New pond is complete!!!

[CountryEscape]

Hi, All,
I’m back ... again. We are living in Ohio now, loved from Illinois in March. Sold IL house and closed end of April with the agreement the new owner would feed the fish for me until OH pond was completed. Then I went back to IL the end of June with a 6x12 U-Haul trailer and two large 300 gal capacity tubs to bring back fish and plants ... more plants, yes!!! I was so sad to see my precious yard totally overrun with weeds, grass that hadn’t seen a mower in weeks, and most of the landscaping sprayed with Roundup. The new owner was petrified of snakes, so the yard went by the wayside. On a good note, all the fish were doing great.
I’ll try to take you on a tour in order so maybe you’ll get an idea of how it’s all laid out.
First picture is on my way down the steps of the new paver patio we had built.

This is taken from the patio, looking out over the pond towards the dual waterfalls. The foreground has a think flat rock that serves as a hiding area and shade for the fish that shelf is about 20” deep

A view of the right hand side, which is the back of the house side. We live on a cul-de-sac, so our back yard is very wide

The fish came up to say hello. I brought most of the koi and goldfish, gave about 1/3 of each to a friend who took the stones and so forth from
ponds.

I finally got a lotus!!! There is this awesome aquatic store about 25 minutes from where we live. Snagged this beauty last month. In love with it!!!

A view of the bog which is on top of the waterfalls.

Waterfalls with bog on top.

Another exciting purchase ... two pitcher plants! They were more dead than alive when I got them but now are thriving in the bog. Wondering what type they are, and if they are hardy for my zone 6 weather?!? I’ll have to check the tags and bring them inside if not hardy, but seem to recall they are hardy.

Backside of the waterfall hill. Just got done planting and mulching this a couple of weekends ago. House and petunia tree in background from this vantage point. Note that all the flat rocks on the outer edge of this hill were found in the dirt when the pond was built, and for days after as we planted on this hill!!! I believe they are limestone and they are full of fossils.

More of the waterfall hill, and dry creek bed where the pond will overflow. Lots of extra boulders were placed to help hold back the hill dirt

And, last but not least, the patio. It just got completed a week ago.

We are planning an open house Labor Day weekend. Dave is Chamber of Commerce President, and we have met tons of great people since we moved. So much fun!!!

 

[j.w]

Wow just gorgeous all that you have done w/that new pond and all the landscaping and additions! Love that pond! So glad you are back and loving your new place.

 

[CountryEscape]

This pond is amazing!!! It’s been full since July 3, and we added the fish on July 6. The pond is an Aquascapes built pond, and although I’ve never had rocks on the bottom or sides before, after reading their process, I decided to try it. The idea is two-fold. The smooth river rocks on the bottom keep UV rays from the sun from damaging the liner over time. And the rocks harbor beneficial bacteria, helping keep the water clear. All I can say is after 1.5 months of fish, there is literally no waste building up so far. Maybe it hasn’t been long enough, but so far the water is crystal clear and no debris. The water did go green a week after the fish were introduced. I had two types of beneficial bacteria provided by the pond company to add, and I bought another dose for 10,000 gallons of water to continue treating for another 8 days. (I used 1/2 cup daily instead of dumping it all in at once.) That obviously kick started the beneficial bacteria really well!
So the same koi and same goldfish that produced a total of 3 koi babies that survived the winter (never saw any goldfish babies last year ...), have spawned multiple times andwe have over 60 babies. Lots of colors and types, but the majority are blah “mules”, crosses likely between the Comets/Shubunkins and the koi. I’ll have to catch some to see if I can see barbels on them yet, to determine if any are koi. And I’ve also been told if they are crosses, they will have a jump right behind their eyes on their top edge. Now I need to go find a couple large aquariums. Geesh, I sold two 55-gallon aquariums before moving since they were so large and hard to handle.
I found out that my iPhone 11 is waterproof to 6’ so I’ve taken several videos of the fish underwater. What fun!!! Not sure if videos can be posted or not though.

 

[addy1]

Not sure if videos can be posted or not though.

Send them to youtube and post the link that is what I do.

Just beautiful! you did a fantastic job. Glad you are back, hand around a bit!

 

[Ax01]

beautiful! the flat rock island at the front of the pond is a very nice touch.

could we also see some of the fossils u found in the rocks if u get the chance? i've only got regualr rocks in my dirt, no fossils... yet.

 

[CountryEscape]

AX01 here are some of the examples. The 3 smaller rocks were with the river rocks.

 

[addy1]

What cool Rocks! Love them!

 

[Mmathis]

@CountryEscape Welcome back! That yard and pond are awesome! Did y’all do the work yourselves?

I love the fossils! Agree, make a video and post to YouTube!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Wow! That all looks wonderful! I'm quite impressed with all you have done is such a short amount of time!

I can sympathize with you about having a new owner let the yard & gardens fall into disarray. The same thing happened to us when we moved from IL. The gardens went to weedy messes & after a couple of years they even decided to fill in the pond. When I go back to visit my old neighbors, I can't even bring myself to look over at the property - it's just too sad.

 

[GBBUDD]

If I am assuming correctly from your post and the look of the pond. This was built by Aquascape? If it was I am not surprised as the build looks amazing and if it wasn't then good for you it certainly appeares yo u found a quality pond builder. It looks great . In one picture I thought you had stairs ung d I wn to the edge of the pond I was thinking wow thats risky then I saw in an other pic it was a retaining wall . Overall its beautiful enjoy.

 

[CountryEscape]

I’ll upload the video to YouTube, thanks I had forgotten how to do that.
MMathis we didn’t build this one ourselves. GGBBUDD you’re correct, an Aquascapes company built it. I am in love with everything they did!!
And I knew when I sold the IL house that she didn’t want the ponds, but I didn’t realize she didn’t want the landscaping. When I went back for the fish and pond plants, believe me I also dug up anything and everything that was around the ponds. I had already brought well over 200 pots of flowers and plants when we moved, and ended up bringing another 20 or so plants, PLUS the pond plants in June. Those plant have all made their home in Ohio. I’ve learned that evidently plants love clay! I guess if we had a drought they might suffer, but they are all thriving. Oh and within 2 hours of me leaving IL with the fish, my former neighbor texted me a picture of my former backyard minus the ponds!!! He had filled them in and was done. Very sad, but everyone is obviously much happier where they are now.

 

[cas]

What a beautiful pond! So glad you were able to move your fish.

 

[addy1]

I am sure all I have done here will be plowed under, too much work for the "normal" person.

 

[GBBUDD]

Unfortunately you are probably right but its all about timing and you may find someone we who falls in love with your work. Ok i am hoping for the same but the lawyers will probably insist on plowing it under. Life sucks and then you live!!!!!! has never been more correct then it is in today's society.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh my ... I just might have FINALLY figured out how to upload a video to YouTube and attach the link. Had to go take another video today, because could not for the life of me figure out how to upload the video from my phone to computer in correct format. Geesh!!! This video features the babies AND the big fish. The babies are 1-3” long already (several spawning) and they are only a month old.
Enjoy ... I hope anyhow!