What? No dead bodies?
I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned that the former owner of this house spent thousands of dollars and probably hundreds of hours on what was once a gorgeous backyard pond. I keep saying we should drain it, fill it up with pea gravel, and let the kids drive their Tonka trucks around and dig with shovels. Screw ecosystems! I don’t want my kids to fall in and drown. But part of me loves the idea of having a beautiful water feature in the yard. I used to have a small pond in my backyard at K’s dad’s house, and I adored it. This is three times bigger, and ten times nicer than the pond I once had. It seems like a shame to just seal it all up.
According to the neighbors, the pond was an explosion of color in the summertime, with the surface completely covered in lily blooms. One guy said he used to sit on our deck, having a beer with Former Homeowner Guy, watching the huge koi fish swimming around. The pond had two waterfalls, multiple lights under water, plus lots of professional landscaping all around it. It’s even got a few boulders in place I can’t imagine were placed there by anything but a backhoe. It was BAD ASS.
Fast forward a few months, and now it SMELLS like ass. It was completely frozen over when we moved in, but the 3 or 4 days last week of 60 degree temps has thawed that sucker right out. Saturday, Paul and I decided to muck it out a little bit and figure out what we should do with it next. We started attacking it with a couple of rakes, just trying to snag some of the debris. We pulled out half a dozen tree branches, three large dead fish, and a HUGE pile of fallen, decaying leaves. It smelled SICK. It was probably the worst thing I’ve ever smelled in my life. Every time we’d stir up the bottom, the stench would rise up and grab our attention like a slap in the face. And with every pass I made with the rake, I seriously expected to snag a human jawbone or something. I could not imagine an odor like that coming from anything but a dead body. But, no. The only dead bodies were those of the unlucky fish.
Paul got one of the waterfalls going again – the other one is missing its pump, which I guess the Former Homeowner Guy took with him. And our neighbor gave us a big bottle of algicide which we dumped in the water. Hopefully after the waterfall runs for a couple of days, some of the horrid stench will subside. Paul and I also raked lots of leaves out of the flowerbeds and cut back lots of vegetation, but we still have a long way to go. It already looks a lot better! I’m really excited about spring and summer – it’s obvious that the previous owners enjoyed having a gorgeous yard, and we’re going to reap the benefits of all their hard work. There are so many shrubs, ornamental grasses, trees, and flowers everywhere, I can’t wait to see how it looks when it’s not all brown and DEAD!
I took this picture from the deck – it shows Pauly hosing off one of the waterfalls.
NOW what? I’m still not 100% comfortable with the idea of having a body of water a few feet from my back door with small children around, but…maybe they’re old enough now? Maybe we can slowly add river rock to it until it’s like, a foot deep. Huh? Maybe? Any ideas?
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Laura, also known as LaLaGirl, is the mother of a teenager and two young sets of twins. She's happily married, loves living in Colorado, and writes almost daily about married life, raising multiples, and parenting a child with autism.
Questions? Just 
February 9th, 2009 at 2:17 am
How old are your 2 sets of twins? I don’t think I would chance it to keep the water feature just because its pretty. Anything can happen. Maybe if you fence it off with matching white picket fence it will give you a bit of peace of mind until you’re sure the kids are old enough, that way you can still see and enjoy it, but stress less?
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February 9th, 2009 at 8:46 am
They’re 5 1/2 and 4 – big enough that if they fell in, they could just, y’know – stand up. I’m just worried that if they fall in, they’ll be traumatized by it and be afraid of water. I don’t think anyone’s going to drown in it.
I think our plan is to put lots of rocks in it to bring the bottom up even more shallow, until it’s only about a foot deep. And I’m such a freak about watching over my kids, they are NEVER outside without me right there with them.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Great idea about the fence, too – we’re considering that as well!
February 9th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
If they fell in they’ll be traumatized by water?
Really?
That’s an awesome water feature. Don’t fence it off or get rid of it. Put your kids in swimming lessons. Jayden loves the water and he’s 3 and it’s because he’s been in lessons for quite a while now. If your kids ARE in lessons, then don’t worry about it. Keep the water level low but otherwise just have fun!
February 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Yep, I really think so – they haven’t spent much time in the water so far in life, just because of the logistics of me taking four little kids to the pool. However, our new neighborhood has an amazing, kickass pool right down the street where we’ll be spending lots of time this summer. Lessons are a great idea.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Ah, yeah, logistics, forgot about that. THe twins haven’t had as much water time because of that either. A couple other suggestions, too: There are usually city pools that have zero depth stuff where you can maybe turn your head without worrying about your kids drowing and that can expose them to water. And the neighborhood pool sounds awesome. Have fun.
February 11th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
It’s a money pit. A time sucking device. For now, make it a rock garden with those hen & chicken succulent type plants. When the kids are older and you have actual free time, then think about it, lie down until the feeling passes, and do something really cool.
February 13th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Definitely add some fencing for now. Something decorative, but sturdy, shouldnt be too expensive.
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