OMG!!!! Our little waterfall fails to work from time to time (like every time there is a thunderstorm) but that's because the idiot timers Dh buys keep failing. I HOPE!!! If I find a dead snake in there I don't know what I'll do. Sheesh!

I hope you get it working again. And I'd like to see PICTURES!!

I have seen snakes swimming in the duckpond down the road... and run screaming every time!

Haven't seen a snake in my yard in two years, thank goodness, but I'm always looking. Even though I know some snakes are good for the garden I'm scared to death of them. Cameron, will this incident make you cautious about working in your garden? It would me!! Vikki

Linda -- The pump is running just fine. I've included a few pics below for you.

I knew about the black snakes in the garden as I've seen them on a few occasions -- as well as a few skins lately. They don't concern me unless they surprise me. They are beneficial snakes -- I grew up on a farm with horses and they kept the mouse population under control. I've even had names for some of them in my past!

That said, I wouldn't want a copperhead around so I am considering keeping some of my groundcovers cut closer to the ground.
{{gwi:732935}}


{{gwi:732937}}

Cameron,

I love your stream/waterfall, and also the way you have created such a pretty, flowing river rock bed. It looks so peaceful and soothing.

If that were mine, I would definitely be spending part of my day sitting on that bench and enjoying the tranquil atmosphere! :-)

Marilyn

Wow! That is absolutely beautiful! I would love to have something like that. I saw a garden snake in my backyard orchard once. Hopefully he was eating the gophers and moles for me!
Stephenie

Beautiful, Cameron!! So very, very beautiful!

I agree with you about the snakes - but if I found one IN the waterfall it would be a shock. That's the part that gets me...that little moment when you aren't sure yet if it's one of the poisonous ones and your heart kind of seizes. You are right about the benefits, though, and we don't kill snakes around here unless they are copperheads, cottonmouths, or rattlers.

Well thank goodness we don't have any poisonous snakes around here. I have to admit although snakes are good thing to have in the garden I'm not to keen on them, I am OK if I see them first.
They do get in the goldfish pool and eat the fish though, if DH isn't around I have to deal with them.
Armed with a trout net and one with a finer mesh I scoop them up, turn around, running at a full gallop trying to keep said snake ensnared in the confusion of the two nets, make my way through the lath house, down the steps, around the corner of the house and after covering the little courtyard in three giant steps I hit the six foot spring loaded gate yelling at the top of my voice COMING THROUGH. Well, you never know there might be someone standing on the other side of the gate and I don't want to do someone a serious injury. I do pause at the bottom of the driveway, take a breathe while looking both ways before I race across the road to release said snake in the bush. I swear it's the same snake two days later I have to repeat this performance with. DH, doesn't seem to be around when this happens anymore, probably watching from somewhere laughing his head off.

Annette

Yep, the water is so soothing. There's just something about sitting and looking at water. The sound of the waterfall is nice, too.

Annette -- too bad you don't have a video to send in to America's Funniest -- I think you'd win! :-)

Cameron ~ What an absolutely lovely, peaceful water feature. The story about your pump was funny in a way, but not for the black snake. They are good for our gardens. Glad you didn't have to buy another pump.

FlowerLady

We have 2 small ponds at our house. One day I walked out on our deck to check the one by the house out and saw a snake slither out into my daylilies behind the top waterfall section. So of course my hubby wasn't home and there was no way I was letting that thing stay so close to the house so I decided to find him and trap him. I slowly pulled almost every rock away from the pond form and couldn't find the rascal. When hubby got home he was not very happy about the condition of HIS pond, and we ended up having to rebuild the whole top part again. Oh well. I love to poke and prod and dig and .... I was that way as a kid and always will be.

Yesterday I was down at the other pond. A backhoe took a couple scoops out when we built our house and the hole was spring fed until it stopped running a couple years ago. It still gets water to it by way of underground piping from our downspouts and rain runoff but this summer has been hard on it since it's been so dry. We had put feeder fish in it two years ago and there are tons of frogs so I decided to go down to it and scoop as many as I could with my daughter's nets. To my suprise, the first thing I saw was a SNAKE! Yikes! I had no idea where it went so I stood on a rock in the pond and scooped out every living thing I could not seeing him again thank goodness. I think he was a harmless water snake but they still give me the creeps. Today the water was gone but we pulled out all of the big fish and at least 100 frog tadpoles. I'm not worried about the frogs down there, they'll find a new home and once it rains the pond will fill back up.

PS: Do I want to do this when I'm 50?