Digging near Crater Lake!

[Stephen T.]

We have occasional mule deer come through the area, but it's rare. Mostly it's jack and cottontail rabbits, skunks and lots of California quail. I do have the area fenced with 4' wire fencing, so it' keeps out dogs, but not cats. There may be racoons, but we haven't seen one here yet. There are lots of owls all night and a bald eagle perches in a large pine just 50' from the pond, often eating fish or duck and showering us with fins and feathers. It's an exciting place to live for a nature photographer and amateur naturalist!

 

[peter hillman]

My, what a lot of questions, although I can't say I'm surprised!

I lucked into a large chunk of EPDM pond liner left over from a much larger project, got it for about 1/3 of new price and cut some pieces off of it for the various parts.

I used Tite Seal Pond Liner Seam Tape Double Sided Adhesive, a pain to use, but it does seem to work ok. I didn't exactly follow the instructions though. First, I coarse sanded the liner, then washed the joint area with hot soapy water, followed by rubbing alcohol. Next, I placed the lower piece on a stout chunk of 2x6 lumber, applied the tape, then worked the upper section over it. Now the fun, I pounded the heck out of the seem area with a 4 pound sledge, hitting every point of the 3" seam multiple times. Almost all seams are laid like shingles with both overlap from above and also humps above them so there's no water pressure at all at the actual seem tape. I probably could have left it out altogether, except for root intrusion.

Sorry to disappoint you, it's not a spring, but a fake! Here, near Crater Lake, all the streams and rivers in the area are sudden, springing into life from hillside to river in a few feet. I just decided to imitate the way they look, having the line from the pump bubble up through the bottom with gravel and sand in underwater fountains, possibly 2 or 3 of varying sizes.

Being a nature photographer and ex model railroader, I love creating scenes. So, making the stream look very natural and native to the area is my goal here. This is a major bird flyway and the stream will also make a great location for bird photography. Actually, yellow-rumped warblers, gold finches, robins and pine siskins found the stream within a day of starting the pump. We even had a frog move in already.

In the past, I've used a lot of Great Stuff to glue rocks and sand in place and it's worked fine. So that's what I'm doing here as well. I've only done a few feet, but so far, so good.

View attachment 86289

Steve

That stream work is fantastic!

 

[Tula]

Welcome! I really enjoyed looking at your pictures and hearing of your plans

 

[cas]

Awesome. Please keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Stephen T.]

Thanks everyone!

One more quick note and photo, then possibly I should move to one of the other areas of the forum. We're getting our first rain in weeks, we've been in a very serious drought here. It smells wonderful outside with sage and juniper, no smoke odor (from all the fires in the west) and no dust! I've got to get some things done today, so I'll shut up for a while.

Here's a wider view of the little area I've worked on so far, this includes the area in the above photo.

Steve

 

[Stephen T.]

I haven't had much time for pond work lately, I just have to get my greenhouse finished before winter. The greenhouse is set 42" into the ground to help keep it warm in our cold winters and is rather tied to the pond/stream. All the dirt from the hole is what gives me the elevation for the stream! This is looking across the lower pond, very unfinished, at the greenhouse. The peak is about 5 feet above ground and it's 12x10 feet in size with a small sauna attached to the north side. This will provide stored and supplemental heat all winter.

 

[addy1]

Very nice!