Well, last week-end, I ended up cleaning out the pond after all. Once I got started, I realized that the pond was full of muck on the bottom, and it made things so much easier to do once I started emptying it. I put the goldfish in a bucket of old pond water (one kept trying to jump out!), pulled out the waterlily and then just emptied everything onto the garden. It was a real mess, and I'm very glad I decided to clean it. Eventually, I built the prototype of the waterfall on one side, and set a small pot on the other side for water to trickle into and out down the rocks. I decided not to 'glue' the pipes in place yet, but to see how I like it first. From having a pump that was too strong for the fountain, I now think the pump could actually be stronger :) I may take out the second pipe and only have one trickle, although I actually quite like having both. And the benefit is that the stones on what was supposed to be a bog/marginal shelf but which were never covered in enough water, now get watered every day, so I can use the shelf at last. Thanks for all your help and encouragement. Here's a little video. Here is a link that might be useful: mini waterfall

Greenthumbzdude, I have been a gardener for more than fifty years. I have gardened in a very wide variety of locations including your own. I was a Master Gardener for twenty years. I am aware of the proper definitions, plant appropriateness and the differences in their ecological values and deficits. When a plant such as Virginia Creeper grows from a neighbors yard under and over their privacy fence, rotting out the posts on it's way, invades planted areas smothering valuable shrubs and other plantings that may also support moths and butterflies, crosses the yard and climbs up the house lifting the siding from underneath, climbs trees, smothers and kills them, shades out any and all grasses, then it is an invasive plant and is not appropriate for that local area. In a number of places it is considered a noxious weed due to its extremely rapid growth, as much as 50 feet in a season, in all directions. Each and every node that touches the ground has the potential to become a new plant. Not every plant that grows in a particular place should be allowed to stay there. Virginia Creeper is not threatened nor is the species it supports threatened by preventing it's spread in inappropriate locations such as small gardens and subdivisions. If Redbuds did not reproduce at a prodigious rate they would be acceptable as a yard tree. However, when they go from one or two to 150 or more in a 10x30 foot area, they are insupportable. In a very large wooded area, acres and acres, they don't have a chance to grow like that due to competition from other plants and a lot of shade. It does not matter that they can grow in an area if it forces out other plants that are just as valuable as a species. They are best as an understory tree not a jungle. I won't recommend plants that I know have the possibility of becoming thugs. That is why I suggested the Master Gardeners and the Co-operative Extension. They have lists of plants that are appropriate to the local area and the conditions they are intended for. They know what they are doing and will give both pros and cons if necessary.

If you want your bog to act as an additional filter you may want to have the input bulkhead at the bottom & put a PVC pipe in the bottom with holes. Then I would use gravel and have the outlet at the top. If not then soil depends on what you want to grow. It would probably be safe to put peat in the bottom for acid soil loving plants and then top it with sand,gravel, and or clay (as long as both bulkheads where at the top). You would get a very small amount of humic acid in the pond from the peat but it is actually pretty good for plants as it is a natural chelator for things like iron. With the water running over the top and not through the peat this shouldn't really mess with your pond pH much at all. Good Luck

I like the inspiration pic in the Domino magazine a lot. So, if you kept your windows sitting on the shelf (are we thinking about 15" off the counter or so??), this would allow for a really cool tilebacksplash (or stainless, or whatever you had in mind) and save some $$$ of not having to tile the whole wall. How wed are you to two sinks? this would be a place to save a lot of money, between the sink itself, the faucet, the extra work to template and cutout your countertop, the extra plumbing work, the extra garbage disposal (if you have one). This would probably add up to the price of putting in the new windows. In my kitchen I considered a prep sink but my space is not big enough for it... there was really nowhere to put it, except the island which would have meant not having the MW in the island, or not having the bank of draws that are the most useful in my whole kitchen. BUT, if I had the space, I would have LOVED to have a prep sink. just something else for you to consider. btw, there is something a little awkward about the Domino ktichen's hood... seems too high and the shelf from the range, combined with the shelf on the wall, combined with the hood being up so high is a little off to me, BUT I love the feel of the kitchen.