#Thegreatpoolpondconversion - 201018
It was a full weekend here at the pond.
8 yards of top soil were (was?) delivered Friday afternoon
Saturday was prepping the butterfly bed:
First, a good weed whacking, a bit of leveling, then laying down weed barrier.
On top of that we laid a thick layer of newspaper.
It’ll suffocate anything underneath - we’re taking no chances - and it will eventually disintegrate into mulch.
Threw a bunch of leftover river rock from the front of the house project on the newspaper to hold it down and help with drainage
No pix of this cause it’s boring. Ok, maybe one
We also painted another good chunk of the deck and a bit more prep work on the filter.
That was all after a 13.5 mile early morning run.
Sunday seemed like old times:
Shovel a bunch of dirt into the cart, drive it over, dump it out, spread it around.
At least there was no serious tamping or pounding.
We were over ambitious and thought we could do all 8 yards in one day.
We managed four. We had the gazebo up, it was hot, tiring, etc etc. Plus, wet dirt is heavier than sand.
We hadn’t felt this spent in a few months. There was preemptive Aleve all around.
One more day should do it and we will take it much, much easier as we go.
The painted buntings are back. They’re alternating with the big birds at the wildseed feeders. We put out the thistle feeder and we’ll see what happens. Last year they didn’t go for thistle.
While we were having lunch on Monday a great egret showed up.
Also sometimes called a white heron, we think this one is probably named Devon.
Today, Thursday is the 195th day in my unbroken streak of running every morning. I average around 50 miles a week.
Today is also the first day of the Keys100 Experience / virtual race/challenge.
My running buddy from the west coast (we did the Dopey Challenge together last year) and I will be running 100 miles in 10 days which is both a lot, and also is not really a lot.
The World Wildlife Federation Species Step Challenge still goes on till the end of October.
That’s a mere 10,000 steps a day for 31 days.
Thanks to all who have contributed. There is still time. $5, anything. Save a tree, save a Panda. You can do it anonymously and can even download a form and mail it in.
This is the link to contribute.
PS - while I was writing this, the water wheel showed up via Fedex!
Nope, you’re gonna have to be patient for the big reveal.
Here’s an index of all the postings in #thegreatpoolpondconversion