Thanks, Guys. It was a lot of work, but it was really great to see it with water. To clarify, we were thinking to mortar the bottom, and mortar the rocks in, but only put rocks in specific areas. Sort of get a river rock in sandy bottom effect. Bluelake, I appreciate the comments, and had already heard others say that loose rock was a bad idea, esp if we have koi. We're going to start with goldfish, but might add some koi later. Again, baby steps... Waterbug, there are some tools that are indispensable. That wheelbarrow is definitely one of them. I also have a six foot digging bar that is a good friend. : ) The redwood overflow is a great idea, but unfortunately, the trees are 150' away from the pond. I am going to look at setting up some way to reuse the back flush and pond vac water constructively, though. I have a tetra pressurized filter w/UV that I just put in the ground, so when I use that I don't want to waste the water. Likewise, I got a pond-o-vac 4, and I should use the water from that too. We have nearby ferns, roses, and assorted flowers that might appreciate the occasional muck and fish poo... If I could, I'd like your opinions on an idea we've been toying with. If you look at the photos, the waterfall is right next to a skinny connecting channel between the small and large pond areas. We were thinking of perhaps taking the rocks that we cover the waterfall structure with, and using them to cover a portion of the channel to make a fish tunnel. There will be a fairly high flow through the channel, so I don't know how much the fish would use it. Flow might be ~30gph through there. Do you think it would be good for the fish? Thanks, Mike

I find that Early Sunrise coreopsis is a short-lived perennial in my gardens. Seems the plants get weaker. I get better bloom from freshly sown seeds.

Craig, Thanks for the reply. all my goldfish died last winter :( > My pond is 3000 - 3500 gallon 20 x 12 foot oval pond 2.5 inches deep. I never had to use anything over the winter. no cover, deicer, aerator - nothing. every year the fish were still alive and happy. Then last years Im still searching for the best reliable deicer, pond breather and or livestock tank heater etc. i can buy for total of $250 -300. This year, i spent the last 3-weekends building a 20 ft x 14 ft wood frame over the pond with 2x4 and 2x2. I then raised it 20âÂÂâ high using 2 x4. I bought some hanging brackets for some of the 2x4 for additional support. I created 2 (for now T expanding gutter vents with 45 degree 4â wide ends to add more ventilation to pond. They are supported with 2â pvc pipes hammered into the ground (NOT YET IN GROUND ) I only have a net over the pond right now. I will cover with plastic and tarp. I saw home depot has large styrofoam sheets for about $11 which i am going to try to place between plastic with a garden tarp cover over part of the frame at night / heavy snow - frigid temps. when it is sunny out i ll just keep the plastic on to try to create the greenhouse effect. BTW I absolutely loved the pondexpert covers but they were over my budget as i need to still buy a deicer, stock tank heater, pond breather / aerator. My dad has several of thees steel pipes already but they are really heavy that i feared they would collapse if i alone installed them without concrete or something similar. iâÂÂm sorry to hear you experienced the winter pond deicer problems as well. did you go with the pondexpert cover?⦠Sam ..

PJ, those four nerve daisies are somethin' else. They popped right back up and kept blooming! Richard, first you show us an Elvis blue Christmas and now we know why they call it a 'blue' norther. Great photos. And you hardly had to step out the front door to get them. No mountains to climb like me ;-) Looks like you traveled a little farther to get the pictures on your links. Those are great!!!! But one of them showed me what your problem is -- you need to take down that "Welcome Winter" sign and bury it somewhere! If you don't then Carrie is gonna' come over and shoot it full of holes. LOL!