Rebuilding Heron Pond

For the last several days I have been trying to get our little pond--Heron Pond--up and running. So far, this has been about a three-day project. 

The first order of business was to place the concrete shell, which I assume was the top of a bird bath at one time. I had to drag it from the backyard where it was sitting on a stump. Who says a bird bath needs a pedestal? 

I bought it at a garage sale. Hubby was furious with me because let's face it, the darn thing is pretty heavy. 

Thanks to the lawn tractor and garden cart, I finally got the thing placed close to where I wanted it. The pump had stopped working and the water was getting pretty nasty. It definitely needed to be drained and cleaned. 

The pond is small; it didn't take long. When I took out the pump to clean it, it started working like a champ. It was working great before I went in to fix dinner. By the time dinner was over, all the water was gone. Even now, I'm not sure where it went because nothing seemed overly wet around it. I was hoping it wasn't a hole in the pond liner. The general consensus was a hole in the rubber tubing.

I put the pump back in, but it stubbornly refused to work. At least the tubing checked out; no holes. 

The pump ran only intermittently. Geez! Hubby and I decided it was just worn out, so I went to the store to replace it with a slightly larger one. 

I'm guessing the water leaked out because my waterfall wasn't placed correctly. It must have dribbled out of the shell at the sides and into the rocks below. 

A little adjusting and all is well. In fact the shell now completely fills with water before spilling. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Now, to do a little general sprucing up and some landscaping, and Heron Pond will be just what I envisioned when I first bought that birdbath top several years ago.

I'm sure the frog population will be pleased. I expect to hear them croaking with joy real soon.

Pay no attention to the background noise. That is just the television since the windows were all open.