Welcome to our site

Our other website: http://www.gwmiller.com/

 

Wildlife management was our goal when we retired on our 16 acreas in the Endless Mountains of PA.  There is a brook that runs into a stream, a meadow, and steep slopes and mature pine forest.  The diversified habitat was what attracted us to this place and wildlife photography is a wonderful way to spend our retirement.  A pictorial natural resource inventory of all our floral and fauna was created, 40 nest boxes were built and scattered, and wildflowers seeds were scattered, but building an one acre pond with two smaller ponds on the side of our mountain was the best feature that we invested in.  This website is dedicated to our pond life and all the other wildlife that is attrracted to our special place here on Mother Earth.   To view the construction of our ponds please visit this link:  http://s614.photobucket.com/albums/tt223/grannygup/Ponds/?albumview=slideshow

 

 

In this photo the January 2010 snow melt plus 4" of rain caused the big pond over flowed for the first time.   The big pond has a drain that flows into the middle pond and the middle pond drains into the lower pond but this time the water overflowed across land and worked just the same way.

This is the lower pond over flowing in the direction of the brook.   

Below is what the brook looked like at this same time.

The brook is at the bottom of a fifteen foot deep gorge surrounded by mature hemlocks and pines.

 This is a view of the large pond in May 2010.  It is 15 ft deep with a spring at the bottom.

Lupines seeds were scattered around the back side of the pond and when they are in full bloom the bees are buzzing all over.  Then the other wildflowers bloom.  In this photo there is a buffallo skull on the edge of the pond and the rocks in the areas where we mowed were put along the edge of the pond to provide shelter and hidding places for the tadpoles and newts, or for turtles to sun bath on.

The pond was stocked with minnows and bluegills the first year and the second spring catfish, bass and trout were added.

The minnows and blue gills spawn in the shallow water.  Family gatherings always include a great time fishing.    

The pond is three years old.  A swing was added the second year and this spring we put up a small hunting blind to sit in and take wildlife photos.   Mature white pines and hemlocks are the most common tree species, so there are not many leaves that get into the pond, but it does get covered with pollen from the pine trees.

The big pond was planted with cattails, bur reed, yellow iris, marsh merrigolds, poke weed, duck plantian and other native water plants.

Water lilies and cattails in the big pond and blue dry is added to the water to control the algae  - it's safe for the fish and can be bought at the fish hatcheries.  It really did help control the algae which grew in thick mats across the pond last year.

 
Make a Free Website with Yola.