This is the cause of my current 365 inattention. Our pond has been leaking for ages but we had to wait until the frogs and newts had done their stuff before we could empty it. This gave me some 'pondering' time and in the end I decided we should go for a small pond with some planting around it to look more natural - it's in a patio and I never was over happy with it. We haven't had time to get on with the job but with Rachel's birthday party looming at the weekend I decided, in the words of Tom Daley, that it was, 'do or die'. So I set about emptying the water into a paddling pool and embarking on international frog and newt rescue. Once I was happy we hadn't missed many I got Adam to work with a fork puncturing the lining to drain the rest of the water. Much cursing later the water had receded not a millimetre - ironic as if you fill the thing up it's half empty within two days. So - time to start using buckets to get the water out. Since I'm keen to plant some bog-garden plants we decided that a bit of water left in the bottom wouldn't matter and Nigel set about moving topsoil (in barrow with flat tire) from the bottom end of the garden to fill around the new liner. Well that resulted in a hideous squelchy mess with remarkable welly-removing suction. We were both exhausted and the pond does not look party-ready. In an uncharacteristically sensible move this morning I called the local 'soil suppliers' and asks them to deliver us a load tomorrow. So Adam and I will be busy filling in the gaps tomorrow and hoping that we have something vaguely respectable to look at. Not many plants will appear until the basketball season is over (approx 3 years!!)
The first thing that came to mind is what would your physio say if he saw what you were doing! I hope you aren't making your shoulder worse!!! Soil & water make lots of mess but it will be lovely when it's finished ...probably won't look it's best for the w/e though!!!!! Love the wellies, mud & all!
Hunter? I see a small label. I got a leak in mine too last year. Managed to mend it with a puncture repair patch. The same technique I used to mend my cheap wellies too!
Oh fabulous! this sounds like my sort of day! I love mucking about with our pond, but like you I worry about all the liitle creatures! and making a new one...what fun! Where's there's muck.....there's a pair of wellies!
I've been attending to my pond today too. Mine is built up with decking around it. The fish had been gasping for air so I took the water level down and re-filled it.
@shannew Couldn't see any where obvious but it was definitely draining - whereas it doesn't drain at all with whopping holes in the bottom!!! And now it's raining which is really not helpful....
I'm thinking your new and improved pond will be a thing of beauty when all is said and done! Wonderful shot depicting the Herculean effort taking place. :)
Love your narrative too. We have a pond ....ponds are high maintenance...regularly needing 'pump cleaning' and plant pruning....my wife is in the 'judith corner' ..she's not happy about our pond (we built it years and years ago ....probably early 1990's ...and she keeps saying fill it in !!) ,,,but the joy of seeing fish / frogs / tadpoles etc and other pondlife outweighs the hassle of regular maintenance
@phil_howcroft Well when we moved in the previous owners had drained their pond because Adam was only toddling and we brought soil from down the garden, filled it and planted a lovely bed. In the spring we had frogs all over the kitchen and had to rush out and buy a little pond, dig out the soil, take it back down the garden..... All three of the cousins fell in that pond!! Then after our building work we dug out a big pond and Nigel trundled all the soil down the garden....he's very long-suffering!! So my advice is to keep doing the maintenance!
Love red wellies - I have some too :)
Look forward to more later!
Love your narrative too. We have a pond ....ponds are high maintenance...regularly needing 'pump cleaning' and plant pruning....my wife is in the 'judith corner' ..she's not happy about our pond (we built it years and years ago ....probably early 1990's ...and she keeps saying fill it in !!) ,,,but the joy of seeing fish / frogs / tadpoles etc and other pondlife outweighs the hassle of regular maintenance