First an introduction. My husband and I built a log home almost 40 years ago now in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, just north of the Vermont border. For anyone who hasn't visited this part of the world, we're basically at the end of the Appalachians and boy, is this land rocky.
We have a big natural pond a fair distance from our house, but I've always yearned to have the sound of water closer by. I've been lurking at this forum since 2006 absorbing everyone's stories, what worked for them, what failed.
I've been especially heartened by the fact that almost everyone here is like my husband and I: not a lot of money, certainly willing to work to get what they want.
In 2008 a lot of things came together: we tore down the woodshed right by our home, finally opening up a spot right by the house for a pond.
{{gwi:219488}}
A neighbour's son bought a very old backhoe and word got around that he worked for about half what local backhoe operators are charging. We suspected there were big rocks under our woodshed, too big for two people with shovels to handle. We were right. To give you a sense of the scale of what was dug out, my husband (the skinny guy on the left) is over 6 feet tall
{{gwi:219490}}
Backhoes can move a lot of earth, but they're not finesse machines. When Chris was done we were left with a hole that looked like this:
{{gwi:219492}}
The two of us busted out our wheelbarrows (oh yes, we have his 'n' hers wheelbarrows) and started removing dirt, shaping the pond, digging out rocks. It took weeks. Then we went down to my in-laws' farm and dug sand out of a bank in the woods, ferried it up by tractor and packed a three inch layer all over the sides of the pond. So. Much. Work.
It took all our spare loot to put in the liner. We had no idea what the thing weighed and it was all the two of us could do to get it stretched. On the advice of the local pond company which had sold us the liner, we lined the inside of the pond with heavy duty landscape fabric. No money for pumps or filters, so we filled this pond via a sump pump from our bit natural pond, covered it with tarps, more rocks than I want to think about, and dreamed of spring.
That landscape fabric saved our liner. That fall we had a bear break through the ice and fall into the pond. (The tarps over it probably fooled him into thinking he was on solid ground.) He managed to clamber out from the shallow end thanks to the traction the fabric gave him. His claws nicked the fabric, but the liner was intact. I don't want to think about what would have happened if he'd had to slip and slide over a bare rubber liner.
As I've mentioned, we have extremely rocky land. When the universe hands you lemons, make lemonade, right? In the spring of 2009 my husband and I walked every brook on our land and hand picked a river of the flattest rocks we could find, brought them up to the pond.
{{gwi:219494}}
We have access to the farm tractor, so at night after work my husband would set in place the largest rocks. The huge "chute" rock we used for our waterfall was at the very upper reaches of what the tractor could handle, but it did it. During the day, I built the walls. Here's a part way picture:
{{gwi:219496}}
It was far more work than either of us expected. In the end the stone work wasn't done until September of 2009. At that point we were about ten minutes from winter, so we didn't bother installing the filter falls or the pump. I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I wasa summer of brutal, punishing work and all I had to show for it was a kidney shaped mass of pea green water.
This spring the pump and filter falls finally went in. Bought my first batch of pond plants. I can see I'll need more, but the piggy bank will be empty until next spring. I've decided to live with the pond for a summer, see if I can control water quality before I introduce fish next summer. Read enough horror stories here to make me cautious. There's been several batches of tadpoles cycle through and I even have salamanders.
The landscaping isn't done, but this is how it looks as of this morning.
{{gwi:219498}}
Would my husband and I have done this had we truly understood how much work it would be? I'm not sure.
Are we glad we did? Oh yes, definitely. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it is to sit on our porch and hear the music of the water. But then, I don't have to describe this. You are all ponders, too, and you know exactly what I'm talking about.
koijoyii
horton
Related Professionals
Windham Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Southfield Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Edmond Landscape Contractors · Berwyn Landscape Contractors · Burien Landscape Contractors · Chesapeake Ranch Estates Landscape Contractors · Conroe Landscape Contractors · Gloucester Landscape Contractors · Rancho Santa Margarita Landscape Contractors · Roswell Landscape Contractors · Uxbridge Landscape Contractors · Wanaque Landscape Contractors · Tyngsboro Landscape Contractors · Selma Landscape Contractors · Raytown Landscape Contractorsannedickinson
drh1
marn_ehOriginal Author
diggery
karenrf
marn_ehOriginal Author
hosenemesis
goodkarma_
babalu_aye
flagtruck