BagsPond update

[bagsmom]

Looking good

Thanks! You should see me hobbling around the house right now. Bursitis is going to get me tonight, I can tell. AND YET -- now that I've rested, I'm having to resist going outside and digging some more.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Thanks! You should see me hobbling around the house right now. Bursitis is going to get me tonight, I can tell. AND YET -- now that I've rested, I'm having to resist going outside and digging some more.

It can be addicting. That's probably why I did it for close to 20 years. There is something about working in the soil. Gardening can have the same effect.

 

[sissy]

True but she's in northern Georgia so single digits aren't that unusual there. This year we're switching from an El Nino to a La Nina and that usually makes our winters a little colder and more unpredictable than normal too

NOOOO NOOOO WINTER IS NOT PERMITTED TO HAPPEN HERE

 

[addy1]

Beautiful hole! You are doing a great job!

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks! I had to take two Motrin PMs last night! Just sent off my big kid to do a first-time take of the SAT. Getting younger one up to go to a scout thing.

Then I may have to take my poor old bones back out to the hole. That dirt blob is bothering me.

 

[addy1]

Wish I could loan you my Kubota. It would smash through the clay for you.

 

[bagsmom]

Wish I could loan you my Kubota. It would smash through the clay for you.

I just keep imagining myself at the end of the project -- looking fit, firm -- strong and sleek. HA! I'm pretty sure I'll just be crippled.

 

[addy1]

I was never so trimmed up as I was after the pond / stream build and hauling rocks up the hill.
Of course it does not last unless you move onto the next pond...............
And it is harder now, my hands are not happy with me or the work they have done all their life.

 

[bagsmom]

I got through the giant rock/clay blob! Yay! Made lots of sparks with my pickaxe, hitting that quartz! The sledge/wedge is a good trick! Helped me get through, piece by piece -- 4.5 hours today.

 

[bagsmom]

Photos -- still have some digging to get to bottom. And need to tamp down and be very sure coping stone shelf is level. But I got through the giant blob! I also need to dig to China so I have a deep enough hole for my Helix skimmer. That thing goes down quite deep. That's OK -- I still need more dirt to cover the waterfall hill.

 

[addy1]

YEAH!!

 

[tbendl]

Looking awesome! It will all be worth it.

 

[sissy]

you are lucky you have time to dig .I had 1 day to dig bigger and get liner in and get filter running .When you get to the end every muscle in your body is screaming help .Sometimes you even wonder am I really nuts doing this and then other times you look and say i can do it .But then your body screams YOUR NUTS

 

[bagsmom]

OK -- The hole is officially DONE! I'm going around now and "overdigging" the edges so I can set the coping stone boulders in however I want, then can shove up the dirt (under the liner) right next to the rock. (Make the dirt form to the rock, rather than the other way around.) I've got my trench going for the pipe between skimmer and waterfall. I went through yesterday and tried to clean up the walls and edges. In doing so, I exposed some more veins of quartz. I have minor concerns about this being really rough under the liner. I'm getting underlayment, but I'm considering lining the whole pond with newspapers -- sort of a giant paper mache project. Thoughts on that? I read somewhere else on here that layers of newspaper will actually degrade and become water resistant. So not only would they be a little bit of extra padding, they could become another layer that helps keep moisture in. Mostly, though, I'm thinking in terms of additional padding between liner and rocky wall.
I'm going to go out with our giant tape measure and double check for my liner size. Exciting!

 

[bagsmom]

you are lucky you have time to dig .I had 1 day to dig bigger and get liner in and get filter running .When you get to the end every muscle in your body is screaming help .Sometimes you even wonder am I really nuts doing this and then other times you look and say i can do it .But then your body screams YOUR NUTS

Boy, that's the truth. I have been hurting! There is something so satisfying, though, about the creative process in digging and shaping out a pond. It's a physical and an artistic challenge! (Gosh, if only I felt the same way about housekeeping...)