Middle of April and All is Well

The second weekend of Pond work went pretty well.  Bill refined the clay walls of the pond interior, and since we hadn't had any rain since we began the project it was hard digging, but very stable.  He worked hard to make the perimeter as level as possible.  Then in late morning, too early for lunch, but after a lot of work had already been done, we started to fit the lining material into the hole so as to do as best we could to protect the final liner from punctures and intrusions of roots, etc. 

Once that was done, we unfurled the new black plastic liner, and brought it over to the hole.  The idea is to ease it in, not disturbing the underlayment, with enough to leave at least 8 inches or so overlapping the top edge.  Then begin to flow in the water and try to keep the folds as flat an smooth as possible as the water fills in.  We tried to keep the bottom as flat and smooth as possible, since it will be stepped upon every time we have to clean out the pond.  Any wrinkles or folds could be weak spots if walked upon. 

As the cold water filled the hole, the plastic which had become warm and pliable in the sun stiffened up, and the weight of the water held it tight to the sides of the hole.  The fuller the pond became, the more difficult it was to change the positioning of the liner.  It was pretty critical to have it in the right place from the start.  And we also wanted to waste as little as possible, so we started with it aligned as close to the edge in one corner as possible so that most of the eventual excess was on the opposite corner.

It actually worked pretty well, and once the water had filled to within a few inches of the top we stopped for lunch.  Then back out to begin putting rocks on the edges, 'artistically' - or at least in such as way as to be able to conceal the plastic as well as possible.  As that came nearer to completion, we added more water to bring the edges up all around, and discovered that we weren't as level as we hoped.  One side was at least an inch or so above the other, and the plastic would be quite visible there unless we moved the rocks and dug out some of the soil beneath the liner at the edge. 

Next test was to build the waterfall, using two flat stones, another piece of plastic liner and Bill's incredible intuitive understanding of water and gravity to place rocks in the correct places to direct the flow between the flat stones.  Make sure the back of the upper basin was enough higher than the waterfall to make a nice birdbath, then all it will take is to add enough stones to try to make it look 'natural'. 

Along the way the water lily had to be put into the bottom, requiring that Bill stand in the water for over a minute.  That was a long time in water that was below 40 degrees.  His legs were painful after no more than a minute, and we had to do the placement in three or four stages.  

By early afternoon, we had gotten the pump in, and t  he hose up to  the upper level.  A few adjustments were required, but it seemed to be able to hold water and make a nice fall down into the main pond.  The fine tuning will take place next weekend, and I'll spend this week trying to get most of the stones and rocks at least close to where they will end up. 

We were beat.  But the garden was full of the cut stems and leaves of all of the perennials that I had been pruning for the last two or three weeks.  We had gotten a burning permit, and it was a perfect day for a small fire that would allow us to dispose of all of that material.  Bill dug a 6 inch deep hole in the garden, about 6 feet across or so, and we started burning.  It is very dry now, there are actually burning bans in the nearby counties.  We made sure to have the hose out near the fire, and we even wet down the grasses in the neighbors field 10 feet away or so, just in case a spark was able to escape.  The burn went well, and within an hour and a half or so everything was gone.  Good thing too, because the neighbors had invited a bunch of small children over for an Easter Egg Hunt in their yard. 

Next morning, Bill went out and decided to spread the ashes out around the garden.  After a few shovelfuls, he realized that the embers were still glowing and hot.  The fire was still smoldering after more than 12 hours.  Amazing.