By the spring of 2004, the pond was done at last!! During that summer, we worked on the landscaping; planting trees, bushes, flowers, and grass. There were still some final touches that need to be added, but a long-awaited dream had finally come true.
Rich, at one point, decided to build a three-step cascade into a small fifty gallon sub-pond so that I would have the "water music" that I was hoping for. Like everything else he has done, it came out just right. A large green frog lives under the ledge at the top. It also gives us one more place for floating and marginal plants. Future plans call for making a small, flat area in front and to the right of the pond where I can place a bench. I have no doubt that this will become one of my favorite spots to read or just sit and think and enjoy the sounds.
The waterfall drops from the sub-pond into the main pond in a smooth sheet, thanks to the many hours that Rich spent finishing off the ledge rock so that it would be PERFECT. We plan to turn off the waterfall in the winter and just run the small original pump. The 35 or so fish will "hang out" in the bottom and do not have to be fed until spring warms up the water. For many of them, this will be their third winter and they have done just fine. The water lilies, too, are placed in the bottom and divided in the spring. The marginals are cut back and left where they are and the floaters are disposed of, to be replaced in the spring.
In August of 2004, a website called Pond Solutions ran a contest to find the best ponds in the entire U.S. I submitted the three photos preceding this paragraph, and we won the $250 third-place prize!! They gave much praise to Rich's fine rock work, calling it "impeccable" and "one of the best jobs we've seen in years".
Song: "Hey Jude"