Monday's Poetry: "Four Ducks on a Pond"

by Pa Rock

Poetry Appreciator

I have a pond on my place.  It isn't much of a pond, but it is getting better.

When I first moved to The Roost, seven years ago this month, the "pond" was just a large mud hole in a nicely excavated depression in the ground.  It had a very big tree stump in its center with a small amount of water surrounding the stump.  The whole thing was concealed in tall grass and scattered brush beyond the area that the previous owners had seen fit to keep mowed.  There was also trash and beer cans scattered in the pond area.

Over the next few years I cleaned that area up and began mowing out beyond the pond so that it, in effect, became part of my very large backyard.  There was usually some water in what I loosely referred to as "the pond," but never much, and on several occasions it went completely dry.  On the other end of that spectrum, on days when we had prolonged periods of rain, the pond would completely fill and resembeled a small lake, a lake which would be gone after a day to two.

I struggled with what to do about this hole at the back edge of my yard.  I knew that the previous owners had spent several thousand dollars having the area graded and smoothed out like a large bowl, but the bowl still would not hold water.  I brought in a grader operator for an appraisal of the situation, and he replied that he could move the dirt around, but it still probably would not hold water.  He suggested that I fence the area and get a couple of hogs.  Hogs, he assured me, would seal a pond.

My son and I put up fence posts, but never got the fencing completed, mainly because I could not get enthusiastic about raising hogs.  Finally I took the fence posts down and regrouped.  The other common way to seal a pond was to use a pulverized clay called "bentonite," but to apply that in a manner that would work, I knew that the tree stump would have to come up.  Everyone had encouraged me not to mess with the tree stump because, if the pond ever did have enough water to support pond life, the roots of the stump would be a perfect place for the little fish to seek protection from the big fish.

But if it wasn't going to hold water, there would never be any fish.

A year ago last fall I decided to bite the bullet and do something.  I had my neighbor come over with his tractor and remove the stump -  and it came up with the reluctance of an aging tooth that did not want to be pulled!  Rex, my good neighbor, spent some time carefully smoothing out the base of the bowl where the tree stump had been for countless years.  After that, I began hauling in bags of bentonite and covering the scar where the stump had been.  Fortunately, as I tired of lugging the bags of bentonite around, my son stepped up and took an interest in the cause, and he worked for weeks at sealing the pond.

And the rains came - and it held water!

During the pond's first year it continually held water, more water than it had ever held before.  It also attracted young bullfrogs which seemed to have found it on their own.  Water lilies and aquatic plants began appearing and taking hold in the pond environment, and a few small fish that were native to the Ozarks were released into its welcoming waters.  Now the deer often meet at the pond at dawn and dusk, and tracks show that other creatures stop by for the occasional drink as well.

Yesterday morning, not long after dawn, I was walking the edge of the property, and when I got to the pond, two surprised wild ducks splashed themselves aloft and took flight.  Their day was off to a beautiful start, and so was mine!

Today's poetry selection is a simple verse entitled "Four Ducks on a Pond" by 19th century Irish poet, William Allingham.  It's a reminder of the simple joys of our youth as seen through the prism of age.

Four Ducks on a Pond

by William Allingham

Four ducks on a pond,

A grass-bank beyond,

A blue sky of spring,

White clouds on the wing:

What a little thing

To remember for years - 

To remember with tears!