The waterfall saga

Well, we have certainly enjoyed beautiful weather here this week! That was good news for my waterfall project. It has been on the fritz for the last month or so. I have been trying to fix the leakage problem. And by george, I think I've got it! It all started about 2 1/2 years ago (the actual project anyway--the vision was around WAY before that). I dug for several days. . . And made a big hole.

Dear hubby told me it wasn't big enough, so he helped me dig it a little deeper.

The hole needed to be deep enough to get plenty of water into, to minimize my time spent filling the feature up with water to keep it running. It is also called a pondless waterfall. This means that the actual pool is covered up with rocks so that no one can fall in and drown but we still get the effect from the waterfall--a safer version of a water feature. We started to form the stream beds by building up the area with old cinder blocks. The water fall starts from the 25 gallon drum we half buried at the back of it. PVC pipes run from the pool back behind the stream and hook into the drum.

Next we dumped a bunch of dirt on the top of the blocks, covered the actual stream beds with old carpet and pond liner and started setting the rocks around it. Our water feature actually features two waterfalls into two short stream beds that empty into the pool below.

The work was hard and hot--we did it at the end of July and first of August. What a reward at the end though! It attracts lots of wildlife. We especially get a kick out of watching the birds in it. In fact, just this week after we turned it back on, little C and I counted 6 birds bathing at the same time in the stream closest to the window. That is a hilarious site. Those cute little birds get SO ugly when they are wet and all their feathers are fluffed out! They shake and shimmy and the water just flies in beautiful little droplets that catch the sunlight! C just laughed when their booties were shakin!

The falls have been shut down now for the last 3 weeks. I finally took all the rocks off the east fall and started all over. I fluffed and remolded parts. I reset several rocks at a time and then would just watch and see. This actually took us 3 days of working (us is Little C and me). Finally Thurs, just in time for the cold weather to hit, we got the bottom of the fall re-rocked and low and behold, today the water level is still just right, so I guess we got it! There was still ice at top of the pool this afternoon when I checked it. It usually runs really well even thru the winter. I have discovered that if the weather doesn't get above freezing for 3 days in a row, it is usually iced over till it just drips. . . at that point we turn it off. It is so funny to watch the birds try to land on the iced up rocks to get a drink. They land and then start slippin and sliding!

I have sure missed it the last three weeks and am very thankful that it is up and runnin again. Broke the news to J last week that we will need the trailer when we go to the folks in March--need another load of limestone--have a new little tiny project brewing in my little curled head--his response???

He should have taken the chance when he had it!! M