In the midst of the California drought, I admit, I think about frogs. 

I think about them a lot.

So last summer, I hatched a plan.

I decided to hand dig a miniature garden pond.  My intention was to create a tiny oasis for creatures who might need water—and attract beneficial insects to the garden.  Plus, I thought—what better workout?  

So each morning, I dug for about an hour.  Fueled only by my imagination of the future oasis, I dug.  This was real work!  After a month of chipping away at the hard ground, I had successfully created a six foot long, four foot deep dry pit.

It looked more like a shallow grave than a future pond.
 
This is where my imagination helped.  If I squinted I could imagine what it might be like filled with water and teeming with life.  A masterpiece.
 
I carefully placed sand in the bottom of the pit to prevent rocks from puncturing a pod liner, and then installed the liner, surrounding it with stones I scrounged from elsewhere on the farm.  This was just in time for the first rains.  I collected rainwater, invested in a few pond plants to keep the water clean, and added a few “mosquito fish” (guppies, really) to keep us safe from pests.  Then I waited.

And I waited.

And waited.

First came the algae, which I dutifully skimmed off the pond.   
Imagine my delight at the sound of the first bullfrog. It worked!  I had a real pond!

What I did not consider when locating the pond was how loud frogs can be.  One frog became two, then four and then…   many. 
The tiny pond is a living oasis, a cacophony, drowning out conversation one might enjoy on the front porch.  As we walked by, the pond suddenly became silent, only to resume when we were a safe distance away.

Frogs make me smile.

Apparently, given habitat, frogs happily reproduce.  Thousands of frog eggs appeared in the pond just a two weeks ago.  Of course! 

Lesson: Create the conditions for life, and life will thrive.

With new life, comes joy…  and abundance.
Every frog on eleven acres was looking for a wet environment for its offspring.    Each day brings a new discovery.  At this writing, thousands of frog eggs have turned into polliwogs.  Song birds have arrived to celebrate the food source, and dragonflies dance above the oasis.