As the months passed the pond seemed to develop a leak - I'd notice the water-level was down after a week or so - and as summer progressed it happened faster and faster - by early September it would be half empty after 3-4 days! And with the little rain we got, all the refills had to come by hose!

I found a small crack along two sides - and figured I'd better try to fix the crack before winter - I knew I'd need a long weekend - the Columbus Day weekend would have to do! So, I made plans to drain the pond, put the fish in big plastic tubs for a few days, and use a waterproof cement patch compound!

The Columbus Day weekend was cold, rainy and overcast - I started draining the pond about 2PM on Friday, netting the fish as the level went down and popping them into big plastic cases we use for sweater storage. Hey - they were $5 each and way bigger than a cheap aquarium, flexible and tough - and I figured I could clean them up with lysol afterwards, or just replace them.

Once I really got into it and had it drained, I chiseled a deep V into the cracks, filled them with a permabond material, and came up with a brainstorm. The cracks had previous been in the water-filled part of the pond - but I realized if I built small brick wall in the bond and shifted the "Island" area so soil would be up against the patched area, the chance of leaking would be much less. So, with a bit of digging I reshaped the "island" and even moved most of the marshy plants that had sprouted up over the summer. We like the more "natural" look with the plants and the animals and birds seem to favor it too. I got all the work done, but it completely slipped my mind to take any pictures - sorry! But I was a muddy mess over most of the weekend!

A week or so later we bought a cheap nylon net and spread it out over the pond to catch leaves - you don't want to let leaves fill the pond - as they decompose they use up the oxygen in the water and thats no good for the fish! With the net I can use a net on a stick like for a Pool and scoop out the leaves

Its now November 2nd - seems the pond and the fish are ready for winter -

Another picture - Nov 11, 2002 (Click to enlarge)

We kept the net low to keep birds from getting tangled up in it,
but once the pond froze the net was a big mess and we were afraid the fish
would get trapped in it, so we took it off in early January.

Mid-January we had a real cold snap and the pond nearly froze solid

Another picture - Feb 7, 2003 Snowed In! (Click to enlarge)


There is still a lot to do. I have to dig a hole and set a pressure treated post that I will mount the power outlets on. Its running on an extension cord now, but I plan to trench in conduit and bring power from the house down to the pond area, then wire in outlets for the pump and lighting.   I wanted to do that in the cooler fall before winter - but we went from hot to cold - just not sure I'll have time to trench to the house and bury PVC pipe with electric cable in it!

These picture taken with an Olympus C-2000 Digital camera,
then cropped/compressed for internet use
(These pictures have been updated as of Feb 2003 ...)