The pond then and now

One of my obsessions of late has been the little water feature or pond in my back yard. It all began when I first moved here, with two of my remaining horses, Shazam and Mr. B - they needed water in the drive shed, where I'd had stalls built and hydro. I refused to carry water or run a hose out through the kitchen window anymore.

However when the fellows put the water line and hydrant into the driveshed and dug the hydro line trench, didn't separate the topsoil from the heavy clay that abounds in this area. It was all put back willynilly - the huge deep waterline trench right through my garden and the two foot or more deep one for the hydro through the back yard. I discovered my mistake - not supervising - way too late.

Eventually I decided to put a pond in, dig out the clay/loam mix - frankly it was mostly red clay - heavy, gluey and just a mess. Some of the local kids I hired to help with putting firewood in the driveshed and other heavy lifting, also assisted with the digging. It took me all of eight years to finally get my act together and get rid of the grass and weeds that had collected in the hole that eventually appeared, put in the liner and buy a filter and pump. That was last year... I put it together willynilly - no plan, not much thought behind it. I bought a bubbler to keep it from freezing solid over the winter - frogs had moved in and I didn't want to kill them.

This spring, it looked as if it had sprung a leak and I needed to start all over again. However, after a month or so of looking at increasingly green water, it appeared to have stabilized. I started moving stones, boulders, wood stumps and followed a plan I'd made over the winter. Now I'm really pleased. It's nearly finished! The filter and pump are in place, and working, the water plants I'd purchased last year survived at the bottom of the pond and are now adding a fringe of grasses to the edge.

I have to plant some creeping thyme and put some more small stones in place... but the basic heavy work is finished. Made me realize I'm stronger than I thought - though I rolled the stumps up a ramp rather than try to pick them up - same with the boulders - I became efficient at rolling heavy objects.

So now I have several new inhabitants (many of the frogs didn't survive for whatever reason). And I take my morning coffee to the pond to see who's doing what and if there are any new arrivals - a peaceful contemplative way for me to start the day - in my garden, enjoying nature, the birds, butterflies, bees...and of course the frogs.