Taking Up Residence

For about a decade now, we (i.e. Matt) have REALLY wanted a BIG pond down below the house. Bear Creek runs year-round down through the bottom of our canyon, and has hundreds and maybe thousands of springs along the way. There is this perfect spot down there, where the ground is so saturated that often, even in August there is no way to get around without wearing waders. The permitting process for legally building a pond is pretty daunting, so we have joked about contacting the ODFW and volunteering our property for a place to host any "nuisance" beaver pairs.

A few months ago, Matt was over at the neighbor's GIANT pond- one that we greatly envy- and saw that some beavers had moved in. Oh, that gave us a glimmer of hope that maybe we would inherit some youngsters in a year or two and finally get a little pond action, without having to rent heavy equipment and pay the County way too much in permit fees.

So imagine our great surprise when, just a few weeks later, Matt walked our creek and found this:

If you are having a hard time reading the photo, that's a 6 foot tall dam bridging the creek. And this...

this is all of the water behind the dam. It is currently covered in fallen Alder leaves, so you don't really see the water, but, if I remember correctly, the pond is about 75 x 40 feet, and is at least 5 feet deep!

Stay tuned for more photos as our new pond grows. Matt plans to cut a trail down to the edge so that I can get down there myself to see. Currently, the only way to get in for photos is with rubber boots wading up the creek, and a machete to cut all of the thick underbrush out of the way. Not exactly the place for a baby and a toddler. :)