BagsPond update

[bagsmom]

This is all great to know. There is so much to learn! Typically, even when we get hard freeze warnings, I won't have any plant damage in the garden. (Maybe some of the more delicate annuals.) It's usually only if we have those crazy polar vortex things come through, with extended cold and wind. I am thinking we are in for a very southern winter this year, which means capri pants and light jackets. I think if that's the case, all will be well. As I've mentioned before, my neighbor's pond goes year round with no special care -- and now she doesn't even have aeration. I wouldn't be brave enough to risk it, but her pond is pretty fascinating in it's balance.

 

[addy1]

What am I now? The resident piss-ant?

.

YEP!!!!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

QUOTE="addy1, post: 320598, member: 2547"]YEP!!!![/QUOTE]

Should I include it in my Profile?

I could use this for an avatar.

 

[Mmathis]

@bagsmom You have to keep in mind that mild winter weather is relative. I am further south than you are. And no matter what my zone map says, my water temperature stays in mid to low 40's from about Dec. through March (and into the mid to upper 30's a couple winters ago). Last year was a mild winter for us, but I don't recall the water temp even getting close to 50 until spring. And this is water temp, measured almost at depth, not air temp.

 

[budgenator]

Depends on geographical location. In Minnesota this is very true, but in Florida there is no period of biological slowdown or dormancy. In the South a new pond can be cycled at any time of the year. Entirely temperature dependent.

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

 

[bagsmom]

It's actually the northern half. Close to Atlanta. So it's not like the north GA mountains that get snow and ice most years. It does happen, but it's rare. We are almost always right on the warm side of the magical "line" of all the weather systems.

 

[bagsmom]

I have started digging! I don't know how far I'll get today. I decided after much pondering, that I needed to remove a little more grass and extend the overall area of the pond site. That took a while. Now the sun is blazing down and it's HOT. I also put the sprinkler on the area yesterday, to be sure I could get the shovel into the ground. I may have overdone it, as the dirt is quite heavy now.

However, it's progress!!!!! I'm going to take a lunch break, then will go out to see where the sun is.

 

[bagsmom]

Oh my goodness. I know the meaning of the term "bone weary!" I am almost done digging that first level -- 8 to 10 inches below ground level -- which will become the shelf for the coping stones. Holy moly! It is so surprising how much soil you get from digging down just that deep. I had to fight with a couple of good sized roots, and also ran into some red clay boulders. I spent a lot of time on my knees with my pickaxe, chipping them down to the right level. I am mostly level side to side, but need to go back and take the back side down another 2 inches to be level front to back. The geology of the dirt in this region is very interesting. There are areas of thick red clay that a shovel will go into with just a good push of the foot. It cuts off cleanly and is easy to shape. It's also strong and stays put -- very dense. Then there are the clay "boulders. Incredibly rock-hard. The only way to tackle those is to fracture them with a sledgehammer and pull out the pieces -- or find the edge and dig under, then pry out. If they are right in one of your shelves, you have to do a little Michelangelo work, shaving away at it to get it to the right level. When these boulders break, you see layers of black. Some even have huge deposits of a hard, crystalline, opaque white. When you break these up, you can hit them with the pickaxe or sledgehammer and they crumble to grit. Very difficult to work with!

I won't be available to work on the pond on Monday. We are supposed to get a little rain Monday night, which should be good.

Sorry the big hose and pavers are just thrown around in the pictures. I was too tired to move them!

Stay tuned for Tuesday!

 

[bagsmom]

Yesterday was productive -- I worked 5 hours which was two hours longer than I should have. I managed to get that first shelf mostly level. There were huge clay deposits in the middle that I tried to shave down with the edge of the shovel, in order to get my straight board to sit flat so I could check with my level. After a long while of killing myself trying to do the nearly impossible, I decided to dig down in the middle a bit, to get around the clay boulders instead of shaving them down. This worked better. I got a boulder out that was bigger than the biggest watermelon I've ever seen. From there, I proceeded to dig down more. I got the outline carved out for the second shelf, but I hit a vein of quartz. Not even the pickaxe is doing much for that.

I was feeling pretty good about my progress when I quit for the day. Then in the evening, we had a HUGE downpour that lasted quite a while. I'm not sure what I will see out there when the sun comes up. I hope my waterfall hill hasn't washed down into the pond!!!!!

 

[bagsmom]

Sun is up -- things look pretty good, considering the super heavy rain we had. The edges of the excavation are a bit softened, but not too bad.

 

[addy1]

You are cranking along! We are predicted to have 5 inches of rain here, under flood watch until Friday evening.

 

[Mmathis]

Pictures, pictures! So after the rain, your "hole" wasn't full of water? We had several good [spring time] downpours while working on ours, and the water drained out so slowly that we ended up getting a cheap sump pump [after deciding that the 5 gal. bucket brigade wasn't going to cut it -- and the Shop Vac wasn't much better]. Even as the water was being pumped out, you could watch rivulets of water seeping out of the bare walls. I have pics somewhere, but would have to access the PC and I'm too lazy at the moment, LOL!

As it is, I built the pond very slightly above ground so that there would always be enough water pressure from the pond pushing back on the ground water. Nothing more frustrating than getting those bubbles in the liner!

 

[bagsmom]

No -- there was some water in it, but it eventually seeped out into the ground. I worked some more today. Pictures coming!

 

[bagsmom]

OK, photos. Today I worked another 5 hours. I have added new tools to my repertoire. A sledgehammer and a wedge for splitting wood. You will see in the photos, I'm down to the waterlily shelf and almost to the pond bottom on half of the pond. But -- do you see that giant blob of earth? That all has to go -- and it's a combination of clay, quartz, and I forget what other stuff is in there. I asked a geologist friend and I already forgot what she said. Anyway, it is a BOOGER to get through. The wedge and sledge have been helpful in fracturing some of the clay boulders. You can see a picture of one with my lovely foot. That is a boulder that I had to smash into pieces in order to lift it out of the hole. It's so heavy... It's all very slow going, but progress is happening!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Looking good