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| Finished pond ready for plants. |
And so a pond liner was required. And to install a liner all the water had to be removed. That is a lot of water! But not too worry, I have just the thing to do that; a water pump that runs off my Lister D engine. Should empty it in no time at all.
But seventy year old water pumps cannot be relied upon, and sadly this one refused to work. Oh well, nothing for it but to get in there with a bucket and scoop all the water out by hand. What a job! Doesn't half do your stomach muscles in. I soon gave up, but not EHS George, he is made of much stronger stuff.
After several attempts at scooping and chucking it over the sides only for most of it to run back in, we came up with a novel use for a ladder, a traffic cone, and a length of plastic guttering. Resourceful lot us Bain boys.
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| Empty at last. |
EHS George then took the opportunity to dig out a few ledges at various depths for plants. After a bit more working of the clay he then had the perfect smooth pond sides to install the liner.
And there you have it. A wildlife pond, with a liner guaranteed for forty years. All that is needed now is for soil to be added around the margin and some plants and it will look beautiful. In forty years time I shall be 107 years old. I shall check the liner when I'm 106 years old and if there is one little defect in that liner I shall ask for my money back!
EHS George is back to Uni in Liverpool soon. I am sure going to miss him.
It seems you Bain boys had a fun(?) project for this summer. It warms my heart to know you did it together. I know EHS George came up with the idea and did the bulk of the hard labor but you were there cheering him on. I look forward to seeing pictures of how your marsh is faring over time.
ReplyDeleteThe ladder and channel are sheer genius! Well done, both of you.
ReplyDeleteI love a person that can improvise. Great stuff! It will look great when its got plants and frogs and other assorted critters.
ReplyDeleteI love EHS so much, wish more young people were like him and so interested in nature.
ReplyDeleteMind you don't slip when you check that liner in 39 years time.
Briony
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What the heck is a dew pond? Is it just a homemade pond for a garden? This is a mystery to this 'simple' American.
ReplyDeleteBasically a dew pond is a saucer like depression lined with straw and clay. It collects dew and fog and on higher ground, even clouds. They were constructed mainly in coastal areas to water livestock where there was no natural water supply. How they actually manage to attract the dew etc has not ever been satisfactorily explained. I think it is magic!
DeleteI'd never heard of a dew pond either. Thanks for the explanation, John. A pond liner is what we need but I Hubby isn't as young as he was so I can't see it happening. Don't forget to show us pics when the flowers are blooming.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. Makes me feel better that I must use a liner if I ever finish mine.
ReplyDeleteIs this in your back yard? I really like it, but won't the water get stagnant if there is no outlet? Nice use of the traffic cone. Did you steal it from the local works department?
ReplyDeleteYes my backyard. Aquatic plants and rainfall will keep it clean. Yes I stole the traffic cone. :)
DeleteVery creative and ingenious at the same time....very well done to EHS George....I hope lots of wild life will make use of the pond.
ReplyDeleteThe water removal setup was fantastically clever!!!