No time to sit still...

The three days at Jayne's meant going flat-out from morning until night, jumping from one thing to another and cramming something into every second...that's how it always is when we get together.  We charge each other up and the energy flows.  We did the usual things...thrift stores and crafts until midnight, but the real fun came when we decided to make another natural filtering system for her pond.  The spark for that idea came after she'd taken me to tour a magical garden space of a friend of hers...five ponds, water dripping everywhere, lush plant groupings, found objects put to good use and colourful blooms to the left and to the right of us.

We found a metal shelving unit and dismantled one of those tiered wire baskets used for hanging fruit.  We cut the chains and hooked the baskets onto the bars of the shelf.  Then we lined the baskets with netting, grabbed the dogs and headed down the road and into the woods to collect moss and baby ferns.  Once these were set into the baskets, Jayne hiked up her skirt and waded into the pond to hook up the pump and plastic tubing.  Water flows through the tube and works its way down through all three baskets, being filtered as it goes before dripping clean into the pond.

Before and a few hours after...

We first tried the rusted heavy metal koi fish as a topper, but it wouldn't sit right, so we settled on a piece of pond lily pottery that Jayne made.  Eventually, the moss, ferns and other plants will grow down over the metal baskets.  I was amazed at how clear the water was that dripped from the bottom.  Altogether, a good recycling project with much fun and laughter added to the mix.  Jayne isn't one to throw on old clothes for something like this.  I wore a pair of capris, a thrift store Hawaiian shirt and my Holey Soles and my sister looked like this when we wandered the muddy trail through the woods in search of moss...

...new lime Converse runners, light gray skirt and sweet little white sweater.  Even building pond filters can be a fashionable event for her and she does it with such ease.  She did change into her bathing suit when we discovered a huge wheel of wood caught on the rocks down on her beach and it became an instant must-have.  I'm not sure how we managed, but we used poles and feet to pry it from the side of the breakwater and into the water, waded with it to shore and upended it over and over until we got it above the tide line to dry.  She figures it will make a fabulous circular bench.  Getting it from the beach to her garden is going to be another story and I wish I could have stayed to watch it play out. 

Comments

[estea]

ooo how wonderful! what a great idea, and I'd love to see a photo of y'all trying to heave the large circular object.

this story reminds me of when my sister and i went hunting wildflowers for my wedding in fishing waders with 5 gallon buckets (no skirts and sweaters, how i wish). later we realized we'd picked goldenrod as part of the bouquets and there are many, many people in this world with goldenrod allergies.

but 'twas fun :)

[Fi]

So, no photo of you in your thrift shore Hawaain shirt and Holey Soles then, huh? ;)

[carolyn]

I'm with you old clothes that it doesn't matter if they get a bit mucky.

[Marie]

Oh, it does sound as if you had a lovely time with your sister! I wish my sister were close enough that we could spend such time together, but alas, she is all the way in canada and I am over here ... that sounds a lovely idea for the pond fountain and I can imagine it will look quite lovely once the plants have grown all down over it! (the circle bench sounds intriguing as well!)

[PG]

she sounds like a woman after my own heart - if I love something enough, nothing short of the end of the world will stop me trying to get it home. I am a sucker for driftwood, I do envy her having the beach on the doorstop...

[Kim Sherrod]

looks like ya had some fun! I love the fountain- very cool!

[tracy]

we just installed a pond filter - wish i had read this first! so lovely...

[Susy]

I enjoyed every line of your blog!! You enjoy life to the fullest, it seems! How nice to have a sister nearby...I'm in Greece & mine is in Texas. Once a year visit! The rock art is wonderful!! I enjoy painting the rocks I find!