Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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bodger
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My long awaited wildlife pond.I've been wanting to get a wildlife pond dug here at our place for years and years without the time ever quite being quite right to get stuck into doing it. You know what I mean, what with procrastination and all that.
Well, the time has actually come.  We have houses being built in a field that we used to own, I've called in a few favours and had a word with the builder and there's no problem, the companies digger driver is away this on holiday this week but when he gets back, he's going to trundle round and dig me one. All I've got to do now, is to come up with a design between now and then.
I just caught the end of Springwatch the other night when they were looking at the finished pond at Kates home. We have loads of stone around and I really liked the idea of the drystone wall but didn't see how they integrated it with the pond during the build. Did they use a pond liner for the project ?
We'll have to have a liner for ours, because we have very good draining land and no clay readily at hand.
I plan to build it fairly close to our tractor shed, with the hope that with the aid of a bit of guttering and a little 'bodging' I'll be able to regulatae the level of the pond in all but the very dryest of weather. If you're interested, I'll keep people up to date with how the project develops. If you're not, I'll still do it  
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GSHP
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I would be really interested. Ours is now, hopefully, in the foreseable future, after many many years of ' and this area is where the wildlife pond will be ...'
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vegplot
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Sounds very interesting.
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gil
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Yes, please, Bodger - your pictures and descriptions are always really interesting and useful.
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Ian33568
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We are just in the middle of pond building here as well - great to see that insects and birds are already using it.
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Rob R
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Amazing how wildlife flora & fauna turns up in an otherwise barren hole in the ground- we even have fish in ours now! Much more interesting (and cheaper) than planting them up.
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RichardW
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Build it & they will come.
After years of "boat" ponds its about time you had a proper one.
Richard
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Rob R
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| RichardW wrote: | | Build it & they will come. |
How very true.
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resistance is fertile
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Thats so true,
We dug our lake a few years back and resisted the temptation to plant anything, in order to see what turned up.
We now have lilies, bullrushes, common reed, water mint and Iris as well as hordes of damsel flies and massive dragonflies, frogs, newts and some small fish I havent identified yet
We are now having to remove areas of bullrush etc each year to keep it under control.
We were lucky that we are omn heavy clay so we didnt need things like liners, the flipside is that its taking a while to get the water clear.
Its a great place, the kids all learnt to swim there and we have ducks, geese Heron and a moorhen that visit as well as the swallows swooping in for a feed and drink! We've even had the sparrowhawk spend a whole morning catching dragonflies
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bodger
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| RichardW wrote: | Build it & they will come.
After years of "boat" ponds its about time you had a proper one.
Richard |
My boat pond is still very much alive and chipper Richard.
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