I believe this will be the fourth year of owning our pond. My husband and I created it on the side of a hill outside our back door. We can see it from the kitchen window were we sit to eat breakfast and lunch. There is a birdfeeder and birdbath also nearby. It is a joy to watch our birds, frogs, goldfish, and koi come to life every year.
As all projects go, it became larger and more complicated than we had imagined. So it took about a year to complete it. But the rewards have been immense. We located it on a hillside with the thought that it would require less digging. That was true--there was less digging, but it ended up requiring multiple truck loads of fill dirt and top soil, and eventually a retaining wall. We hired a landscape contractor to bring in about half the fill and begin to form and compact the down-hill side of the pond. After that (which became too expensive) we took over, using our pickup truck and the generosity of nearby housing contractors who gave us soil from the many new housing developments that were springing up in our town back then. Doug was my hero and built the retaining wall out of landscaping timbers. I wish I had photos documenting the construction, but suffice it to say, it was a very difficult job, but an enjoyable one because of the challenge and creativity it offered. I was stronger than I am now, and did a lot of the digging, shaping, and placing of rocks myself. I employed a small amount of help from my kids. I wanted it to be a fun and rewarding family project, but they remember it as a distasteful time when they had to work on the pond only when they couldn't escape it. Of course, I did all of the planting. I bought about 80 bulbs, and neighbors were very generous with their donations of their divided perennials and even water lilies!
The project was not without it's aches and pains. But I am so thankful we did it. The water turned 50 degrees a few days ago and the fish were starting to come to the surface. That's when I knew it was time to re-install the above ground filter and submersed pump. But before doing that I removed the netting that was there to catch leaves from the fall. This was the first year I had left the netting on all year, and I sorely regret doing that. It was left on because winter came so early last year--first snow storm Dec. 19th. The snow covered the netting, and everything froze to it, so I just left it there. But yesterday when we went to start up the pond again, we found four dead frogs in the upper pool. This has never happened before. I guess the net trapped them in the five inches of frozen water. Every other year, they must have found suitable places to hibernate.
For the first time I completely emptied and cleaned out part of the pond. It was the upper pool, and being so small it was not that big of a deal. The water was oil black as I was scooping it, and there was a good amount of sludge accumulated on the bottom. It felt good to get all that rotten egg stuff out of there. Installed the filter and pump--no problems. And now the waterfall is running.
The fish are up, and hopefully in a few days the water will be clear. No feeding for a while yet though. Next I will continue to clean up dead plant material from last year. Did most of it in the fall but there is more. I do not want a return of the Irish Potato Blight that attacked many of my plants last year. I hope the summer to come is not so wet.
Soon irises will be sprouting and our beautiful bog plants also. Whenever there is new life in the pond area, I will make a new post so you can follow along in the Pond Chronicles! Look forward to seeing you then!
-Sally
hi! Sally, you have your own "Monet's garden" there. The cat is your personnel touch..lol
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post.
Thank you! I have new pictures as of today, and will post. Big changes!
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