Pond Contest

I entered a contest for 'Living the Country Life' magazine.  My mom brought the contest to my attention thinking it might be worth a shot.  With nothing to lose, I've submitted my essay and photo.   The contest was to submit a photo of your pond and explain why you love it.  Below is my entry and photo. 

If I were asked what I love most about our pond, my answer would not be the expected the response… Picturesque sunsets dancing across the waters’ surface, the sound of frogs croaking a peaceful chant, the slight breeze rocking a pontoon boat beside a dock, while a cozy home sets nestled upon the hillside. 

Our pond has been a work in progress for over 10 years and building a home next to that pond is no longer our goal, but has become our mission.

Eight years ago, while seven months pregnant with our firstborn, my man-verses-wild husband and I camped next to our pond.   By 2:00 a.m., the obnoxious, endless croaking toads proved too much for my tired and hormonal body to tolerate and I resorted to walking to my in-laws cabin to spend the remainder of the night.  Even so, our mission did not end and for the past eight years we’ve continued battling brush and multiflora rose until our forearms looked as though we’d faught every stray cat imaginable.  Our dream has survived and we’ve put every effort into turning this piece of land into our home.

My husband knows I’ve always dreamt of owning a boat.  Last spring he spent $600 on an old 2-seater fishing boat.  It’s not fancy, to say the least but we’ve got a boat.  We also decided to stock our pond with fish.  We didn’t know whether our pond would support life or not as the pond turns into what appears to be pea soup each summer.  Life or no life, we feel a connection to that pond.  It’s far from perfect and not the kind of pond you spend your whole life dreaming about.  Yet it’s our pond.  When we take the time to look beneath the mossy green surface, what we love about our pond cannot be seen by the human eye or captured through a camera lens.  What we love about our pond is the way it makes us feel.  It’s our peace on earth, our hobby farm, our date night, an opportunity, a place in this world created perfectly for us.

An old crooked oak sets along the shore of the pond and proves to be my solace.  Not much compares to a Sunday afternoon with a bottle of wine, good cheese and my husband sitting under that crooked oak looking out over our pond.  As we dream about our future and watch the fish begin to emerge from the ponds surface to capture their dinner, it’s evident this place provides all the religion our soul needs. That pond is our church and its’ banks are our pew.

Wish me luck!