I started with a 100 gallon plastic insert pond...had it for 3-4 years...Had 1 Koi in it with fantails and goldfish..Last August I hand dug the pond you see below..also added all the rock by hand (8-10 ton)...at capacity the pond is 32" deep...17.8' X 15.3' water measure from front to back and side to side...I believe from Internet calcs that it is in the 4000 gallon range...I have 6 koi, 1 channel catfish, 2 largemouth bass, 2 bluegill, 10-15 goldfish..and 1 fantail...Oh yeah...2 frogs...and a plethora of tadpoles...It was born last August 15, 2007...I'm still working on water quality and all that good stuff...It's about 85% complete now..need to add more rock and I may add some more filtration...skimmer...uv light...As soon as I get home from work...I grab a cold beer and head out back to feed the fish....Enjoy your pond experience...best thing I've created with my hands....take care...and I hope this helps...Dave in WV... :-) Here is a link that might be useful: When I first built the pond

There were 23 FEMA lots in New Hartford after the flood of 2008 ... people in these homes could either not afford to rebuild or have enough insurance to rebuild or just gave up on another flooded home...it means they took a 'buy-out' from FEMA ...so those lots can never be built on again...this was a 500-yr flood & affected many homes that never ever have flooded...but many of those that took the buy-out had flooded before ...but not on the main levels like this 2008 flood! So, when FEMA buys you out ...say like $25,000 or something I think may have been an avg (I don't know for sure)...then it becomes property of the city but cannot be built on to live in or have a business. The lots we are restoring have been this Vets Memorial, 4 Season Perennial Garden, Town Square Gazebo lot & a Community Gardens lot. We have written grants, raised money ...many of it donations & that's how we are doing it...we are wearing down as it is many retired people working long & hard...but we promised our community that we would have the 3 lots done by 1st week of June for the local yearly 'Beaver Creek Days.' It's all very worthwhile to all of us & brings a sense of pride back into the community. Thanks for asking, luvs & I appreciate all the comments from you 'Holiday-ers!' Jeanne S.

Chloecat, I'm just referring to photos posted here linked to online image storage like Photobucket. You can change the title/description til the cows come home without any problems but if you change the actual file name, boom, broken link. Jodi-

I’m trying to post a photo but Houzz won’t let me:( My hood was custom, designed by my contractor and myself and inspired by DeVol), with a Zephyr insert; this actually was far less expensive than many of the readymade hoods I looked at. I’ll try to post photos again later. In the meantime, you might see a few photos of it in my ideabook of “Vintage Stove Hoods”.