Games To Play In Your Small Backyard Pond

Backyard ponds can be fun for the whole family. Perhaps one of the reasons you purchased your property was because it had a pond. Or maybe you are begining to look into building one. Whichever is the case, this article will suggest some fun activities to help your family get the most enjoyment from your pond.

First, a Few Backyard Pond Tips

You don't want the water in your small backyard pond to remain still. This will kill off any valuable nutrients in the water and encourage the growth of algae slime and biting insects. By keeping the water moving, even for half the day, you can keep the water from becoming a nursery for insects and green slime. Stagnant water also tends to have an offensive stench to it while moving water does not.

Under perfect circumstances, the water in backyard ponds are kept moving because they are connected to an underground or above ground creek, stream or river. But because of overdevelopment and human overpopulation, the odds are that many backyard ponds have been cut off from their lifeline. You need to revive your pond again by installing a filter and pump to keep the water moving. There are even solar powered pond filters available today which are extremely convenient to use.

You will also need to be sure that the water in your backyard pond is not getting too much sunlight or nutrients which can cause an imbalance in the chemistry of the water. If there are many trees or plants dropping leaves into the water, consider trimming back the plants. If too much sun is the problem, you can get a tarp to cover the pond from the worst of the sun and take it off at night.

Pond Games and Activities

Now that your pond water is healthy, here are some games you can play using backyard ponds:

The Duck Pond Game: Get a whole bunch of rubber ducks or floating bathtub toys and mark the bottom so you can tell them apart. Everyone chooses a duck/toy. Gather them up at one end of the pond and let them go! The first duck to get to the other side wins.

Duck Bingo: This is with real ducks. You can't touch the ducks. You section the land around the pond into a bingo grid. If the real duck poops in your pre-picked square, you've won.

As The Pond Water Turns: You go sit and watch the activity around backyard ponds. You pretend it's a soap opera and make up impossible situations suggested by any plant, ripple or wildlife activity on the pond.

There you go - three fun pond games. Okay, this all may sound a little ridiculous to you, but your kids will love it!