c2g, Vernal ponds, dewponds, etc are great in the right location, under the right conditions. Remember that most of the ones you see on the internet are rarely located near buildings, especially homes. Most of the time they are for livestock that churn up the bottom. They are rarely filled by hoses. In England, there is a lot of rain and a lot of clay. The bottom of a clay lined pond is thick. Try Googling Bentonite lined canals to see the construction. It is tricky. I'm glad you decided not to use it to tell the truth. To the unwary, it is a disaster waiting to happen. It takes practice and a lot of willingness to get coated with unbelievably sticky messes once it gets wet. We used to live in an underground house that was topped with it and then had 2 feet of earth on top of that so I had a lot of experience in twenty years. While it did what it was supposed to do, I lost more than one pair of shoes and several pairs of jeans to it. You could not wade into the pond you want to construct. I haven't ever seen a really good book on wildlife ponds. No two ponds are ever going to be alike. But then I wanted something for fishies too. my pond is 1000 gallons and three feet deep. The birds and critters usually take over my Skippy Filter (!00 gallons)for bathing and drinking. Since my pond will never be completed(even after 12+ years), that can change from year to year. I love to experiment.You won't want anything as elaborate as Joanne and Cliff's but parts of their ponds are perfect for what you want. Check out their many videos. Just don't get intimidated. For your pond, the first thing to consider is that the ground is flat. So as you dig, pile the dirt around the outside perimeter of the pond so the pond edges will be above grade.If you plan for a filter, the tank can be positioned there so it won't be obvious. Use the link to see the Skippy. It doesn't have to be that large for your use but the concept is the same no matter the size. I have seen so many variations it is amazing. They all do the same thing. I would go with the same material. Thinner, less weatherproof materials than a stock tank are just a waste of time and money. I made mine in an afternoon. The most difficult part was tying it to the roof of my car to get it home from the Farm and Fleet store. A fifty gallon tank would do well for your plans. Before you start cutting, think it through. You can always delay it if you are unsure. For your purposes you don't need a huge pump. Figure the amount of water in the pond and get a submersible pump that moves about twice that number of gallons in an hour. There are lots of people here to advise you on brands of pumps although they usually talk about the bigger volume pumps. If you like, you can design a low waterfall with this or not. I like the sound. For safety you should have a properly installed GFCI outlet. Extension cords are not recommended. Here is a link that might be useful: Skippy Stuff.

Why are you so focused on a coldframe -- on the north side of the house? I doubt it will get enough sun to be productive. Personally, I would forgo the season extension methods until after you get the swing of the local seasons. It's too late in the year to get anything started for winter except garlic, but many things do fine outdoors in the winter here without protection provided you start them early enough in the fall to reach most of their growth. Cabbage, kohlrabi, collards, spinach and so forth. With very few exceptions, I direct seed almost everything. I have very little luck with cool weather crops in the spring here -- it just gets too hot too fast -- but peas, radishes, lettuce and other quick varieties will make it before the heat does. I direct seed cabbage and cauliflower in late Jan (and they don't always make it), lettuce in early Feb and other spring crops like peas, radishes, mustard, Irish potatoes, beets and turnips about Valentine's Day. Summer crops go in about Easter; fall crops in July and winter crops in August, then back around to garlic in mid to late October. I suggest you wander over to the ACES web site and indulge your inner elephant's child. They have garden calendars, notes of successful local methods and much more. At this point in the season, if I were you I would: - Focus on building compost bins and collecting composting material. There's nothing wrong with a plain old compost pile; no bin necessary. - Work on other infrastructure, like fencing, sheds and raised beds if you are going to use them. - A drip irrigation system is a big help here; you may want to plan for that. - How are you going to preserve your bounty next year? If you have plans for canning, drying, etc., get yourself organized and prepared while it's the off season with drying racks and such. Root cellars don't really work very well here but finding the cool spots in or under your house will help some for potatoes and such. - Frankly, I'd till up your garden spot now to help kill weed seeds and roots, and rake the grass up and either compost it or burn/trash it. If you have bermuda or a similar grass thug, don't try to compost it! Even if you plan to be no-till in general, it will help get your spot started. One last thought on homemade seed containers: Like I said, I don't start much indoors now -- more effort than it's worth -- but when I do I use either old nursery pots so that I don't have to transplant them into another pot before they go in the ground, or I have some love wooden seed flats that work better than anything else for a nice mix of moisture retention vs. too wet. I used to make newspaper pots, but I found the plants developed healthier root system when I took the paper off before planting -- the paper didn't biodegrade quite as fast as the plants need root space.

I've been busy with the GBBC and seeing birds I've never seen before (not in my yard). I visited the local marsh which is in a nature preserve and I saw that at least in the eyes of the water birds spring is coming. A Mallard drake was busy preening himself when a female Mallard swam by him at very close quarters. I swear she winked at him. I also saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers (new to me) that looked as if they were dressed up for a Mardi Gras parade. The photo wasn't exposed correctly as I was frantically trying to catch them before they swam out of sight. I hope these photos load OK - I'm having computer issues with dial-up internet access. My accelerator which used to increase the speed from pitiful to mediocre is defunct, so I'm back to pitiful and I can't really preview photos. I'm holding out for Verizon high speed which is supposed to be available soon, but they don't seem able to find my street. I just noticed that the copper birdbath is completely thawed out! A very good sign. Claire

I'm going to the Smokies at the end of May for a few days. It won't be great salamander weather but we'll see what we can find. I have agreat spot in Smoky Mountains National Park where you can find Four Toeds and Black Chinned Reds right next to each other. As well as many other species. Dave