I'd dreamed of creating a small pond for years, and the dream became even stronger when we moved to a new house in the spring of 2001. With over 1/2 acre of land, I could see several wonderful "pond sites" and started reading about the challenges and rewards of creating a backyard pond.
On April 2, 2002--while grilling hamburgers in the backyard--it occurred to me that the ground might be soft enough to dig, due to recent rains. The next thing I knew, I was impulsively digging up sod and making some serious dents in what had been a rather nice section of "lawn."
April 2, 2002--view from the porch of the pond-to-be
April 4, 2002--the perimeter is established....What to do with the dirt?!
April 13, 2002--All the sod is gone and the center is slowly getting deeper.
Not enough time to dig!!
April 14, 2002--More dirt removed from the center, and almost to the correct depth.
I'll start expanding this back towards the sides, as time permits.
October 2002 Update: What a disappointment! An injury forced me to stop digging shortly after the last picture was taken, and by the time I was ready to start again, summer heat and the drought were upon us! Many pond owners in Central Virginia had to relocate their fish due to water restrictions--their ponds were drying up and it was unlawful to refill them. Maybe this can be finished next spring????
Um, still no pond; just a bigger hole in the ground!
April 2004: After heavy rains
June 7, 2004: What an overgrown mess!
June 16, 2004: What I've got in mind.....
June 19, 2004: Trying to reclaim this from the clover--and get things level!
June 20, 2004: More work on leveling and clover eradication!
June 20, 2004: This has really gotten larger than I'd first envisioned....
Approximately 16' x 14' x 32"
June 21, 2004: View from the porch
Darn groundhogs ate all the petunia blossoms again!!
Still unfinished...sigh...in June 2006....
More Ponding and Digging Misadventures:
"Saga of the Preformed Pond"
"An Accursed Piece of Ground"