Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em.

Peeps--

I thought this day would never come, but the da&* pond is finished. El finito. Smoke em if you got em, and then take a tip from me:

Do Not Do This. Don't. Just. Don't. 

Let's say we did, then don't. Am I happy to have it in my backyard? Yes ish. I do love it. But it was soooo much work. Sooooooo much harder than the other stunts we've pulled since living in this house, and we've pulled a lot of stunts all up in this operation.

People told us not to. But we're hard workers! we said. We're no stranger to difficult projects! we said. 

The cost of having a pond (even a small one) put in by a contractor is insane. But now I know why. There's just so much to think about, from the digging and the leveling and the pond liner and the electrical and the filter and this and that and the other. Sigh. Having it done professionally is probably worth every penny, sad to say.

So I'm saying I like it! I'm crying tears of joy that it's done! But I wouldn't do it again. And actually, if we're gonna be 100% honest, I still need to get out there and bury the electrical, and we're also putting in some pond lights which I'm pretty excited about. 

 But now that the backbreaking labor is done-- 

Look at my lily pads!!  They actually have lilies. And they open at around 8 am and they close up around 5 pm and they are so nifty I can barely stand it.

In the small pond, we have a lily that is seriously two-toned:

Shut up!! Gah I love it so.

And we have lots of other water plants like water hyacinths and water lettuce and water callas and they're crazy expensive and I'll be seriously pissed if they can't withstand a Utah winter. But they should, so here's hoping.

And we even have fish! Goldfish. But fish!

This is me attempting to show you how our pond connects to our flower beds. And I dearly love that hibiscus in the corner there but it's gotten a little wild. Time to trim that puppy down.

You know what's funny? But not funny haha?

How many comments we got from the neighbors. Lots of very kind and encouraging comments from people we don't know very well, and then several mean jabs from people we do know well. That surprised me a little. 

I remember this time, when I had had it after a long hot day,

and I'm ashamed to admit that I just plopped right down on the lawn-- just sprawled out right there, and I put my face in the crook of my elbow and had a little cry. Oh yes, I did.

And a good friend was driving past, and I heard her yell out of her car, 

"You look like you could use a coke right now!"

And then I made our usual Mormon joke about throwing in a little rum with it (it never gets old)--

but that great friend brought me a milkshake. And I felt so much better. And yet dumb for being such a baby. 

But I tell ya, there is something about landscape work that just feels. . . overwhelming. 

I'm glad I did this now-- I took some photos of my flowers near the beginning of the season, and then I went out and snapped a few more this weekend.

Here's my one corner of my new flower beds back in June. . . 

and here it is now.

Gosh that alyssum is insane! And my dahlias took their sweet time but they're this close to blooming! And I'm happy. 

And since I'm feeling so gosh darn happy to not be sweating and swassing it up outside--

I treated myself to a sign purchase. Hee.