Hi everyone, HOORAY!!!!! The STEELERS brought home one for the thumb! Thanks Semper! You are so wonderful to do this for all us ponders. It was great fun! And thank you for the win. I asked Semper to donate my winnings to The National Aviary right here in Pittsburgh, PA. It is a wonderful place that is close to my heart. Here is a pic of the Bald Eagles that reside there. Notice the one flapping only has one wing. Poor thing had been shot by some @#$&*!*....... And this is a picture of me the last time I was there..... Thanks for helping take care of the birds Semper. Hi Comet! Thanks! Well, it's been a great season. I'm already looking forward to training camp. And the next pool...........: ) ~Dawn (mamabirrd)

My overflow pipe penetrates the liner about 6" under the water level. The pipe is 2" and has a piece of bird netting banded to the end to keep fish from going thru it, as some little ones have done in the past. the pipe runs underground to by filter area where it has a 90° elbow turning up, and a short piece of pipe added to the end so that the water level in the pipe is the same as the water level in the pond. It is basically a gravity fed overflow. This water actually runs into a 300 gallon stock tank which is a holding tank for fish that need new homes. Since I keep a hose running in my pond 24/7 at the rate of 20 gph, there is a constant overflow of water to this stock tank so no need for a filter as long as I keep it lightly stocked. Anyway...to make the water level in the pond adjustable, you could add a rubber 2" "fernco" connector. Slide it up and down the stand pipe to adjust the water height in the pipe....and also in the pond. this method works great for me.

Thanks Ellenr!!

Thank you for your comments suggestions and encouragement. I am posting a few photos this time and it will show what I have used and how I made certain things. Firstly, perhaps I should mention that what happened as I searched deeper into planting in a steep-walled pond (with no sloping, shallow end) was that I found myself reading more about hydroponics and aquaponics. Because of the methods used in these fields, I have been using the sheet polystyrene (rigid sheet foam, or what have you) as you will have noticed in my video. My latest island (oh my, doesn't that sound grand!) is a 4 ft x 8 ft x 2" thick sheet with a 3/4" PVC (schedule 40) frame. For transport reasons I had to by 4 sheets at 2' x 4' and join them to make an 4x8. Having done this I decided that a PVC frame would help keep it together and assist with anchoring/mooring it. Here are a couple of photos: I joined the sheets with Gorilla glue which works very well. I jointed all the PVC with the appropriate glue to keep it airtight because open PVC tubing will sink. I then added some 'lumps' of polystyrene glued together and hacked them about to look like rocks: I angled the edges of the island and painted the sides and top with some exterior household paint I had lying around. Then I painted the rocks with acrylic paint of various reds, blues and browns until they looked natural (!?) Here is a photo or two, what do you think? (The wire is a set of solar night lights) Given that the ground cover in the foreground should later cover the nasty brown of the surface, I think (hope) it should turn out alright. Oh; one other thing I did was to add a sheet of filter material to the underneath to encourage bacteria (I used swamp cooler pads, but in a roll). That is the reason I placed it next to the air stone column, as can be seen in the photo. I originally placed it directly over the air but found that it smothered the air column so effectively that it made the whole of the pond appear to be still, like a mill pond. Clearly I did not want this so I moored it to the side of the column. The air bubbles assist the bacteria and will therefore help clear the water. Most of what you see there, plantwise, is a ground cover but there is also mexican feather grasses and some herbs (sage, parsley, etc). BTW. The photos are in high-def so you should be able to zoom in if you wish. Other updates: The lobelia is getting towards its end but still looks OK. The goldfish continue to grow, and goodness knows how many mosquito fish are in there now. I might have to consider another fish to keep them under control as there is no sign of the goldfish doing this and I am told that they should eat the eggs or small fry. Any suggestions welcome. Overall, the water is starting to clear, possibly thanks to the addition of barley straw and pellets. Pontyrogof; Interesting idea of wattles made with stuffed stockings Victorian_bellefonte; Cork, eh? Never thought of that. It should look very natural but does it not become too waterlogged over time. How about a photo of some you are using. Nice-looking pond, too! Mary; Thanks for the nice comments. I'm hoping to put an update video soon. Donna; I have had no success with water hyacinth or water lettuce, never have; I think it might be the full sun the pond gets. Thanks for the interest and keep those ideas coming, please. Steve