THE POND -THE THIRD AND FOURTH DAY

If you are wondering what happened to day 2, it went by uneventfully. For this reason I have skipped to day 3. I spent most of day 2 just enjoying the look of the clear water and the sound of the water crashing into the pond from the one foot high waterfall.As the day wore on, I just knew that something about the waterfall was not right.It ate at me the whole night.

The next morning, I went out and knew that I had to fix the waterfall. Very gingerly, I stepped on the rocks near the waterfall and started to adjust the problem that I had noticed. One rock in particular was not quite in the right spot for the type of flow I was looking for. Because the rocks were still not settled into place , I did not want to disturb them any more than necessary. I got the offending rock adjusted , so that the flow was just right. I stepped back and as I did so , it happened. One of the rocks moved and fell into the pond. Three or four more followed in quick succession. Not a problem. With ease , I got them out and re-positioned them.All seemed fine.

Day four brought a shocking surprise. Out to the yard I went to find that half the water was gone from the pond. Immediately, I knew why! When the rocks had fallen in , one of them had punctured the liner. I could see the hole. What to do? The only thing I could do , was to drain the water, move the ton of rocks, and move the liner. Two hours later, I slid the liner enough so that the hole was above the water-line. Now What? Oh yes! Move the ton of rocks back into position, put he pump back in , and fill the pond with another 700 gallons of water(for which we pay).

One of the worst things about moving the rocks was that one of them was in the middle of he pond. This is not just a rock . This is a ROCK! It took two of us just to get it in the first time. Getting it out was even more fun. It still took two of us, but we had to lift it that extra 22 inches to get it out. To put it back we decided to rest it in on smaller,flat rocks on the bottom to distribute the weight. This would also create a open space for the eventual fish to swim under the rock . Craig and I carefully completed this job without putting another hole in the liner.The rock now sits proudly with the top above water for the birds to be able to get a drink and bathe, and under which the fish do hide.

We have now built this pond twice in four days.And the damn waterfall is still not right! Did I happen to mention that the waterfall is made from old GRANITE tombstones. Heavier than &%$$#**&^^%$#. Two of them are also in the pond jut above the water-line. You can even read the inscriptions on them . My wife calls them MONUMENT ROCK. Another great spot for the fish and birds. As for the waterfall---- I'll adjust it tomorrow.