response 1 of 16:

Apr 14 16:08 UTC 2000

Yesterday I did the first actual thing, as opposed to thinking about what to
do.  I made a pathway of sandstone slabs (left over from something else) from
the back door to the steps up to the upper part of the back yard (there's
about a 2 foot difference, with a wall of stacked sandstone).  

In general, paths or stepping stones aren't supposed to be nice straight
conduits for walking.  A good path is supposed to do things like make you
notice particular features or (what I did) at least make sure you don't just
walk in under autopilot while still thinking about work or whatever.  The path
I did is stepping stones in the grass in a very uneven layout.  It's got some
balance, but it's still almost random in layout.

Today I'm hoping to build a variation on the traditional stone lantern.  I'm
going to use old bricks and more sandstone, stacked up in the correct shape.
Another element of a good garden is that it should look ancient, even if
recently built.  The use of old materials should help quite a bit.  I may also
mix in some old chunks of concrete, since the ones I have are very old and
weathered.

Eventually I want to have a pond, but I'm still figuring that one out.

response 3 of 16:

Apr 15 12:35 UTC 2000

Thanks, but this is my own little project.  And did I mention that I too have
good electrical and plumbing skills?  ;)

(If he's got a good source for low volume pumps I'd like to talk to him,
though)

response 5 of 16:

Apr 17 11:52 UTC 2000

Nice, cheap, low volume pumps are difficult to find.  I got a submersible
Ehime fountain pump from a mail order aquarium supply house.  It uses a
magnetic drive and uses very little power, only about 9 watts.  For low heads,
check out the power heads used for under gavel filters.

We installed a little pool recently too.  We purchased a 6' diameter plastic
cow trough from the farm supply store in Dexter.  It is made of nice, heavy
plastic.  Our neighbors had a pool made with a plastic liner but after kids
twice punctured it, while poking sticks around in it, it got filled in.  That
will not be a problem with the cow trough!  It has already served as pool for
the kids for about six years and has not suffered from that.  So, I dug a nice
hole in the ground, leveled it and set the cow trough level to the ground.
It's about 26" deep and it took less that a week for water strider spiders
and water beetles to find it.  Frogs a sure to follow very soon.  We will set
cinder blocks in the bottom on which we can put rocks and aquatic plants. 
We also want to put some fish in it.  We need to find a good source for plants
and domestic fish.  (Could get some Bluegills, etc. from local ponds.)

response 7 of 16:

Apr 18 11:22 UTC 2000

I have also heard of people using large scraps of rubber roofing to line
ponds with.  It's a little more durable than the usual plastic liners sold
for the purpose.

response 9 of 16:

Jul 19 15:14 UTC 2000

Green water?   Are you aiming at a lily pond effect?

response 11 of 16:

Jul 31 20:15 UTC 2000

I haven't done much else since the last couple of things (well, there's the
stump removal, but that's not really part of this item...)

But I have pictures finally posted:
http://www.wwnet.net/~scott/lantern.html

response 13 of 16:

Aug 1 22:41 UTC 2000

When is the first official tour?

response 15 of 16:

May 9 21:55 UTC 2001

OK, finally some movement.  I added a little Japanese Maple (I mean tiny, like
2 feet tall, although it will grow) to the other side of the stone stairs.
I used some spare sandstone to build a terrace for it.  In 30-40 years it
should look totally kickass.  ;)