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The backyard of my coach house in Oak Park, Illinois is totally landscaped and secluded, and just cried out for a pond. After
considerable research on the web, I secured the instructions and supplies I needed, and set to work in the late spring of
1999.
The hole is roughly 12' x 6', and holds about 900 gallons of water. Roughly kidney-shaped, it steps down
from less than one foot at the shallow (waterfall) end to a little over three feet at the deep end. The pond has shelves dug
into the sides for potted shallow water and bog plants, and three stepped levels. The liner is 45 mil EPDM black rubber. A
Beckett pump circulates 1200 gallons per hour from the bottom of the deep end up through a hose to the waterfall. The waterfall
drops about a half-foot, providing extra oxygen for the fish and a pleasant splashing sound on summer evenings. The pond is
stocked with various lilies, waterplants, goldfish and, until the summer of 2001, large-ish frogs that grew in it from tadpoles.
On this page are pictures of the pond under construction, as well as a frog's-eye view, the pond in spring and
winter, the fish (fantails and comets, now up to about 6" long) and one of the three frogs who used to call my pond home,
before they were Ruthlessly Predated by some Ruthless Predator. Nature red in tooth and claw, I guess.
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