I've been wanting a water feature since we moved in, so we decided the back yard was the best place for one. Craig heroically volunteered to dig the hole for the modest 50 gallon pool I picked out. I'd have liked to work with a flexible liner, but we have so many pointy rocks out there that I suspect I'd constantly be repairing leaks. I chose a preformed liner that hopefully will stand up to the stones for a bit longer. Not as easy to camouflage, but I've learned that it's best to peacefully coexist with our rocks, rather than try to force them to do something they don't want to do.

Case in point. This is Walter. Craig decided this one needed a name after the mammoth struggle he had getting him out of the pit. (I was thinking maybe "Butch" or "Killer" but it wasn't my fight.) Walter had an impressive posse of friends helping him hold on, and in the end only allowed himself to be removed from the bottom of the hole after Craig made a solemn promise to make him a prominent part of the feature. I wasn't consulted, and Walter isn't the prettiest of rocks, but that's where we ended up. Walter came out of the hole and went into the backdrop.

You can't see him very well yet, but he'll show up nicely after I get some plants in between him and the large rock in the background. He was rather attractive after I rinsed off the mud.

I only have a few plants in so far, and I must emphasize that I still have a long way to go--it will look a lot better when it's done, honest! I have a lot more space where I need to add greenery, but it's still a bit cold for much of the foliage I want to put in. I also had to drain the pool so I could clean out all the muck that fell in while we were working. Around the end of May I can introduce the actual water plants and fish.

Right now it's only a water feature-in-waiting. Kind of a silt feature, in fact. Time to start scrubbing...

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