I’ve always thought it would be so cool to live on the water somewhere. Now that we do live on a river, with a pond in our backyard, I can safely say that it is definitely so cool. And this week has definitely been the coolest week of all. And this post is going to illustrate exactly why.

So, throughout the late summer and early fall, our pond was less “pond” and more “algae breeding ground.”

Our deck was also "home to the lawn furniture that got unloaded off the truck and never set up" for the late-summer and early-fall.
Our deck was “home to the lawn furniture that got unloaded off the truck and never set up” for the late-summer and early-fall.

As it got colder and we got some frosty nights, the algae started to die off, and we started to see a few ducks on the pond.

Ducks: they may poop everywhere, but they do have some standards when it comes to cleanliness. They aren't geese, after all.
Ducks: they may poop everywhere, but they do have some standards when it comes to cleanliness. They aren’t geese, after all.

Over the last week, the gross algae has almost entirely disappeared. On Monday morning, we woke up to find every duck within a ten mile radius had made the pond home.

I think someone promised them punch and pie.
I think someone promised them punch and pie.

As I watched our suddenly well-populated pond, I saw a creature that was most definitely not a duck swimming around.

It's like the "Where's Choppy" posts, except you don't need to zoom in or wait until Tuesday to figure it out.
It’s like the “Where’s Choppy” posts, except you don’t need to zoom in or wait until Tuesday to figure it out.

Turns out, we have muskrats. Two of them. And if you want to watch them chase after ducks, I even have a video for you:

So, yes, living on a pond is so cool. Especially when it’s not infested by algae.

(Oh, and when it isn’t frozen over. Like it was Tuesday – just a day after the pictures and video of the many ducks).