Pond Construction

I worked on the new pond today.  I eventually settled on a rectangular-shaped pond 8-feet by 16-feet (2.4 by 4.8 m).  That was the largest I could fit into the available area.  In the image above to the left are a trail of orange survey flags that mark the main drinking water line.  I had to stay away from that line.  To the right of image is the existing concrete pathway.  

It was very windy and about 88° F (31° C).  I was playing around with self-portraits trying to capture the sand blowing in the wind.  Click on the image for a large view and you'll see sand in mid-air.  The long sleeves and gloves were to protect me from spiders, snakes, and assorted other bugs.

I've brought 4 loads of bamboo from the lake house.  In the image above a load of several clumps of bamboo spent the night in the garage in the back of the truck.   

I wrap the roots of the bamboo to protect it in transport and to keep it relatively moist.  Bamboo is in the grass family (Poaceae).  This bunch is Common Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris Schrad. ex J.C. Wendl.)

Because our soil is 98% quartz sand, I add used cat litter to the soil to give the bamboo something to hold onto as it takes root in its new home.

The hole is about 3' deep (1 m) and I've filled the bottom 6-inches (15.2 cm) with used cat litter.  The cat litter is mostly clay, which will hold water unlike the sand which is powder dry.

A row of new bamboo in place.

Not Dell-Roy, helping.  This is the cat we're calling Willhelmena.  She looks just like Dell-Roy and may be one of his relatives.  She stays outside.  Dell stays inside.  There are many black cats that come around looking for a handout. . . presumably they are escapees from the nearby cat rescue.

I squared the pond with recycled and leftover lumber.  Once it was square I leveled the frame.  Now I'll need to dig out about 3' (1 m) of sand before putting the liner in place.  Most of the sand will go directly outside the frame to build up the ground around the new pond.  The land slopes away from the garage so it was necessary to make some sort of frame so that the pond would be relatively level when filled with water.

From some angles it does not appear level, but the level doesn't lie.  I checked it from every possible angle and with a 2 x 4 x 8 across at various angles.

Another angle of the framed pond.

Another angle of the framed pond.  In the background the gazebo and house are now completely hidden behind a wall of 20-30 feet tall (6 - 9 m) bamboo.  I hope to cover most of the acreage in the back yard with bamboo so that we will have shade and will not need to mow that area.

More of me playing with self-portraits and blowing sand.

The existing pond is overflowing with fish.  They have outgrown their home.