Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Beaverboy-one man, one spade, and a vision

I haven't been to the pondboss forum much of late. Usually have lurked once a month or so for awhile. But I'm starting this topic for the exploration into the psych of Beaverboy.

All I have is a spade and a determination to create an ecosystem that supports more life for my fellow wildlife friends. Being that one of the more important ingredients is water, I have the ability to transform myself into Beaverboy. Adhering to the busy as a beaver phrase, I grab my spade and get to work. My work starts in the uplands and vernal ponds will be created, one after another.

Beaverboy


This will be the highest vernal pond, none will be above this one.


2 pics of the dam of beaverboy's 4th vernal pond.




The concept is simple for me. Just keep working down the line and I'll go from vernal pond at some point, to creating a waterhole that actually keeps water throughout the year. The adventures of beaverboy to be continued......

I like it!!

If you want water to stay year-round though, you'd better add at least a tamper to your arsenal and dig a small core trench to re-fill with good clay.

What? No wheelbarrow?
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Been awhile, Lance. Looks like you're stayin' busy, man. Your fellow wildlife friends have a trustworthy advocate.

A mono-maniac on a mission!


PS. What's the spillway design?

I hate to tell you this, but a real beaver uses only his paws, teeth, and tail to build dams.

All seriousness aside, it's amazing what a few pools of water do for the ecosystem. When I was a kid, I used to fish a gully in a sandy area. Most of the year, there was only a trickle of water, and a series of ~8'x10' pools. Almost every pool held a scrappy spotted bass, red breast sunfish, bullhead, and large shiners. All sorts of other animals used the pools, including turtles, frogs, and snakes, and birds around the pools. Sometimes I would even see a beaver, but they never seem build dams down here. Good luck!

The ones I've built this year, I'm hoping they actually don't hold water year round. Therefore, things like fish or bullfrogs won't take hold, and small lil critters will be able to enjoy friendly breeding grounds. The concept of a vernal pond is that it briefly holds water a few months of the year. They obtain enough water from snowmelt and spring rains to hold them through the summer, and by fall, they are dry. This fall, its been quite wet, so a couple of the ones I have built have water already. Even saw a tiny frog enjoying the playground.


In 2005 I started this vernal pond addiction. But the problem was that I underestimated how much water can quickly go through an area. This vernal pond quickly turned out to be not so vernal afterall.
(spring 2007 pic)
With a heavy snowmelt and a flood in 2007, the pipe was quickly washed out, and this has kept water in it for 3 years running..... I also did a couple other ponds in that year, that just had too much flow going through them. But there was one pond way high in the uplands also built in 2005, that indeed did function as a vernal pond should. So that's why I've decided to work from the highest point possible and work my way down from now on.



With having very little watershed running into them, I just have these vernal ponds so they run around the end. But my eyes must play tricks on me, because the vernal pond I built in 2005, had that design, but the top of the dam ended up being lower so it didn't run around the end, and ran over the top. But the structure didn't suffer though because of the tiny watershed. I dug out that vernal pond some this summer and topped it. Including that vernal pond and the 6 I dug this year, I have seven so far, one after another.




beaverboy has had a lil help with a wheelbarrow also . But so far, terrain more or less has been too hard to use a wheelbarrow efficiently.


yep, I was going to start a topic awhile ago, showing pics of a neighbor's pond getting built. Its about a mile away, and I walk by it every couple months while hiking along. I do intend to make that topic still. I have before and after pics of it and would be entertaining enough for a place like this.

I'll admit I have no idea what a vernal pond is. I like your description of it though.

What I was suggesting a tamper for was, to quote you, the "waterhole that actually keeps water throughout the year".

I have a couple of these type of ponds on my property. When deer season is over I would like to build one on ever small ditch.

I can build one with the backhoe in about 10 minutes.

Vernal ponds are essential for some salamanders to successfully reproduce. They are a great addition to further diversify wildlife on your land.
Good job Beaver Boy!

Well if he built it with a backhoe then he wouldn't be beaver boy now would he?

So true, Beaver Boy uses only lowtech tools for his dirt work. Also don't like hearing machinery, and work just couple hours a day and get to enjoy the sounds of nature while working.

Beaver Boy

It sounds to me like you lead the life of Riley.

Doing dirt work without any noise oil or breakdowns.

Do you live off the fat of the land?

Otto

He eats bark!

The noise was half the reason I got into operating machinery. The rest is in the blood. I still like the sounds of nature too, but I gave up using the hickory highlift long ago. My shovels have rusted a lot since I bought my first dozer.

I havent been on this forum in a while i couldnt remember my old log in name but im with beaver boy... its a good workout

After seeding this pond I raked the entire area with a garden rake.

Beaverboy,
How goes the big bamboo project?

For instant gratification, I have giant reed to hold me over


My bamboo is doing its own thing, running around in the ground- gaining new territory each year, but hasn't increased much in height. I think my tallest so far has been 8ft tall. The iowa winters kill it to the ground each year so far, but in due time I may see increased hardiness as it gets established here. Some are spectacular looking such as spectabilis


Also have gotten a rare one this year that suppose to be one of the more hardy ones. I think I have 30+ species of bamboo. Some have died by nature, some by my own hand. The best shall survive, and give me hope of an evergreen bamboo.

I hope for the land to provide all my food needs, but am not there yet. Its a slow process from going from one lifestyle, where junkfood was the basis of my food diet, onto a diet that is more natural. It takes getting used to such things.
I'll let pictures give more of an idea of the food adventures of Beaver Boy

Thanks beaver boy

That answered that

Those fruits and veggies look great, but please don't tell me that you eat cats!

"Alf Beaver Boy" - how's that sound?

I don't have any catfish yet, so I have to make do with the next best thing.

BB, this is really interesting. Please keep the stories, pictures and adventures coming.

Thought I would do a little update. My vernal ponds have all pretty much dried up since its been dry spring. They were fun to see with water earlier this spring. I'm up to 9 since I built another one this spring and hopefully will get alot more built this year.

February pic of snowmelt filling up the first two