We have a problem in our back yard whenever we get a lot of rain, which we've had this month. We end up with a small pond. A couple of times, we actually had ducks. We bought a load of dirt several years ago to help alleviate the problem and it did help somewhat. The pond isn't as big.
So I had this brainstorm. Since it would take at least another load of topsoil, which neither my husband nor I could haul by wheelbarrow back there and the kids weren't overly thrilled with doing it last time, I decided it would be easier to put in a bog. It wouldn't take much. I bought a six by six-foot pond liner and started digging. I knew I wouldn't have to dig much since the ground was already lower than the rest of the yard.
I mentioned to a friend what I was going to do. She said she had a pond. The funny thing was my son mentioned he had a pond if I wanted it. He said it was big enough for my husband and me to fit in it. Well, knowing that I was going to be the one digging this, I said I didn't want a pond. We had two ponds in our previous house and I loved them. We had a couple water lilies and other pond plants, goldfish, some of which actually looked like koi, and frogs. A small waterfall trickled water and I loved to sit out there, especially in the early morning with my coffee before the world started moving. The sound of the water calmed me and started the day on a peaceful note.
I told my friend I didn't want the pond either, but she sent me a picture of it, It wasn't very big, so I caved. The planning began. I talked my oldest son into picking it up for me on the Fourth of July, which he did. Since I knew the approximate size from my friend, I had already started digging the hole. I wasn't too far off when my son dropped it off.
I finished digging and installed the pond. Of course, I made the hole much larger than needed to allow for the bog area around it. I had to buy up a couple of bags of soil to replace some of the grass I removed,. and I picked up some beach stones for the front, I ordered a couple of bog plants and my friend is going to bring me some more.
As if that wasn't enough, I decided to dig up more grass behind it and transplant some of my irises and daisies. Partly because I thought it would look nice and partly because it would make it easier for my husband to mow.
I also decided to add fish. I wasn't going to but changed my mind and my daughter is going to bring me some tadpoles. Our yard is becoming quite a nature preserve. I love feeding the birds, especially the Baltimore Orioles. We have two pairs that visit regularly and of course the hummingbirds. It's fun to sit and watch them.
Now if I could just figure a way to keep the deer from eating my plants. I don't mind they're in my yard, in fact, I enjoy watching them also. They're way too tame and they'd probably eat out of my hand if I chose to do it, but I don't. It's not good for them and it's bad enough they're not afraid of anyone. You can get real close to them. They don't even stomp their foot at you like they used to do.
The pond isn't as close to the house as I'd like, but I can see it from my windows and my patio. It's still a work in progress and maybe by the time summer is over, I'll be done with it.
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Fate, kismet, or whatever you want to call it is, it turned Interior Designer, Wendy Seidel’s world upside down. From a chance meeting at the airport to Florida and back to Ohio, she can’t believe the strange circumstances that throw her and Bill Johnson together, after he literally knocks her off her feet at the airport.
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