The first pond was in-ground. Here you can see Ula and Tiny, our two baby turtles.
Calypso (originally called Andre till we found out she was a she!) was originally kept in a kiddy-pool because with everyone in the one pond, including plants, it got too crowded.
Can you find the Tiny turtle having a snack?
"Monet's Envy" is a wonderful picture. The two fish, Kalico Jack (koi) and Mr. Cool (goldfish) are both rescues. The little turtle by the lilly is Ula, our baby we were given when we bought turtle food.
Tiny loved to hang out by the lilly bloom.
But Kalico Jack (the koi) was really unhappy in the little pond, and Calypso hated the kiddy-pool So we built a second pond, and moved the fish into it.
The outside of the Koi pond. There's even LED rope lights under the top edge for nighttime enjoyment. Waiting for my solar 'sand castle' that will sit opposite the waterfall which has solar dragonflys next to it.
So Calypso got moved into her own pond and became a very happy girl!
The turtle pond is still a big of a work in process, but mostly external cosmetic things. Since these pictures were taken the top rails have been put up, as well as the boards beneath the black tub. Eventually the black tub is supposed to be replaced by the water feature we designed/planned, though for now it keeps the plants alive, adds extra filtration, and is jokingly called the 'snail farm'. The canister filter is housed in an exteral box next to the pond, and across the way you can see the area that is set up for basking. That area is going to be torn out, lowered, and have a sand/peat-moss box put in the center so Ula and Tiny can satisfy their digging need.
Our beloved Calypso, begging for red grapes (not green ones!) before she ran away. For a "wild" turtle, she was incredibly social.
Once we get the last of the water feature done, the in-pond island redesigned (we also have a floating island in there we added after the pictures above) the external turtle area, the tiled corner units, the cover, we'll add new pictures. Also need to add new pictures of Tiny and Ula. Originally Tiny was so small that even our lil pet-store turtle was bigger then him. However in the few months he's lived with us (since June) he's almost doubled his size and now much larger then Ula. We also added two other koi in with the two big fish; a black and white speckled koi named Pepper, and a butterfly finned pale golden koi named Leopold.
We never thought we'd own turtles, but in June 2010, when they drained the pond we thought 'why not?!'. After all the local pond had long been a favorite place to go and feed the ducks, watch the turtles bask, and giggle at the fishy faces as they'd try and get to the bread before the ducks. It was always a place the whole family enjoyed, and somewhere special for my son. Now we have a little bit of that happiness in our backyard. Our oasis in the high desert.
--Kristi
Pahrump, Nevada
