The pond is gone!

The small pond in our garden was a controversial subject from day one. On one hand, we really liked it and loved the wildlife that had made its home in it. On the other hand, unfortunately, we felt it wasn't worth the risk with a 4-year-old running around. We decided the pond had to go.

One thing we definitely didn't want to do though was harm the wildlife. We were determined to save every last tadpole, and there were hundreds of them. We caught them all with a tiny fish-tank net, carefully filtering every bucketful of water before pouring it away. It was a massive job. As we were catching the tadpoles, we could see toad heads popping up here and there. At first we thought there was only one, but then found one more.  Then we noticed another two. As the water in the pond went down, more and more toads appeared... In the end we counted 19! All of them were safely caught and released, along with all the tadpoles, in their new home in Lanark Loch.

The first few toads we rescued.

Lanark Loch, the toads and tadpoles' new home.

We were sad to see the pond go (and I already miss the toads, considering the amount of slugs in the garden!!), but once we were left with a big empty hole in the ground, we started filling it up with turf mixed with tree clippings, leaves and weeds and in the end we knew we made the right decision. The garden is now a lot more child-friendly, looks bigger and we have more space to grow things. The spot where the pond used to be looks a bit sad at the moment, but I am looking forward to making use of it.

Where the pond used to be. So many new possibilities!