I would still like to have a small pond here on the homestead. I have been hoping to borrow or rent some heavy equipment to make it easier. But that probably won’t happen. At least not before winter. That just leaves me, and my pick and shovel. The land here is very rocky underneath, not to mention the gravel the previous owner brought in to drive their RV on. So I looked over the land and realized a much better place is at the back of my property. It is the lowest area and if I setup drainage from the cabin and deck area I think the pond with not only stay full, but will help get rid of the squishy areas around the cabin. There is a lot of moisture in this area, as shown by the plentitude of mushrooms.
I also believe the best place for my garden is the grassy area next to the deck. I’m sure this area was designed as an entertainment area, for parties and bonfires, but as a hermit I have no plans for using it this way. The soil is less rocky, and more fertile. Because of the gravel drive circling it it is a bit swampy. But I can fix that with a little better drainage. It is also the sunniest area on the acreage.
So I dug some test ditches at the bottom edge of the property. It filled up immediately. A good sign. Lily drank some of the water and gave it her seal of approval.
There is quite a bit of rocks and old wooden timbers underground back there, probably from an old oil pumphouse or the saw mill that was once located there. But overall it’s not too bad to dig by hand. It is also very shady being basically in the middle of the woods.
I will need to remove some trees or the pond will just be a mosquito breeding ground.
It’s getting there, a shovel load at a time.
