Why thank you, Digger! If it wasn't for the pond forum, my husband and I would never have dreamed we could take a project like this on. We've learned huge amounts from the observations of the ponders who've shared their joys and heartaches here. It's a fabulous resource. Karen, there were days when I really felt overwhelmed and wondered if we'd *ever* get it done. As to its size, one of the things I read over and over here at the forum was that folks always felt they made their first ponds too small, so this pond is 23' long and at its widest it's 14' across. The deep end is just over 4 feet, the shallow end is 2 feet. No fish right now. I wanted to spend the first season just learning how to get the water stable. Lots of life in the pond, though--endless tadpoles, plus salamanders have bred in it. It's great to be able to watch salamanders. I'm thinking that when I do get fish I'll go with shubunkins--the beauty of koi, but a tougher fish. We have 25 acres, but have only cleared one acre and will stop there. A significant hunk of this valley has been bought by the Nature Conservancy to create a green corridor for wildlife between Quebec and Vermont. When Paul and I moved here (he grew up in this valley, but I'm a city girl) there wasn't the wildlife we see now--lots of deer, wild turkeys, some moose and now a bear. Not so thrilled by the bear which was cheeky enough to walk up on to our front porch three weeks ago. I'm still in shock over that one. I cracked up when you said you'd asked your husband to toss you under the pond liner when the day comes. Too funny :) Have you posted pictures of your yard here? If you have, could you point me to them? I'm always looking for inspiration :)

Rosebud, I am pretty sure that that is a virbinum. There are 150 different kinds, but since you think this is an early bloomer, that will narrow it down some. The leaves are shaped exactly like a virburnum. Next spring, make a note of the flower color, the scent and notice what color those berries turn later this fall. Then you will be able to see exactly what kind of virburnum it is. They are nice shrubs, they are reliable, hardy, beautiful shrubs. Congrats on your shrub and your new home.

My cats love to watch out windows. Molly thinks the bathroom window is her own private bird-viewing platform, and she wants it open in all weather. (You can probably guess that winter is her least favorite season, because that window stays CLOSED most of the time, lol.) B.C. likes windows, but doesn't want to be outside. If he DOES get out (and a door closes behind him), he cries until he gets back into the house. I think Sophia would be happy to be outside, but she doesn't try to get out. When the weather is nice I let them out on the tiny back deck and stairs, and I sit with them so they don't wander. I'm sure if any mouse was foolish enough to get into the house, it wouldn't last long. We don't have a problem with many critters, but I've thought that a dog might help with the woodchuck issue we've had in the past. Our neighbor's outdoor cat occasionally leaves us a mole as a gift. Sophia, the grand dame of the house. B.C. (Bad Cat) and Sophia, in their favorite bird-viewing spot - the feeders are outside that window. B.C. is almost 13, and Sophia is 11. My favorite picture of Molly, and our son Ian. Molly is the baby, not yet 2. Sophia thinks she's a pain in the behind; we jokingly call Molly "Nermal," to go with Sophia's "Garfield," and B.C. does a very good "Odie." Laurel

Dallasblooms, Yes, we're in a 10 year old subdivision. Thanks for your insight. I called the city engineers out last week. I wanted to be sure we were doing things by the book or better. I didn't want any surprises so I insisted they send someone out to look at what was going on and advise us. The guy brought the grading plan for our subdivision which he left it with us. He looked it over and said all we need to do is re create the original swale. He told us we don't need a permit but might need some kind of permit to allow equipment to cross the sidewalk unless they use the driveway to access. He is checking on that and will let us know. He mentioned the silt fence, hubby already knew about this part. He didn't use the term re grading, which tipped me off on how to write the proposal to the HOA. :) /WINK. What we can't figure out is if previous owners filled in the original swale or if Mother Nature did it slowly over time..doesn't matter we have to fix it either way, and do it better than what was originally done. Landscapers are not going to be doing this work. We started with them to get an over all plan and connect with the proper contractors to do the earth moving part. The landscapers will lay out and prep the new beds since I am no longer physically able to do that kind of work. The project is moving a lot more slowly than I had hoped but we're getting there. :) My goal is for the work to be completed and new sod in place before the spring rains arrive. So, for now we're on schedule. Once the plan is written down, I will submit to the HOA and the city if need be. Since part of the plan involves new fencing we'll at least need a permit for that. This week, the gutters are being re placed with larger ones and more down spouts, to dump the water along the sides and towards the front of the house instead of out into the back yard. Everyone who has taken a look tells us that will make a tremendous difference with the amount of water needing to be directed out of the back yard towards the street, and be a good place to start. The neighbor's along both sides are aware and very agreeable to the plans to improve drainage, which will help with their drainage issues as well. I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can start my winter sowing, since I'll have all the beds I want finished in time to plant this spring! :) Thank you for bringing up the original drainage plan, if I hadn't called the city engineer's office I wouldn't have known one existed or that I could have a copy of it. Hubby and the city engineer guy didn't think we needed any surveying done. They both seemed to think it was pretty cut and dried where and how much swale is needed as did the dirt mover guys who came out to give us estimates. I still can't picture what this is going to look like.