Dad always said, "If you're going to do something, do it right."

May 16, 2019 - Thursday morning

49 degrees/cloudy skies/breezy

Pentoga Road

It's amazing how much work and money a bunch of seventeen cent goldfish can cause. 

This whole garden pond thing began four years ago when I made a small indentation in the planter at the base of the greenhouse and lined part it with a blue tarp. The pond, a puddle really, included a tiny fountain and a few goldfish.

After that came the bigger pond. A plastic shell, it worked okay, but the twenty goldfish that started off as two inches long kept growing and soon outgrew their small pond. The problem really started when we gave them names and made pets of them. 

We should never have done that. Following the fishes' growth spurts came winters of fifty gallon totes that kept them swimming in the basement until the following spring. I'd go downstairs to feed them and tell each to hang on, spring was just around the corner and they'd be outside once again to swim, eat all they wanted, and... grow more.

So what does one do? He rips up his entire garden, moves the greenhouse and several raised beds, and begins anew, digging a pond where the fish can overwinter with the help of a bubbler. 

With each scoop of dirt, I swear this will be the last garden pond. It better be. By the time I'm finished, I figure those twenty goldfish will have cost me around a hundred dollars each. Pretty expensive for dime store pets.

I alternated digging with helping Sargie repot the big spike plants that were carried from the basement. It took quite a while to get all the pots and planters from the storage container.

She kept me busy bringing top soil from the old raised beds in the garden to the back yard with which to fill the pots and planters.

After a quick dash to town, I returned to the garden as Sargie began raking the winter's debris from the perennial beds around the house.

Look at the determination on that girl's face. 

I'm more than halfway done with digging the new pond. Some of the walls are too steep, so I'll actually end up putting a bit of fill back in so they have more of a slope. The main object is to have the pond deep enough so that, with the aid of a bubbler, the goldfish can survive the winter months. I think I can accomplish that.

There were two very tired kids on Pentoga Road last night. Jambo called and needed a bit of help carrying in a heavy board to the second floor of their camp. We had a good, quick, visit, before I returned home to collapse on the couch.

With spotty rain predicted for today, Sargie and I have several errands to run. We need to purchase our usual Boston Ferns for the front porch and several flats of various bedding flowers. I doubt I'll get any digging done for a few days now as rain dots the forecast well into next week.

That's about all the news for today. I'm going for my morning walk then return to carve a name that was ordered last week. It's been a long time since I've been in the shop and am looking forward to it.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

You KNOW it's spring when the rooster comes out of storage.