widening the stream and adding a small offset ...a pond!

I think I can still see some snow in the background ... obviously the winter conditions are holding on.

oh how fantastic!
i think i would sit by this all day!

That will be very, very cold water I expect...but it is looking very promising as a revamp (and with a small pond area too).

amazing Lori, i do envy you living in such a beautifill place, and can tell your so happy there ;o))

can you drink the water from the stream?

I apologize friends, I had some trouble uploading this picture and it looks like I posted it twice!!!! Sorry!
Sticki: I have various diversions that won't allow me to sit by the stream...but believe me, I know just what you mean...love it. No, the stream is run-off, and at this time of year I would not try to drink it... I'm sure it's fine for animals, as our neighbour has a llama, cows, pigs and chickens!!
W'lass: yes the water is icy this time of year!
Bernieh: There is still snow in the bush, Bernie... the stream continues to run high with melt water.
Sandra: I can be such a bore on the subject! It's so much work though...I am exhausted at the end of every day. We had snow and freezing rain the other day and I had a whole day to do the housework I've been putting off! It never ends.

hats off again Lori!
what a job , but i am looking forward to seeing your piccies in the summer and to hearing what other life forms you discover in and around your stream.
bet you dont work in there with holes in your wellies right now either...
and no i dont think there wil be much sitting in your 'garden' just yet.
cld you divert some of that water my way please...i cannt begin to feel what it might be like to have water in my garden, but then again you could have too much of it too!!

Thanks Resi..at present things are a little soggy, and I would gladly share, but that will change in a month or so. I just hope it doesn't get too dry...as the bush is full of dead wood that I haven't been able to drag out yet...and forest fires can happen! I have made a few forays back there and I'm mapping out the trails..but there is always the deadfalls to consider and the tops of some of the trees are dead, which makes walking beneath them a little like Russian Roulette! lol... Met one of my neighbours yesterday and he has offered to look at the worst of the problems for me and perhaps help get it out of the way. All the neighbours are popping up now...they "hole up" for winter around here...and in spring everyone comes out to see what's new!! lol...

i can imagine you are exhausted Lori i am thinking about it all lol, but with the views you have and surroundings its so worth it i bet :o))

just a thought, do you get beavers up your way?
you might end up with a lake instead of a pond...
how big is your terrain? you have so many different aspects to your slice of nature.
how about a swap Lori, i send you some of our nightingales if you can divert some of your stream my way.....

Have to admit I am feeling my age, Sandra. But each day brings changes that I get excited about all over again! I go out with a smile on my face...and I'm dragging my butt when I return..but I'm still smiling!!! lol ; - )
Please, no beavers for me, Resi!
I haven't seen any beaver ponds...and I'm glad! My father had a wood lot with a small lake in the middle...the beaver dammed up the little creek that drained the lake and it turned swampy and brackish...and the flooding killed some very valuable trees! I'm not a fan of the beaver.
We have just about 8 acres...and I'd willingly send you some water for a nightingale or two!

Lori will this be the pond for your fishies when done?

Hi Sandra...no, my fishies will have a lined pond much closer to the house. I think there are probably laws against releasing an alien species into the wild. I'm concerned about herons too. I've designated an area where I think I will put their pond but have to do some digging to confirm that I can go down at least four feet.
I've found some very large rocks in my digging near the stream...might be a challenge to find a spot with that much soil!!

That will be great Lori if you have some help from your neighbour to tame some of your land.

You are soon going to have longer days and warmer weather...and there'll be no stopping you :)

Bless you, W'lass! I sure hope I have the energy...:-0 Also hope the better weather you were speaking of hurries up and gets here~! I'm always tempted to get out there with the spade and dig...when I really should "use my head...and save my heels"..lol. a little mechanization can't be a bad thing, right?

wow what a venture for you Lori. Looks like going back to basics. A lot of hard work ahead for you but it's better to keep busy and you will reap the benefits as you progress. Are you keeping the dead wood and stacking it for the fire at home? Are you going to keep any animals to keep the land tidy? I used to keep a smallholding and it's hard work.

can understand them having certain laws Lori, will look forward to seeing both ponds done, iv just got 3 new fish and now have a net in place, not taking any chances on losing anymore fishies, i felt very sad when my fish were taken the other week, poor things.

oh dear, Sandra, what "took" your fish? that's really sad.
Lindak: Hi! It's very much "back to basics" I was thinking of goats but there's enough work to do without caring for more animals...(Think my hub would be less than happy with that idea.) Met our new neighbours (behind us) and they have a llama!~ He's about 14 hands high. Lovely fellow...he's very interested in our place ..stands at the electric fence and watches Mandy intently.
...today I used some of the stone that is plentiful in the garden to make a stone step passage from the highground to the area around the stream at the front... was so exhausted I totally forgot to get a pic...and when I remembered it was raining and thundering!~ it's early evening and I'm ready for bed! hard work but very satisfying!

Goats are lovely to keep Lori but can be mischevious although the milk is good for you. Borrowing someones else's animals is probably a better way and it helps keep the foliage down plus the benefits of manure......

if you do manage to get a picture please will you put it on? i need to do some steps or stepping stones so i can walk around the sloping border to weed it.

My brother-in-law received a pair of the dwarf goats from his kids as a father's day present a number of years ago...imagine that?! In an area with wolves I'd be really worried for their safety. I'll have to scout around and see if anyone in the neighbourhood has goats they would like to share! lol...that's a great idea, thanks Lindak.
Stickitoffee: terrible weather today too...extremely high winds, (residue of the terrible storms and tornadoes that have beset the U.S. southern states) as a result I didn't venture out. We lost power for almost six hours after a tree fell across the power lines! But I promise to try to get a shot of the steps tomorrow and post it for you! It looks like a pile of rocks, and probably will until I can get the creeping thyme growing in the crevices!

I used to put the goats away in the stable at night but in the day they were in the field although I had an electric fence around so that they didn't eat the hedge! Wolves are lovely creatures although a curse if you have animals.

i will be watching you making your stony steps too lori, having made a few here out of scavenged stone. a farmer across from us just ploughed up a lot in one of his fields last week, he reckons they came from an old dwelling there, so every day nowi carry a few back from my walk ,will post a piccie soon of my latest project!
meanwhile good luck, and hope the weather changes soon for you so you can get out doing things.

sounds very rough lori, keep safe.
we have had glorious weather for almost 6 weeks now ~ i cant remember it staying so dry for such a long time!!

Lindak: Our neighbour has put in an electric fence to keep his pigs from digging up my lawn! lol... but when we have power failures...the piggies can roam.
Resi: old building stone is lovely stuff, it usually has at least one flat side...the stone here is field stone...which makes constructing anything with it very interesting. A bit like a 3D puzzle. Our weather has calmed considerably since yesterday, but it is chilly. Tomorrow is supposed to be 18 degrees! My cousin brought my plants to me today and I have them waiting (undercover) for flower beds. Looks like my irises have survived..so will be planting them and the ligularia near the pond.
Sticki: It's good to know that somewhere out there someone is enjoying a pleasant spring. We have had one disappointing weather episode after another...Has to improve soon; it certainly could be worse though.

Did you view the wedding yesterday......wonderful!!! The day went well for Catherine and William. Loved the trees in the Abbey. 2 kisses on the balcony. Diana would have been proud wouldn't she.

When we moved here we decided to forgo the tv cable..and bought a satellite dish for the computer instead...I've been so busy with the garden that I haven't seen any of the coverage of the wedding on the internet...but my friend told me that they left the church in their car with balloons tied to the back...sounds pretty great to me! So nice to see...yes I agree. From what I've heard, I think Diana would have been quite proud.

Lori, have you planted up this area? If so, how about another photo, would love to see it late summer.

Hi Tet... I have a photo somewhere...computer cooked it a few weeks ago...it has taken a while to get up to snuff with this new one... will post a pic of the dried up stream and the Tradescantia, Ligularias, Brunnera and autumn asters, etc. as soon as I can find it! lol...