The time has changed. The weather is looking good . . . cool
mornings and warm afternoons. Everywhere the signs of spring are springing
forth and most of us have a touch of spring fever. I’m ready to get out into
the good old outdoors and do stuff. This past weekend was just too gorgeous to
stay inside, so I went on an adventure. I visited a friend’s family chicken
farm of years gone by. We puttered around in the yard.
I checked out an old outhouse (not literally). An old store
that provided staples for the farm hands caught my eye. I dug up some flowers
and trees to take back to my place. Feeling a bit faint from all the work, I
found an old lawn chair to sit a spell and catch my breath.
While I was catching my breath, I commencest (not sure
that’s a word, but it works here) to thinking back a few years when I got this
bright idea to build a water garden and fishpond. Let me share the experience
with you . . .
I finished setting up a water garden and fishpond I had
started back before Easter. And, in the process, I discovered I might be
allergic to digging ditches. I noticed every time I picked up a shovel, my back
began to hurt. I believe there’s a connection.
But, after digging the hole three times, I finally got the
thing right. Seemed like every time I got the hole dug, it would rain and fill
it up with dirt. The problems could have been because of the printed directions
accompanying the pool stuff.
After all my years, I have discovered it does pay to adhere
to the directions, at least sometimes. It seems I was supposed to dig the hole,
set the pool in, fill with water, and add sand around the pool. Well, I didn’t
do that, exactly. I dug the hole, set the pool in, added sand, and waited until
I returned from a Texas visit to add water. I didn’t want the fish to croak
while I was gone. I also didn’t count on a big rain. When I returned home, my
lovely pool was setting catty wampus in a hole filled with water. Back to the
drawing board.
I drained the water hole, bucket by bucket. And, then
followed the printed guidelines as to how to properly install a fishpond.
After doing it the right way, my pond was in place and the
home to a couple of fish. I decided to start small. It made more sense. If
those two lived, I’d add more. And, if they didn’t, it was better and cheaper
to kill only two as opposed to a whole school.
I added rocks around the pond, to give it that natural look.
That was another adventure. Buying rocks seemed a little odd to me, and buying
them by the pound seemed even odder. It’s kind of like buying water by the
bottle. Who would ever thought a person would pay hard earned money for rocks
by the pound or water by the bottle.
I soon discovered I would have to take out a loan on my
house to pay for the rocks to put around this little pond. The guys at the rock
store are not my friends. They tend to frown when I made them weigh the rocks,
adding one at a time to the scale. And, they simply hated it when I would come
back and asked for $3 worth of rocks.
Being the thrifty person I am, I decided to take things into
my own hands. I’d make my own rocks. I bought the forms and the ready to mix
cement. I even followed the printed directions. Add six pints of water to 80
pounds of mix. Now, we all know that just don’t seem right. The stones fell
apart. They crumbled in my hands . . . Dust to dust.
Not to be defeated, I decided to ‘bust’ up concrete blocks
and make little stones.
Pain has a way of swaying one’s decision. In the process of
moving one of the big blocks, I somehow hung my big toe nail. After nearly
ripping the dang thing off, I promptly discarded this bright idea. As a matter
of fact, while laying in the backyard writhing in pain, I gave serious thought
to filling the entire pond in with dirt and calling it a planter.
I re-thought the plan. A few plants here, a little Monkey
grass there, a rock or two strategically placed, and a few fake water lilies
gave my pond a natural as it’s gonna get look.
Then, with my pond complete, I sat on my deck, my purple toe
propped high in the air, watching the little fishes swim, listening to the
bubbling water, sipping on a glass of tea, and thinking all was well in my
Corner of the World, again.
Wow, with memories like that I think it best if I keep my
outdoor projects simple. Better yet, I think I’ll just take up fishing.
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