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.”
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.
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.
As I watched our suddenly well-populated pond, I saw a creature that was most definitely not a duck swimming around.
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).
So many things to giggle at with this video, particularly the poor duck who lands on the ice instead of in the water (marker 1:27) toward the top of the frame. lol It seems to be a tad bewildered as he slowly makes his way toward the rest of the ducks. But oh, I’d love to have a pond / lake / river / ocean just outside of my back yard.
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I just noticed that one this morning – his landing is a bit rough (and quick – he hits the ice and just stops). It couldn’t have felt very good, either!
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So you already had ice on your pond? WOW!
Have a wonderful day,
Pit
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We did – though it was all melted again this morning. The ducks and muskrats made a repeat appearance, and I broke out the good camera so I could get a very fun video of the muskrat. I just have to get it downloaded (easier said than done).
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That’s certainly not very relaxing for the ducks. The muskrats are stinkers.
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I’d feel worse for the ducks if there wasn’t another option. But the river is about twenty feet away, so they can definitely just walk/fly/waddle over there.
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LOL.
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Ducks we have, geese we have, cormorants, egyptian ducks, moorhens, herons too. But muskrats? Nope.
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The Internet seems torn on whether they are good to have or bad to have. So far, they are amusing me, and Choppy seems uninterested, so I will continue to enjoy them. Now, if they start digging up the yard, I may have to reconsider.
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The ducks don’t seem too bothered by the muskrats, just staying a tad ahead of the little nippers. Muskrats probably had the place to themselves all summer and resent the invasion! Does Choppy go in the pond? Wonder what she thinks of the ducks!
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I’m thinking you’re exactly right on the muskrats’ thoughts on the situation.
And Choppy has stayed out of the pond and river so far (she can get to both easily when out in the yard). I’m thinking she’ll be in there eventually, but maybe we’ll get lucky and she can avoid the bath that will follow!
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Ymmm, eau de wet dog!
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Wow what a fun place to live! Glad the algae is gone and ducks have moved in!
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It’s a great place. We’re hopefully going to get the algae taken care of this coming summer, so perhaps the muskrats will have ducks to chase all year round.
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I love it. I think we saw muskrats at my parents lake place! The kids saw something and jumped out!! We kept googling it and kind of guessed that was it! beautiful place for you!! 🙂
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I thought it was a beaver originally, but it was too small and the tail wasn’t right. The Internet led me to muskrat. I actually got a close up video of one of them this morning, so I could verify it (with the Internet, of course).
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very cool!
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What a nice post Sarah. I do not think the ducks are too afraid of the muskrat. The muskrat seems to be more of a nuisance than a threat. Ha You live in a beautiful area, and I know you love it. We live in the country with a big pond just across the fence and it is really nice. I know you will really enjoy the pond at every season of the year.
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Yeah, the muskrat isn’t much of a threat. And they can just go over to the river if he gets too annoying.
I’m looking forward to the pond in winter right now – if I shovel it off, it will make a great ice skating rink!
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🙂
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I was happily watching the ducks when I noticed the muskrats! THEN I read your post 🙂 Glad the algae is gone and you could enjoy!
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We have a plan to keep it algae-free all summer next year – so perhaps we can enjoy the duck and muskrat show for more than a few days!
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With a pond so near, did you get lots of mosquitoes in the summer? Would be fun if you have frogs too. Although they would be loud and keep you from sleep. 🙂
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We don’t really know yet, because we only moved in in late August (and I am a bad person to ask, because the mosquitoes generally don’t bother me). And I am sure there are lots of frogs – if not in the pond, then definitely in the river!
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Looking forward to that video.
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I have been having a beast of a time converting it for the blog. It looks great on the one version, but it is not transferring to a post-able form for me. I think I need a better program to do it.
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From an environmentalist standpoint, muskrats are a sign of a healthy ecosystem. I’m sure many folks don’t want to ‘deal’ with them and give them a bad rap online.
Love your pond! Such a nice chunk of property your have there.
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Excellent! I am glad to know that the algae-infested pond is not as bad as it looks.
And the pond is awesome, though it is now very frozen. A few more weeks and I can use it for ice skating.
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You really have a lovely property….I loved the view and thanks for showing 🙂 So who takes care of mowing the lawn….looks like a huge task 😉
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It is a great place to live – and we have someone hired to mow the lawn, as it is a giant job (and we are hoping to mow even more next year).
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Thank goodness you have help. Else it would be a tough job 😊
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The view is absolutely peaceful and beautiful! Great place to live for sure! 😉
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It really is!
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