New Pond build, At the Log Cabin

[fishin4cars]

This is the areas where the new ponds are going to be once we move in. Taken during the showing of the house in the winter of 2011

 

[fishin4cars]

Different angles from around the pond Dec. 2010 During the showing of the property. Before I did anything.

 

[fishin4cars]

The first soil removed and the koi pond is underway. It's now March and still the rains keep coming. Oh when will I finally get to dig again? Got this much done in one day once the tractor arrived.

 

[fishin4cars]

Well after 24 hours and 7.56 inches of rain it's finally drying out again. Maybe just maybe I can get the Lily pond started by next week some time. Only took 9 hours to pump out the mud pond. Oh and my supervisor is complaining I'm taking to long on this project.

 

[fishin4cars]

OK April the 1st and it's back under way. Making progress, This is the Lily pond or the first pond that will be up and running. Working in the mud for three days! Yuck! Got the liner layed back in just before the next rain hit. Whoops, dug the pond to deep and two wide. Liner won't fit. Pulled the liner back out and started filling back in and building back in the sides. Sides filled in and bottom filled back in. My granddaughter Madison, and my best friend Ronnie have been my helpers almost every day. Starting to take some shape. Last pictures were taken the night of March 31st. The pile of dirt is starting to take shape and the water fall is starting to take form. Bog is almost formed but still need to level everything and do some back filling behind it for extra support.

 

[fishin4cars]

Now for the Koi pond, It's taking more time for sure. After pumping out all the water we installed the liner, Well I tried to, It's to short and the other liner had damage. So moved the liner to the lily pond and had to order new liner. Got the mud dried up, tilled in more dirt and started going deeper. It's starting to make baby steps, Or should I say first thing was build steps to get in and out. Dug through the wall for the bottom drain. ROCK HARD CLAY! 6 hours with three people taking turns to punch through. New Liner showed up on March 30th. Got it layed in to cover the pond in case it rains AGAIN!. Still waiting on bottom drain and Filters and skimmers to show up. Endy giving her sign of approval. The last shot is a view from the guest bedroom window.

 

[fishin4cars]

Views from the guest bedroom at the ponds, Pretty much the same views I see as I look out and type from the desk.
Also a couple of pics from the front looking at the house.

 

[fishin4cars]

Oh and did I mention while all this is going on we also had to clear off the back 2.5 acres so when the fence is finally installed the horses/other animals will have a place to roam. The brush was so think we seriously didn't know what the land looked like. Before and after shots, Not done but massive improvement. Now have to finish this project and plant grass seed too. I'll Finish the post out with a few random pics of a few flowers that bloomed and some cool shots of the place and the fish in the 150 gallon fish tank. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be posting updates soon.

 

[fishin4cars]

Well it's now the 7th of april and finally I am starting to see some progress. We finally got the underlayment and liner installed and just in time, The rain actually had started just as we were installing the liner in the bog. Then once the liner was installed we built the piping for the bog filter, and started adding washed pea gravel. Did i say washed? I guess there isn't any such thing as truly washed pea gravel, what we ended up with was a MUD BATH! took 8000 gallons of water and 6 washes to get all the muddy water out of the bog. Then saw I didn't have enough gravel. had to hand wash 1 cubic yard of gravel, took the wife, the grand daughters and my daughter in law a day and a half to wash it but finally the bog filter is up and running.

 

[fishin4cars]

Most of the supplies arrived, Rocks, more pea gravel, skimmers, and plumbing.

 

[fishin4cars]

Positioning skimmer, Installing Rocks, final rinsing.

 

[fishin4cars]

A few final pics of the old pond before the move over.

 

[fishin4cars]

The filter fall moved and the fish are now in ther new home.

 

[fishin4cars]

Meet the crew.
Nemo- Doitsu Sanke 7" 2 years old
Patch- Ochiba Shigure 9" 1 year old

 

[fishin4cars]

Elvis- Tancho Showa 11" 2 years old. Red- Kohaku 14" 4 years old