inevitable the baby fish from months earlier have grown significantly and they weren't alone I realized there was a completely new round of them when I was trimming the plants in the Basin But they were so small I couldn't even get footage of them if they keep reproducing this much I suppose bullfrog's getting a fish or two might not be a

bad thing I even had the opportunity to adopt two fish for my cousin Tilly and Jimmy many question my decision to keep goldfish because they're not native and often invasive believe me I understand the logic but this Pond was made for them And otherwise wouldn't exist also their invasiveness is mainly from irresponsible people releasing them into places they don't belong which I won't do there's also the thought that they'll eat everything in the pond including tadpoles but if I had native fish that wouldn't happen in reality this will occur anywhere with fish native or not

that aren't small of course the frogs know this which is why they reproduce by the thousands and as you've seen despite Many fish and the pond not being being as densely planted as it will eventually be countless tadp still completed their metamorphosis that said their odds will increase exponentially next year and in the ones to follow as the plants develop and when I add other water features in the surrounding landscape that won't house large fish one of those features is going to go off the left of this seating area here and pretty much fill out

most of the space going through the Rocks and down in here and the crazy thing is that the way I'm going to set this up it's going to be perfect for the animals that decided to take up residence under these rocks I piled the stones here simply to tidy the yard what ended up happening though is that I unintentionally created a place of Refuge for redbed salamanders I was shocked to find them in the middle of the yard like this because I think of salamanders living in Shaded areas I wanted to build that earlier this

year but didn't have the time I'm glad that happened because now that I know they want to live here I can build it more in line with their needs you know you know it's always when I overturn a rock look behind a leaf or simply take a closer look that I find inspiration something that's always done that for me and played a huge role in this Pond's development is MOX it has a Way of naturalizing these spaces unlike anything else it's created countless micro habitats around the pond that can only be described as magical each

is unique in its own way including the animals that use them they often Harbor little plants that take time to form like these ferns some are more developed which makes me curious how will all appear when the others do the Same the big picture matters but I don't think it would look as significant without all these small details it's kind of like how a home without decorations appears Lial even with all these elements taking shape it's very evident to me when viewing this all from the new vantage point of the deck that a lot of

crucial components are still missing it too is in complete but even now it greatly improves the view of everything and serves as an awesome Platform to begin our journey into the oasis stepping down to the water's edge on this rock reveals one of my favorite views you can truly appreciate the beauty of the fish and waterfalls from here moving toward the left should draw you into other features however much of this is in sham like the flagstone path and Hillside both of which I'll address next year things change as you scale the rocky stairs this

platform provides a unique view with the pond on one side The future salamander habitat on the other the pollinator Garden behind and select plantings in the front the culmination of these elements is intended to create a place of relaxation there's also the swinging bench which I designed to fit perfectly at the top of the falls it's one of my favorite views because you can appreciate the polling areas and the habitats created within them you can easily step down to the Rocks and to the other side from here which for now is just grass a unique

feature will eventually transform this space and connect the deck below with something completely different in the yard above the end goal is for everything to be interconnected there will be almost no grass countless features for the animals to utilize and areas where we can enjoy their presence most recently the squirrels Have diligently collected nuts for the colder months using my air conditioners as they processing headquarters the deer have also passed through like usual which is always a joy this journey has has had its fair share of criticism there's always someone to disagree with every choice

you've made and that's fine we all have different perspectives I don't feel the need to explain myself on much but there was one Decision that I made which transpired up here that I had no idea would be so divisive many thought I should have removed the parasitic Cowbird egg from the Eastern Phoebe Nest I'd like to start by saying that nature is brutal it doesn't really care how we feel about it unfortunately this is just what cowbirds do they don't build their own nests and won't raise their own young it just doesn't happen plus it's

illegal to tamper with their eggs and to make Matters worse they spiteful when a host bird or someone who thinks they're being helpful removes their eggs the Cowbird often returns to destroy all of them all that's to say intervention isn't wise I wasn't even going to formally address this but now you know from start to finish this was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life yet the result is a place that embodies Tranquility I like that ju to position and for now this is home it's Fascinating how a few changes to a standard

yard made all the difference in who decided to move in there's even more I have to build so this is only the end of the first chapter who knows what awaits on the next page I never imagined I'd one day be blessed to have the Oasis of my dreams only feet from my house I'm grateful for the efforts of my friends from aqua escape to help set this all In Motion a look back at this picture always puts a Smile on my face many of my fondest childhood memories were formed in nature although this may

be man-made I think I'll look back on these memories with fondness as well the awe of being surrounded by hundreds of frogs made me feel like that again almost 30 years later it reminded me that life is always happening around us sometimes you just have to unplug and take a closer look that said I'm left with one question what else happened that I completely Missed