Turtle Pond
With so many turtles splattered on the back roads around here, I suppose it was bound to happen. We have started a small turtle rescue and preserve. I say it is a preserve and rescue because for the life of me I can not come up with a ‘no kill’ use for turtles and our farm is strictly a no kill business.
Our first turtle is still here, so is the third and fourth. The second went under the fence and took to the hills. We made a bit of a look for him, but this is his habitat so we didn’t mind him leaving knowing he is no worse off now than when we added him to the flock.
Turtle number one is a Red Eared Slider with three legs. We have no idea what happened to the missing leg, but it healed up very well so maybe he was born deformed. Number two and four are also Red Eared sliders. Number two was healthy when he took to the hills, so he was more or less free to go any time he wanted to. The back yard fence is easy to get under if you are a turtle. Number four is another story. His shell was split at the back by a passing truck. The bleeding has stopped, but we are still concerned for his health so he isn’t allowed to leave.
The same is true of number three, which is a partly deformed box turtle. Our best guess is that he was hit by a lawn mower. Being a land turtle, he spends a lot of time in our garden. He doesn’t seem too interested in leaving the acre field, but he is sometimes hard to find. So what was bound to happen? A turtle pond of course.
Being the person that I am, we couldn’t do something simple. We decided that instead of using wire for the grape vines that are going in the front, we would use chicken wire and build a proper fence around that side of the property. More river stone, more fence posts, and a whole lot more work but in the end it will probably be a lovely area. One complete with a turtle pond. The current plan is to include the turtles in a Zen Garden sort of arrangement as part of the Agra-entertainment of the farm.
In researching ideas for pond liners, I found a product that seals just about anything. This has given me the courage to start working with cement and stone. It will basically allow me to build any thing from waterfall to island out of stone and concrete without a concern for leaks or seeping past the concrete. Past and ongoing projects have involved a lot of raised mulch beds with stone borders, but never concrete for anything other than securing fence posts. Now I will be able to experiment with larger and more complex structures.
More latter as the pond develops.
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