In 1994 on that first year of my pond, I was anxious to see wildlife establish itself in that new environment. It was exciting for me to discover the new creatures that were suddenly making an appearance on and around the pond. I was constantly walking around it trying to spot new critters.
One day and then the days following it, I began to see what looked like small minnow-sized fish in the water. They would quickly dart away when they noticed me. This left me very confused, because I hadn’t put any fish in the pond, and there was no way they could get there naturally.
One hot day after biking home from work and ready for a swim in the cold water, I decided to take my mask and snorkel with me to see what I could see underwater, and I happened to come upon one of those “fish” that had left me so confused. I quickly saw that it wasn’t fish I was seeing, but salamanders. I saw two salamanders who were fully developed. They had long lizard-like bodies with small legs and light patterns on their backs. I had seen salamanders around our property before, and I was happy they had discovered the pond.
I also had toads on our property, but I was still amazed in the spring to see so many of them gather in the pond, make their chirping sounds to call a mate. I had never had any frogs on my property, but was able to catch a few in other lake in the Valley, and establish them in my pond.
I was happy yesterday to see my first frog of the year. There never seem to be very many of them, but I occasionally while walking around the pond, I hear a splash as a frog escapes into the water. Below is a photo I was able to take with my iPhone of the frog I saw. I was surprised it let me get so close to take the picture.
You can view my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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