Welcome to My Bachelor Turtle Pond

Thank you for visiting. These are pics of my pond built Summer of 2006. You can see the little oasis that I built primarily for my 2 Snapping turtles (serpentina serpentina) who are now 2.5 years old.

This oasis is also a retreat for anyone. Although the wrought iron fencing is short, it provides your mind with a perimeter and the world outside the perimeter disappears. Have a seat on the bench or on the grass and enjoy the peaceful tranquility of the winding brook. The sounds of the brook drown out the neighborhood. Watch the wildlife visit the ponds for water or the birds for a cool dip. Watch the Frogs frolic with the bugs. Be quiet and the boys, Spike and Crush, may visit and in their own way ask for a handout. Reptomin is their favorite.

Don't be fooled by their friendly disposition as they can crush your fingers at this age. Snappers are not like Gators, they will not come out of the water and try to drag you in or harm you unless provoked. The Turtles only tolerate me only because I raised them from hatchlings. It will not be long before their shells are too big for one hand and their heads too quick for the eye.

In the pictures you can see the filter falls returning water from the lower pond to the upper pond. The falls box is filled with 10 gallons of BIO Balls from Coralife.

The main filter was originally a Pondmaster 1500. The small filter proved too small and began to clog too soon and the pump provided a trickle when there was only 2 ponds. With the 3 ponds and the elevation, the 2950 proved to provide an appealing flow, yet not overwhelm the inhabitants. My pump formula was based upon 3 times the main pond of 300 gallons, not the total pond capacity of 600. Since the water is already flowing from one to the next, there was no need to install a pump of 1800 gph or more. The Goldfish and various minnows from the bait shop have many easy flowing pools to relax and feed in. They are not Salmon. That would be nice. Remember, this is a Turtle pond before it is a Water Garden.

The 4 foot Solar Lighthouse is made of recycled milk cartons so it will never rot. The solar panel is from a common spike lawn solar light. It originally came with 2 very weak AA batteries and I eventually tripled the number of cells to keep it very well lit all year round. The black and white colors blend well with the black wrought iron bench and fencing and looks like a Michigan Lighthouse. The colors of the plants and animals show up well against the B&W backdrop.

The Gargoyle was the most fitting of all the pond spitters. The Mermaid with her bikini top, although most appropriate for a bachelor like me, had corals around her which do not fit the Great Lakes theme. The Gargoyle's staff is supplied by a 1/4" water line buried with the electrical underground and runs to the house. Simply turn on the hose spicket and the Gargoyle comes to life monitoring the ponds water level. What good is one Gargoyle? I have another one to add to keep the first company at a later date. The field stones were originally gathered on the property many moons ago and are the same type used for the house foundation. There is a small green sign near the lower falls that reads, "Topless Beach -->" and another sign that you can see as the bottom pic. The flowering tree west of the pond shades the ponds in the hot afternoons and the leaves generally get caught on the fence. I hope you enjoy zooming in by clicking and taking a break from your busy day.

These pages are going to evolve, I guess this is my Pond Blog site. So what you see here today may not be here tomorrow, like the swimming food in these turtle ponds. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Know what I mean, know what I mean?

Winter Pics from 2007
That winter was delivered late and Christmas was warmer than Easter.

Spring Pics from 2007
Spring arrived twice. We had a couple great weeks of 50°F & 60°F. The ponds were totally cleaned. Low water cut-off switch installed. Should have done that before Winter. The Snappers were brought out from hibernating in the basement. Water temps were just a few degrees warmer than the basement. Not warm enough to trigger them to eat again. The point was to have them outside with food swimming by, and allow them to snap out of their cryonic state voluntarily. Like all children, they will someday grow too big and want to leave. I want them to be prepared. Just when we thought Old Man Winter left to return to Canada and help the Flames learn to skate, 20° temps and blustery winds returned and frosted the land. I actually had to put the heater back in to melt the ice that formed. I’m sure the Snappers would surface to breathe in the open currents but, what if? Besides it was a way of jump starting the plants. Look closely as the lilies are poking out and unfolding. The Rumex and Double Red Hardy Lily were introduced in April 2007. The Double Red already had buds and quickly surfaced all her pads to absorb the sun.