I've been busy working in other jobs this week, so pond project progress has been slow, but I managed a couple of evenings out there where I played Minecraft IRL where I had the kids mine for gemstones under the trunk. My daughter found quite a lot of quartz which she's excited to have found. It's nice to have cleared up all the logs, branches and pond stuff which has now found a new home int he woods which I might get round to chopping for the path one day, or if not it will make a home for lots of lovely animals. I have mainly filled in lots of cracks around the pond water feature so that when it's running we don't lose water down the cracks. I used putty resin for this which will stay flexible and not crack. And it's quite safe for the fish, frogs and newts now it's cured. I've seen quite a few baby frogs hopping around now. The last picture is of Norman. He scares the life out of me often.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend. We've just had a great walk, some exercise moving the branches and logs, and had a lovely Chinese takeaway meal for tea. Our family discussion over dinner was about imagining if you woke up one morning and ever person in the world was gone. This came about because my eldest son was asking why we (his parents) are so sociable, and he is not. It's an interesting thought that would be my personal worst nightmare. A world without people for me would not be a world I would want to live in. Then we moved onto a subject that what if everything man made was gone? Only nature exists... No tech, no houses, no money... It's a really thought provoking one that changes a lot of power dynamics. So which one would you choose? Tell me why below. You wake up tomorrow and...

Well, it wouldn't feel like the end of a Sunday if I didn't give you an update of the progress of this pond! So on Saturday all of this pond debris was still saturated and alive despite being left out in the heatwave for nearly 3 weeks so I spread it all over the Garden on a massive tarpaulin. And then on Saturday night it rained! 😂 I need it to be dead before throwing it in the woods or it will spread all down the stream and then the environmental agency will be on to me..! So I was digging away under the tree where it's at 30 years of dropping pine needles I've shifted about a dozen borrow loads of soil away from below it... The tree is completely de-limbed and scattered around various parts of the garden waiting to be made into logs or wood chip to use around the vegetable garden. I have no idea what to do with the stump. It's massive. I don't have a stump grinder and I quite enjoy a challenge so I'll probably carry on digging away below it, stick the chainsaw in around the bottom and maybe just light a fire below it next weekend. I've cleared the waterfall feature and ordered some epoxy putty to pop in where the motor has dried and shrunk. That will keep it nice and watertight so we won't lose any water when it's running. The main pond is now full of water and the duckweed is pretty much under control in the lower pond. None of the lights work so they've come into be repaired also. One of the sets had had an arguement with the lawn mower by the look of it as the wires have been chopped to pieces. I cleared away where there used to be an automatic filling thing which had broken But I noticed it was dripping at quite a rate and so was the outside tap above it. So I've repaired both of these too, which should should reduce the water bill and save precious water! I think now it probably looks the worst it's going to get and now things should start coming together. I've got my eye on a cherry laurel I spotted in the woods When I was thinning things out to give more light to my weeping willow in the week to dig up and put in place of the fir tree which will be a lot easier to maintain.

My name is Ope and I’m excited to be part of this amazing community. I’m a music artist and interior designer with a passion for creativity, connection, and uplifting others.💪 Wether through music that inspires the soul or desire that bring spaces to life, I believe in using my gifts to create positive experience and meaningful impact💯 @Karin Crawford introduced me to this community and one of the things she said was that this community focus on helping, promoting, and encouraging one another to succeed. I look forward to connecting with you all, learning from your experiences, sharing ideas, supporting your journeys, and building meaningful relationships along the way. Wishing everyone continued growth, success and happiness 🙏🏾😁❤️💙💜

In typical Adam ADHD (Adam Does Have Distractions as my daughter calls it) style yet again I've over committed so the pond clearing day last week went really well and every single day since I've been out there for an hour or two, cleaning duckweed out of the lower pond, repairing both pumps, repairing two punctures in the liners and completely rebuilding the filter and UV box. Yes, I could buy a whole brand new one for cheaper than my time is worth, but 1. Where is the satisfaction in that and 2. I like to be as green as possible. So now our kitchen is full of parts, the front garden still has pond debris waiting to dry out in the sun before I get rid of it in the woods (so it won't spread) and 3/4 of an overgrown fir tree in three piles waiting to be chipped (after I've sharpened the wood chipper blades) and logged up. I have lots of weeding to still do behide the pond and clean and repair the waterfall. So now my list also includes building a romantic arch, planting a wisteria, red robin, honeysuckle, cherry laurel and griselania. Every day is progress.. and fun...😁