Yeah, I thought about all those things, too. I would imagine that officials in my area would take a pretty dim view based on health and safety, but then again, we all know that local governments hate freedom.
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All these comments, and nobody has yet to mention how absolutely ginormous this is?
I mean, this guy’s pond/pool is larger than my entire backyard.
I suspect if I built a pond in my backyard proportional to this guy’s property/pond ratio, you’d twist your ankle if you accidentally stepped in it.
Also, completely awesome, but I’d have gone with “full pond with plants and some fish”. It’d be so awesome to go into your backyard to go fishing for some dinner.
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It is still a bit small for eating size fish. But lemme tell ya, eating size bullfrogs will eventually show up. I don’t know why or how, but my neighbors growing up had an inground pool and a bullfrog problem.
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So, you’re just talking, but not taking part in the actual ongoing conversation? Noted, will respond with equal respect
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It’s like people think the US South is the only place you can find rednecks…
I also submit this clip from what I’m gathering is the defunct David’s Farm youtube channel:
At first, I was marveling over how great it would be to have enough land to build your own little lake. 
Then I read the comments. 
Some serious fun-governors up in here today.
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That dog came close to becoming pancaked a couple of times. Yep. Rednecks.
20,000 is LOW. More like 50k.
I was thinking same thing. I think on the shallow sloping end, put down those long rubber mats with the matrix of holes, anchored by the rocks. The rubber mats droop down from shore, going well into the water. And then, spread clean sand all over the mats. Now it’s a beach. And the sand won’t slip into the pond, because most of it is held in place by the rubber mats.
When he uses his trash pump and vacuum, the sand that accumulates in the middle of the pond can be sucked out and deposited in a pile somewhere off to the side of the property. The leaves and debris can be sieved out of it and it can go back onto the beach.
But this project is sick. $15,000 for a huge pond? Shoot, that is a steal for what he got. He should set up a filtration system, like DE or cartridge filters. Yes, that’s expensive, but he could probably rig up a way using most of his existing equipment to pump the water. You need to not just kill the algae, but get the dead algae out of the water, because new algae can feed off the materials in dead old algae and it clouds the water. So, it needs to be taken out. Better to do this steadily than completely drying the pool every 3 years. He will eventually figure this out.
I had a friend in high school with very well to do parents that had some sort of pool that looked like it cascaded into a pond with koi (which it didn’t because chlorine). They had the damndest time with that mini-pond because as soon as the very expensive fish showed up, so did raccoons. Randomly at a later date a red eared slider showed up. Don’t know how he got there as the yard was walled in, in a suburban area…
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My dad has a tiny pond, like maybe 3 or 4 feet in diameter, with just regular gold fish. They get pretty big with that much room though. A heron will try to get them.
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This is literally the weirdest thing I’ve read all week. Seriously. That includes any and all stuff about tRump.
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I’m stealing this. Try and stop me!
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Herons are beautiful, but total dicks. I mean, yeah, they’ll eat your fish or frogs because that’s what herons eat, but more than that, if you have to treat them medically…
Every place I’ve been that has done wildlife rehab has a “heron mask”, basically a clear plexi face shield. Why? Because they go for your eyes. Always. Oh, you want this hook removed from your throat. I’m going to have to touch you to do that. Oh, you’re going to try to gouge out my eyes? Dick.
Also, bald eagles are total poor attitude a-holes.
Golden eagles and turkey vultures in my experience are pretty chill raptors.
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I know this is heretical, but I’m letting out my inner apex predator to make the comment. Whenever I see a blue heron majestically grazing the roadside swamp, I always wonder, “How much do you think that thing weighs, plucked and gutted?”
Is it all feathers? Or would I get a 10 pound bird out of it? Dinner for 2 or dinner for 6? Do you know? Thanks in advance, @Bobo.
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Depends on species of heron, but 10# is probably really optimistic. They’re not actually too big as far as mass goes. I’d guess 5-6#'s for the larger ones.
The big question is of course “how do they taste?”…
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In the line of the old joke, “A bit like Swan, your Honour”.
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Go for it - I stole it from a defunct Detroit morning radio show. It’s the only amusing thing that ever popped out of either of those guys’ mouths.
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Good question, and I liked matthjones’s comment.
When I eat grouse, it tastes “piney” from all the tree buds and random forest litter, beetles and bugs that they eat. So, since herons dine on frogs, minnows and all the little stuff that swims, I imagine their meat to be somewhat dark but not as dark as duck since I don’t think they eat as much grass as ducks do (iron intake darkens meat), but oily like duck, and with a slightly fishy/froggy taste.
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