This was our mildest winter on record
with an average January temperature of 46.9 F. We did not have a single
day of freezing temps this winter. So, we continued right on with
gardening and building projects in our back garden. Stan built our wood
porch deck and Susan built a pond with help from Stan in digging out
the hole. We hope you enjoy these photos.
2. Susan enjoying her rocking chair on the porch in March.
3. The porch guts ... oh, I mean framing ...
4. Now
for the pond begun March 31st. It was basically a week's project. The
space between the bricks and pavers around the pond has tiny
groundcover that should spread and cover the bricks by the end of
summer. We have 6 oxygenating plants in the pond and when it warms up
we will put in a lotus - no fish; a heron lives nearby and just ate the
fish in our neighbor's pond.
5. Here's the hole dug - perhaps you can see it is in a couple of tiers.
6. Now the thick polyvinyl cloth is laid in and we are filling the pond.
7. Believe it or not, the second day of water a frog from somewhere outside our garden jumped in!
8. Katje prancing along beside the pond which she drinks from. Susan lounging in the sun on the porch.
9. Stan
completed the deck and rail construction the first week of his
vacation, July 2007 - we sure enjoy sitting out watching birds and rain!
10. July
2007 - After Stan finished the deck and rail, Susan created a stream
bed to take the run off from the porch roof and direct it through the
garden - first stop the pond, then with an overflow at the end of the
pond furtherest away from the porch another stream bed all the way to
back of the garden to water the trees past the pond. It is really nice
to watch the stream flow during rains. Susan laid a strip of pond liner
under the gravel to create the culvert. Our hydrangeo (hortensia) have
really filled out this summer.
11. And
moving around to the front of the house the "magnolia Susan" in full
bloom. Notice we finally have enough vegetation to block the headlights
of oncoming cars at night. At left is a photinia tree. At the right the
lilac tree is just about ready to bloom - it's Susan's favorite smell.
That's Susan's bike with the yellow paint - "I want people to see me
coming."
email and web site: mailto:stan@powertoshare.com--http://www.powertoshare.com/
email and web site: mailto:susan@susankramer.com--http://www.susankramer.com/