Opinion please!

I too would love that pond! If you're going to have goats and other animals - they all need a water source. Can't you just re-purpose the pond? If fenced, the kids will not be able to get in there, will they???

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Be a fountain, not a drain!

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You can sell the koi on ebay or your local pet store....they are not cheap!

__________________
Be a fountain, not a drain!

^()^
http://tubbsfarmstead.com/

If you think that fence will keep my kids out, you have never met my kids!

It's a good idea as a water source, but then the gate needs to be open for the animals, thus open for the kids.

You guys are starting to talk me out of burying it!

Never thought of that!

Ponds are a source of water when there is a fire. Does your insurance reflect this? Many areas have regulations of the type and size of fencing around swimming pools. One of those fences should be adequate to keep kids out until they are smart enough to handle water properly.

The fish keep the mosquito population down. If not koi, it needs something. I wouldn't let animals wallow in it if I could figure out a way to make a waterer outside of the fenced pond.

If those are cattails, you may not have a pond in a couple of years anyway.

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George Washington did not run and hide.

Harry are you saying the cat tails will take over?

If you don't want it, fill it in and then use it the same as you would use any other level piece of ground.

With the cute little fence around it, it would make a nice family picnic area with sturdy tables and a big built-in barbecue

With the fence area I figure we could use a lot of it as garden space to keep deer, rabbits, etc out. I could also put a sandbox and small play area and could keep the kids in that area for a short bit if I was doing something else in the yard and didn't want them wandering the entire 6 acres.

Carefully check and make sure that pond and the area around it isn't designated a wetland. Fill those in at your own peril. Being small does not make it a non-wetland.

They pump water into this thing every other day. It's man made, not natural.

Duck poop everywhere too and THEY EAT EVERYTHING you could put in the ground....worst than locusts!!! Don't get ducks if you plan on having a garden.

__________________
Be a fountain, not a drain!

^()^
http://tubbsfarmstead.com/

Yeah, given a little time, cattails will take over and turn it from a pond to a marsh, and eventually into a bog and peaty soil.

__________________
George Washington did not run and hide.

Ok, quit filling it with water, and fill it up with gravel, dirt or whatever up to about the 1 to 2 ft mark. Fill in around the sides with stone and you have your fire pit.

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"Nothing so needs reforming as other peoples habits." Mark Twain

If the pond is man-made, and draining it is not of concern, where will the water go if you stop filling the pond? Will it sink into the surrounding ground? Since it is 5 ft deep and was man made, and the photo looks like there is no run off, it may become dry fairly rapidly, but stay as mud for some time.

If you are providing water from a well, ground water may not be far below the pond. That could translate into a longer time period between turning off the water and constructing anything on that space. You may want to see if the ground will support a fireplace.

I suspect the pond, even with fish, spahns many mosquitos. Eliminating the pond will help with your mosquito problems, but the larger environment in your area will stay the same. In other words, you may not notice an improvement in the mosquito situation.

Idea: Fill in the pond with gravel (as suggested above) and build a deck above the area where the pond is now. Put the deck supports outside of the existing pond ara. The deck could be gradually improved as time and money allow.

Gary

There is a well pump up above it and they turn it on and the water runs down about a 10 ft "slide" of rocks and into the pond. I think I can dry it up pretty quickly.

It would have been nice to have a fenced play area when my kids were young. As far as a garden, your going to need a much taller fence to keep deer out!

Ohhhh I want it even more now lol

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Recognize the beauty in things, in creation, even when thats difficult to do.
Be loving, show compassion. Create while we're here.
Enjoy this life, be in this life but not be of it.

The big mosquitos in the Shenandoah Valley must love that pond.

Not for long!