I've made 3 smaller "patio ponds" out of various materials that I have scrounged up. Depending upon the size of pond you want to create, some of these techniques may be useful to you. 2 of my ponds get dismantled for winter and the fish are overwintered inside the house in a large aquarium. My smallest pond is made from wood shipping pallets that I got from work and a shower curtain liner. I measured the liner and decided on a size and depth to cut the wood to. I built a basic solid box out of 2x4s that was approximately 2' tall and 4'x4'. I finished the top edge with a 2x6 and stained it. Each spring I go buy a new curtain liner and staple it to the inside edge. Add water and a pump and you're finished. The 2nd pond is built in a somewhat similar fashion, with lumber I repurposed after tearing out an old deck. I built 8 boxes (about 2'x2'x2') that served as the 8 angles of my octagon. I then attached 2x6s between the corners of each set of boxes, creating one large octagon. I bought a huge roll of the thickest plastic drop cloth I could find, lined the inside twice, and stapled the edges. The 8 boxes were filled with potting mix and planted with flowers. I added a pump and fountain, and it works great. Again, this gets dismantled in the fall, and the fish are brought inside. It's so shallow it will freeze solid otherwise. New liner every year, also. My third pond is built out of chunks of concrete torn out when we re-did the sidewalks. This one is permanent. It sits on dirt, so I did dig down just a little bit to increase the depth of the pond and also to get the lowest layer of concrete below ground level. I just mortared the concrete chunks together as I built the wall up to the desired height. Once I was close to the desired height, I put the pond liner in (yes, I actually spent money on a REAL pond liner. LOL!) and then placed more concrete chunks on top of the edges of the liner to hide it and give it a more finished look. I looked up a concoction containing yogurt and ground up moss on the internet, made it and covered the concrete with it. It's starting to grow a little bit, which gives it all a more weathered look. Add water, fish, and a pump.....Viola! Those are my creations! Other than the pumps, I really have a minimal amount of money invested in each. They aren't award-winning by any means, but I think they add a lot to my otherwise bare patio areas.

Up, up and not away!

Since I don't like "sweet" with my meat or fish, I only use maple syrup in traditionally sweet foods. Mostly desserts or . Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Maple Cream Fudge ================= 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup cream 1/3 cup of butter 1/4 cup of maple syrup pinch of salt vanilla . Add the two sugars, butter and cream maple syrup and salt into a sauce pan. Place over medium heat. Stir while bringing to a boil. Lower the heat and continue to stir slowly while the mixture cooks. After about 7 minutes, test by pouring a small amount into some cold water. You want it to form a soft ball. You might need to cook it for another minute or two. Remove from the heat, add a couple of teaspoons of vanilla and start stirring. It takes about 14 or 15 minutes for the fudge to cool and thicken. Pour into buttered dish. Option: Replace the cream and cup of white sugar with one can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and increase the maple syrup to 1 cup. 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup white 1/2 cup white corn syrup 1 cup butter 1 cup cream pinch of salt vanilla Cook to almost hard ball stage. Let cool slightly, stir and then pour into butter pan or mini muffin tins. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Maple Mousse With Walnut Praline ================================ Source: Marg (Friend) 1 Tablespoon Gelatin 1 1/4 cup cold water 2 eggs beaten 1 cup maple syrup 1 Cup whipping cream - whipped . Soak gelatin in cold water. Beat eggs and combined with maple syrup in top of a double boiler. cook stirring constantly over boiling water until it coats a spoon. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Strain if necessary. Refrigerate until thick. Whip cream until stiff. Whip gelatin mixture. Fold in whip cream until well combined. Pour into 3 1/2 cup mold and refrigerate until set. Praline 1 cup walnuts 1 cup white sugar 1/4 cup cold water toast walnuts at 350 for 10 minutes. Do not burn Add water to sugar in heavy sauce pan and stir until sugar has dissolved. Cook until sugar turns a golden brown. Add nuts and immediately pour on to a buttered cookie sheet. Let set for one hour. Chop coarsely. Sprinkle chopped praline over each serving. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Butter Tarts ============ 1/4 cup butter at room temperature 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice 1 cup maple syrup 1 cup walnut halves Optional - 1/2 cup currants or raisins water Blend together the butter and brown sugar. Beat the eggs lightly and stir into the butter and brown sugar and add the corn syrup. (You can substitute Corn syrup for all or part of the Maple syrup.), add vanilla and raisins if using. Fill tart shells about two thirds full. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. The filling in these tarts is runny. Do not over bake or the filling will firm up. Let tarts set in the tins for about 3 minutes. Remove carefully and cool on racks. Makes about twenty 3 inch tarts. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ==================== Source: Foodtv.ca Anna Olson Dough * 2 cups all purpose flour * 2 tbsp oats * 1/2 tsp baking powder * 1/2 tsp salt * 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled * 2 tbsp sour cream * 2 tbsp maple syrup Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter the texture of coarse meal. Stir sour cream and maple syrup and add to dough, Mixing until it just comes together. Chill dough for 15 minutes.

This thread became resurrected when I was googling around for a substitution for Coco liners.. they were dirtying up my house and deck.. Plus the birds love to make nests out of the liners and pull the liners apart all over the place.... So this particular thread popped up ....and I'm glad it did.. But now when the comments pop up in browser form I have to go through the entire thread to receive the latest comment. Any way around this?something tells me this is a dumb question .