... what i wouldn't do

... for about 3 more sets of hands. wifee and i are going to tackle some large projects this weekend. why, you ask? because we like to suffer perhaps. nothing like back-breaking work after a long week of work, stress and strain.

here's a shot of the original pond. small. preformed plastic shape. cute. ultimately unsatisfying tho, and the koi and japanese ornate goldfish needed more playing room. all the dense foilage grew in well tho, so we can't wait to finish this new phase and created the lush-goodness again.

here's the current stage of the pond expansion. the big golden-white foot long Koi is super happy, and his little ornate friends are pleased as well. we've damned near tripled the space, and they've got close to 1000 gallons to play in. old slate is temporarily placed until we pick up the rest this weekend and begin the assembly of the jigsaw puzzle! have i ever mentioned how badly i hate jigsaw puzzles? ;)

here's a shot of the side pool! it's a 24"x24" round pond insert/home to (3) saved walmart feederfish goldies, and (6) tadpoles! eep! we're gonna have froggie-goodness everywhere! unless they get eaten, or run away or something... giggle. once the slate is all laid out, having a "natural break" in the water creates a feeling of unity between the space and also is just a totally cool focal point of froggy-goodness. tee hee. it's gonna be like a muppet froggy chorus in about 2 months! eep! ribbit!

for those of you who are visually challenged, and love pretty diagrams in order to get the full effect, here's a drawing of what the end result should eventually look like. we're hoping to get enough slate to finish the pond areas and the BBQ pit circle. the area underneath our awning will soon be updated too - hence the stained concrete slab theory you see represented. The big gray circle is simply a current patio glass tabletop for general reference.

i'll post more shots as "project: fishee goodness" continues... so, whaddya'all think? can we do it? (or more important, who can come help?)