We live in the high desert. That doesn’t evoke thoughts of mountain streams, cool clear lakes or even hidden springs. But a guy can still dream, right?
As a lifelong fisherman, I’ve always had an affinity for the water. Moving or still, if it held fish (preferably trout), it was attractive. I always intended to live beside a river or a stream or, at the very least, a creek. So why, then, the high desert? I grew up here. 45 years it has held me. But the dream of a stream of my own persists.
I guess that’s why I built the water feature.
It only runs about seventy feet from top to bottom. It separates the near front yard from the far front yard, and on the lower portion, the far bank borders the wild brush of the undeveloped hill area. At the bottom there’s a pool. It’s not a very big pool, less than eight feet in diameter and only about three and a half feet deep, but it is home to more than two dozen gold fish. They overwinter just fine there. In fact, they’re the first lure to the great blue heron that visits each spring. I don’t mind if a few of them become a snack, since they reproduce on their own, but just a few, please. We enjoy our fish.
I tried to create a ‘natural’ look to the whole thing. Start with an artesian spring. Let the spring fill a pool. Have the outflow travel under a bridge and down the hill to a pond. Along the way, add in a couple of trickles to provide bathing places for the birds. Bring in real river rock for that water worn appearance. Make sure there’s a spot where the water tumbles over a shelf to add the sound effects.
At the very least, the flowing water brings a soothing sound to the garden ambiance .
Eventually it’s almost believable. Maybe not believable, but a guy can still dream, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment