Tuesday, March 2, 2010

I Have a Dream. Well, Obsession. But Let's Say "Dream" Because It Makes Me Sound More Sane.

Last Day to Enter the $75 Shopping Credit GIVEAWAY!

For months now, all I can think about are ponds. I've been driving around town secretly coveting other people's ponds for years, and now I'm determined to have one of my own. I think I've even got Tom on board. At least, he's made a few resigned remarks about dusting off his shovel and beefing up his digging muscles, so I'm taking that as agreement.

You might remember my first foray into water gardening last year:
Yup, that's a pond in a flowerpot, complete with water plants and goldfish. By the end of the summer, the water hyacinths had grown to take over more than half the surface area of the pot, and the fish would swim up to the surface and poke their little mouths out when you came near. (They'd figured out the whole "people + proximity = food" equation).

When I picture my future pond, I tend to envision something along the lines of this:
Did you hear that? That was the sound of my husband fainting, followed by the rustle of divorce papers.

No, I know that I'm not going to get that pond. But isn't it beautiful and serene?

A little closer to being within the realm of reality (but still not quite there - you can stop breathing into a paper bag now, Tom) is this one:
The landscaping around it is gorgeous. I'm a sucker for river rock and fieldstone, and I am in complete love with the little waterfall at the far end.

I'm thinking that my pond is probably going to be more along these lines (please picture without the large burgundy elephant ear plant on the left; it makes me inexplicably tense):
I actually have quite a few rocks that we've hauled out of the creekbed and, um, (*cough*) kind of stolen from construction sites. The only real expenses will be a liner and a pump, which we'll use to create the waterfall.

I'm not sure what to do about fish because (get this) putting koi into a pond/stream/whatever in Maine is ILLEGAL. And while part of me thinks it would be secretly badass to go to jail for "illegal harboring of pretty fish", I realize that this would seriously cut into my pond-enjoyment and gardening hours. So, not sure yet what to do about that. Minnows? Non-claustrophobic trout? This is going to require much Googling.

Bug is hoping that frogs find our pond, and Bear is rooting for turtles.

I'll keep you posted. This is going to be fun. No matter what Tom says.

8 comments:

Jen on the Edge said...

Oh man, I feel so sorry for Tom.

smalltownme said...

Good luck!

parnola said...

A coworker of mine has a similar pond with his pet snapping turtle. It kills all the neighborhood birds, squirrels, etc.

Anonymous said...

I love ponds. I could never imagine actually creating one in my backyard (sorry Tom that's going to be some work) but go you! I'm with Bear on the turtles!

jenn said...

parnola: That would be awesome. It would keep the damn squirrels off of my bird feeder. I could name it "Killer".

Nana said...

The dirt that is dug out for the pond can be used to fill in low areas in the back of the house. I'd hire someone with a backhoe for that job. That's definitely not a one-man job. You're welcome, Tom.

Cindy said...

Koi in a pond in Maine are illegal? And I thought Oklahoma laws were challenging? I'd go with turtles! When I was 10 or so, we had a turtle that lived in our backyard for at least 3 years. It was always so exciting to see her appear every spring and have new baby turtles hatch. Until, of course, my dad ran over them accidentally with the lawn mower. 'Nuff said.

Dawn in D.C. said...

oooooh! A pond! I would love a pond. I like your flowerpot pond. And the waterfall pond. It is going to be fun!!