Monday, July 31, 2017

River Rock

At the top of the falls looking down.





















It is looking more stream like with a bottom. What will I do on the island? I have a current vision. Will it come to pass?





















Down by the pond





















Yes, plenty more rock to come. The middle is furthest from the top and the bottom.





















The Almighty Falls is no longer an apparition.


Sunday, July 30, 2017

Half Whacked

The main entry path into the garden is bait and switch.





















I couldn't put off the mowing any longer. That thin tether to civilized was losing its grip.





















The Tall Flower Meadow can close off a pathway without thinking.





















I had no intent to do it all. I just needed to get started.





















That wide welcoming path turns to trails quick enough. You won't know it until it is too late.





















I made good progress and stopped. There was time yet for a slow quiet walk through a half-mowed garden. It ended on the basement patio which is at full operating potential after sun set.





















The basement patio turned out mighty fine. I see echoes of another designer's work.





















I have actually been making use of it during the last few weeks of hottish.





















My garden really is half whacked in more ways than one.


Saturday, July 29, 2017

Another Truck Load Of Rock

It is so big the whole thing won't fit in one picture.

This is the end of week five of building the Almighty Falls. When asked if I had the time to do this, I said no. This is five weeks of part time building that is coming out of their gardener's time and an extra day on the weekend.





















The direction and flow of the falls is in the zone. I can fiddle with the particulars later.





















Another full truckload of building rock vanished into the main stream bed. My dealer has been doing a good job making sure there is a constant stash on hand.





















It is what it is given the parameters I had to work with. It won't be winning any zen awards. It will be a monolithic testament to ........... I'm good with that.





















More falls.





















How much more rock will it take?





















And more falls.

I'm also the landscaper. I can plant over the ugly if need be. And soon enough there will be bright shiny objects dashing about the pond.

It's too big to fit in one picture or to see from one view. My life has truly turned to pond scum.


Friday, July 28, 2017

Rock By Rock

The upper course is closer to done.





















Nice flow.





















Below, the Almighty Falls are rising.





















No matter how it turns out, it will be monolithic. That is a feat in itself.





















The rocks are staying put with me gently climbing the falls and several test runs.





















Inching higher.





















There is just no wiggle room in the falls. All that water needs to stay inside the lines and I am caught between a giant smooth boulder with a downward slant and vertical stretches of rubber liner that will be hard to hide.





















This is going to be tricky.





















I can come back to it later after I fester over it bit. There is the main bidy of the stream to build and a pond to finish.





















So I couldn't wait and moved the falls a jump to the left with a higher channel wall beneath the liner.





















A nice push away from the giant smooth boulder. Now how will I hide that vertical stretch of liner on the right? Before, I was thinking a good chunk of it would be hidden by falling water.





















Nice flow. I just need to keep it inside the lines. That first drop is going to take some fiddling.

My main rule at this point is no rubber liner will be cut until I am satisfied the flow is going to stay inside the lines.


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Liatris And Joe Pye

All the paths need mowing. All of them in both gardens.





















For some reason I have not been able to bring myself to do that just yet.





















The gardens do not care.





















They can grow on without me.





















Mowed or not, this is still an amazing feat of horticulture.





















A gardener is taking a ride with the wild.





















Suggestions were planted and sowed. If nature agreed, it took over from there.





















My job is to keep the paths clear and ride the rest of the season in comfort and contemplation.


Monday, July 24, 2017

Excitement At Almighty Falls

The all important stacking beneath the falls is under way. That was the pile of rocks that needed to be moved today. Ignore the lower section. That is the rock fetcher's delivery pile.

I gave up on my 'ode to Appalachian walls' idea of making the channel edges look like dry stack stone walls when I realized it would take a lot more effort and a lot more rocks.

After two hours of stacking it looks like the ode will still be there. This section beneath the falls is not going to look natural. It is going to look man made. Given all the parameters I have to work with, that is just how it is going to be. And I am more than fine with that. It's my ode.





















The sound of the falls has already begun to change. The initial roar is calming down as rock and flow begin to join. I just need to keep it all inside the lines.

There is an island to build where the stream parts ways. When I had to give up my 'ode to Appalachian walls', the island took on a new form in my mind's eye. It will look purposely man made, but what will my island be?


Sunday, July 23, 2017

At Full Liner

The underlayment and rubber liner are now in place beneath the Almighty Falls. I opted to do it by myself in the peace and quiet. We are at full liner now.





















The chances that the falls section will be 100% water tight are slim. I had to work with the falls I had and they were not the best.

I am going to give it all a closer look with water sealing glues and potions in hand. Adjustments are a given. The actual drop of water will be watched during the rock stacking. Final adjustments to drop and flow can only be done when that is finished.

Water loss will be kept to a minimum. Maybe I will get lucky and get it all. It's really all about keeping the flow inside the lines. Splash is another matter.





















I see a splash here that can go away. That's were rock fiddling comes in.





















The plan is to feed the spring into the pond from three, maybe four, different places where I can catch some of it. If water loss is kept to a minimum, these springs can easily make up the difference and then some. I expect that the pond will be operating on constant overflow as the fresh spring water feeds the system.





















It will be an Almighty Falls for sure. There are just a few more rocks to stack yet.





















Can you imagine thinking building an entire 120 foot long stream and water fall out of dry stack rock, plus a few other random processes, is the home stretch? It is. Praise be that I will have help.


Saturday, July 22, 2017

Almighty Progress

The professional rock wigglers were here this morning. A brief description of what was needed was all it took. In three hours the two of them did this. I like it!





















The one thing I am not looking forward to, getting the underlayment and rubber liner placed under the falls, keeps getting put off. There are piles of rocks to move and bodies to use. I think I will just have to let the next spare body that shows up help me do this.

Why do I keep thinking I need to do this by myself? I could use another set of hands.





















My rock stacking looks a bit different than the professional wigglers at this point. Different rock pile, different base. They should blend together more as I go higher. I hope.





















But I was in the hole today with two rock fetchers helping. The sun and I are no longer on speaking terms.





















Dusty round river rocks and a black rubber liner on a cloudless hot summer day makes for scorching. I was completely soaked even though I had drained the pond down to the spit in the bottom. Drip, drip, drip.





















Three years ago this was a sad patch of grass. I am making progress on the Almighty Falls. It can be done. Give me two more weeks to run time and a month of fiddling for aesthetics.