San Diego Stonehaven

Right in my own backyard!

That's how I would characterize these ponds

which belong to the Stonehaven Homeowner's Assocation.

Not that they are that close to my house, but 

they are right above the Morena Costco Tire Center 

where I've spent many hours (waiting).

I discovered this pair of ponds in March, 6 months after starting my quest. 

We have visited again, twice.

I was searching for fresh water closer to home

than Oceanside or Mount Laguna.

There are ducks, fish and turtles in these ponds.

Now that I am a pond-locating expert,

I can attest to their beauty and excellent management.

A "stream" runs down into the lower pond, 

giving the appearance that it is coming from the upper one.

The ponds are private, but not gated. 

But they do ask you to leave if you look suspicious, or have a dog.

The upper pond is 500 feet away, uphill.

And it's over 500 feet long!

It was starting to rain during our visit, so we didn't walk the entire perimeter.

but I can bring the far end a bit closer with my telephoto lens.

We went back on a nicer day.
We took some pictures of the "stream" linking the ponds.

and saw lots of red-eared sliders.

Somewhat accustomed to people walking and jogging by them

Ponds undoubtedly originate in draining water from the hills above,

the developer's work in making a nice place to walk is highly appreciated.

Here are some photos from a cloudy day in Spring 2024:

Cloudy, but plenty of plants blooming.

We saw a curious carp or giant goldfish (whatever it is) which came over to inspect us,

and undoubtedly if we had fed it, it would have called the pond police.

Unafraid, it came right to shore and belched at us.

We also saw two ducks engaged in courtship activity in the center of the pond. 

If you see them too, it's because they are plastic decoys, a fact we didn't realize,

until we got home and enlarged the photos.