Building pond in Israel by a Granny!

[YShahar]

Update!

The rocking in has begun!

These are mostly what I call "roll-em" rocks -- rocks that are just at the limit of my ability to lift, but which I can roll into place on my own. Toward the end of the day, I had the help of His Honor the Cook, who handed off a few of the bigger ones to save me the trouble of getting out of the pond, and laboriously rolling the required rock into place.

The top row in the photo is mostly fairly flat rocks, which will later be braced with river rock behind them so they stand a bit more vertically (right now, some of them are leaning a bit toward the wall). These will be about 10-15 cm below the water line. The top row, composed of rocks that will be half above the water line, will be composed of blockier rocks. I'm saving the better ones for that, but still may need to go scavenging to finish up the top edge. And there's still the waterfall and stream to do...

This evening, as we finished up and sat on the patio to admire our work, we were treated to the first actual sunset since the dust storm that hit earlier this week. A west wind from the sea had pushed the remaining dust back to Iraq, leaving us a clear view to the west. And, to top it off, the setting sun was just in line with the intake bay, giving us...

Intake-henge!

In the photo is our elderly shuki dog, Hellene, who has walrus teeth and very little hair at the moment!

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get a fair bit of the rocking in finished up, even though Friday is a short day here, due to Shabbat preparations. By the end of work on Sunday, we may actually see some water in the pond!

 

[YShahar]

I supposed painting the guest bedroom with a waterproof paint and turning a downspout into the bedroom is not an option collect the spring rains

Hmmm... Now there's an idea! ;-)

 

[TheFishGuy]

Looking great! I can wait to see this thing all filled up with fish and plants.

 

[YShahar]

Looking great! I can wait to see this thing all filled up with fish and plants.

You and me both!

 

[GBBUDD]

Update!
YAYYYY !!!!!!!!!......

View attachment 150056

These are mostly what I call "roll-em" rocks -- rocks that are just at the limit of my ability to lift, but which I can roll into place on my own. Toward the end of the day, I had the help of His Honor the Cook, who handed off a few of the bigger ones to save me the trouble of getting out of the pond, and laboriously rolling the required rock into place.
" I'M BETTING YOU AND HIS HONOR THE COOK WOULD BE A SMASH HIT IN THE STATES AS A SITCOM"

The top row in the photo is mostly fairly flat rocks, which will later be braced with river rock behind them so they stand a bit more vertically (right now, some of them are leaning a bit toward the wall). These will be about 10-15 cm below the water line. The top row, composed of rocks that will be half above the water line, will be composed of blockier rocks. I'm saving the better ones for that, but still may need to go scavenging to finish up the top edge. And there's still the waterfall and stream to do...

This evening, as we finished up and sat on the patio to admire our work, we were treated to the first actual sunset since the dust storm that hit earlier this week. A west wind from the sea had pushed the remaining dust back to Iraq, leaving us a clear view to the west. And, to top it off, the setting sun was just in line with the intake bay, giving us...

Intake-henge!
View attachment 150057

View attachment 150058

In the photo is our elderly shuki dog, Hellene, who has walrus teeth and very little hair at the moment!

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get a fair bit of the rocking in finished up, even though Friday is a short day here, due to Shabbat preparations. By the end of work on Sunday, we may actually see some water in the pond! EXCITING DAY

 

[GBBUDD]

You and me both!

dON'T FORGET THE PUP she'll be diving in

 

[cas]

Nice size rocks that you're moving around!

 

[bagsmom]

This is looking REALLY great!!!!!

 

[YShahar]

Nice size rocks that you're moving around!

My sore knees and back heartily agree! The ones on the top ledge will be the biggest ones, but at least I won't have to maneuver them down as many ledges. The ones in the middle are fairly thin, as I wasn't able to make very wide shelves on that side. Once everything is filled in, they won't look so incongruous (I hope!).

 

[GBBUDD]

Take your time Granny, we wqant to hear your enjoying your hard work and not laid out on the sofa because you pushed it one rock to many too big

 

[addy1]

It will be beautiful when done! Need to put up a sign built by a granny!

 

[bagsmom]

How is the build going? I am excited to see pictures of your progress! I am getting to the stage where I need to start using the heavier rocks and I am completely intimidated. I keep finding other things to work on so I can avoid it!

 

[YShahar]

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks! This week I've gotten less done on the pond than I would have liked, as I've had to devote most of the time to moving the two 1.5 tonne bags of gravel down from the neighbor's yard to our yard. Seems the neighbor is going to be selling his house due to ill health, and they'll need to get the front yard in shape for that. So I've put together my usual Rube Goldberg style contraption to move the gravel: two sewer pipes joined with a 45 degree angle running from the neighbor's yard to our yard two storeys below. Just shovel the gravel into a bucket and pour it into the flower pot at the top of the pipe, which serves as a funnel. And down it comes!

But I did manage to work on the waterfall over the past few days. Here are a few pics of the work in progress:

The spillway stone has been way more challenging to work with than I thought it would be. It's a lovely stone with an interesting saddle shape, but had I realized how very difficult it would be to match up the frame rocks, I would have gone with a simple block-shaped stone. And have I mentioned that these rocks are heavy!? It took me hours to maneuver the frame rocks onto the shelf and in the end, I called His Honor the Chef to help with the one on the right. What a job!

Here's a better view of the waterfall so far:

And, since this pond is the centerpiece of an oriental style garden, the waterfall isn't complete without a carp rock!

What's a carp rock, you ask? Well, in Chinese and Japanese gardens it's traditional to put a stone at the base of the waterfall that represents a carp striving to climb the waterfall. Legend has it that a carp that manages to reach the top is transformed into a dragon, a lovely symbol for the striving to overcome obstacles and reach ones full potential.

In the case of this particular carp, I had the rock picked out for this purpose over a year ago, so it's quite a milestone to finally have it placed in the pond!

Here is an overview of the work thus far of the stream and waterfall:

And here's a view from the sitting area:

In this shot, I've simulated where the water level will be (based on my very inadequate estimation):

Next week, I hope to finish up the stream bed and cascades (which will probably require yet more digging out to accommodate edging). Then I'll start foaming in the waterfall. Which brings me to another issue: we can't get professional waterfall foam here, so I plan on using poly foam. I'll put up a question in the construction section on that, just to keep things organized.

More anon!

 

[TheFishGuy]

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks! This week I've gotten less done on the pond than I would have liked, as I've had to devote most of the time to moving the two 1.5 tonne bags of gravel down from the neighbor's yard to our yard. Seems the neighbor is going to be selling his house due to ill health, and they'll need to get the front yard in shape for that. So I've put together my usual Rube Goldberg style contraption to move the gravel: two sewer pipes joined with a 45 degree angle running from the neighbor's yard to our yard two storeys below. Just shovel the gravel into a bucket and pour it into the flower pot at the top of the pipe, which serves as a funnel. And down it comes!

But I did manage to work on the waterfall over the past few days. Here are a few pics of the work in progress:

View attachment 150618
The spillway stone has been way more challenging to work with than I thought it would be. It's a lovely stone with an interesting saddle shape, but had I realized how very difficult it would be to match up the frame rocks, I would have gone with a simple block-shaped stone. And have I mentioned that these rocks are heavy!? It took me hours to maneuver the frame rocks onto the shelf and in the end, I called His Honor the Chef to help with the one on the right. What a job!

Here's a better view of the waterfall so far:
View attachment 150619

And, since this pond is the centerpiece of an oriental style garden, the waterfall isn't complete without a carp rock!

View attachment 150620

What's a carp rock, you ask? Well, in Chinese and Japanese gardens it's traditional to put a stone at the base of the waterfall that represents a carp striving to climb the waterfall. Legend has it that a carp that manages to reach the top is transformed into a dragon, a lovely symbol for the striving to overcome obstacles and reach ones full potential.

In the case of this particular carp, I had the rock picked out for this purpose over a year ago, so it's quite a milestone to finally have it placed in the pond!

Here is an overview of the work thus far of the stream and waterfall:

View attachment 150621

And here's a view from the sitting area:

View attachment 150622

In this shot, I've simulated where the water level will be (based on my very inadequate estimation):


View attachment 150623

Next week, I hope to finish up the stream bed and cascades (which will probably require yet more digging out to accommodate edging). Then I'll start foaming in the waterfall. Which brings me to another issue: we can't get professional waterfall foam here, so I plan on using poly foam. I'll put up a question in the construction section on that, just to keep things organized.

More anon!

you are progressing quickly! What are your planting plans?

 

[YShahar]

you are progressing quickly! What are your planting plans?

Mostly I'll be looking to plant lower growing plants, like water iris, as I want to preserve the "skyline" of the garden. But I've also got several huge taro plants and calla lilies in pots that I'll put in the bog area once that's built. Alas, until the new agricultural year begins this fall, I won't be able to plant anything permanent, as we're in the midst of a once-in-seven-year fallow year. But I'll still be putting a few potted plants in the appropriate areas to see how they look! Oh and lots of water hyacinths and water lettuce in the pond itself, as they're great filter plants until I get the bog finished.