Tag: pond
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Jayden’s Dedication Weekend
We are so blessed to have Jayden dedicated by Pastor Shawna Campbell at the University Church this weekend.
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Family Portrait in Hanfu
Yan ordered hanfu from China, but we couldn’t find one that fits Jayden. I used a pattern I found online to make one that fits him.
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Gazebo Seat Project
This second of three projects for the year (the first being the cabinet) was dragged out over too many months, but I’m so happy that the gazebo seats overlooking the pond are finally done: the designing, joining, sawing, assembling, painting, and cleaning. The lumber was a combination of maple for the seat bottom and poplar…
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Inland Koi Society at the Nyiradys
Steve and Laura Nyirady invited me over to their home for the Inland Koi Society potluck and general meeting. The guest speaker gave a presentation on koi herpes virus and how to vaccinate against it. I didn’t know such a virus exists. As usual, the Nyiradys’ garden is beautiful, with several ponds fed by waterfalls…
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Gazebo Framing
Since starting the framing process in late December, the gazebo is finally taking shape. The fanning rafters were a little tricky to design and calculate, but everything is coming along well.
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Starting the Gazebo
It’s been more than two years since the deck has been sitting empty. The pond was filled in late 2009, and having procrastinated, I finally took the time to design the gazebo. Today, the preliminary framing was done.
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Moonrise Viewing from the Pond
It has been several weeks since I last crawled underground into the plumbing system of the pond to clean out the leaves. Autumn and the strong winds blew a lot of debris into the pond, and it seemed like a good time to empty the leaf traps and flush out the biologic filters. This afternoon…
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Barbeque by the Pond
We had a group of friends over for a simple barbeque by the pond. The main course was vegetarian burgers, and the sides were grilled zucchini and corn on the cob. I also grilled top sirloin steak seasoned with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette marinade. Afterwards, some people suggested that I lead a Pilates class on…
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Bridge and Gazebo
There was a lot of work this year. First, we decided to extend the bridge to the other side, and that involved draining the pond somewhat. Also, for the platform above the vault, I finally got around to drafting the plans and getting the framing underway. Constructing the gazebo took some thinking and planning, but…
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Landscaping
The pathways project is becoming more rewarding as many of its parts are taking shape. The project is going slowly though, since it’s mostly done piecemeal, an hour here and an hour there, mainly after work. The first part was the path along the hillside along the south bank of the pond. Here, large boulders…
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Pathway
I’ve started working on a different type of project. This time, it’s making gravel and flagstone paths around the pond. Working on this is quite strenuous, especially when trying to wrestle boulders into place and making stair steps out of them. I set the flagstones in mortar, and then the spaces in between were filled…
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Chinese New Year
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. Many of the plants in our yard are in bloom now, and all of it added to the atmosphere yesterday. We celebrated by having company over, and to finish off the evening, we had a dumpling-making party. I took a break from making the guqin and resumed this afternoon. Progress…
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New Year and Friends
So, it’s the first Monday of the new year, and it will be nice to get back to a regular schedule. The last several weeks have been filled with a lot of activities. For one, my dad had a major birthday celebration. It started out on the Tuesday before Christmas, and we planned events that…
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Pond Construction
After several months of work, the pond is finally done and filled to the right level. Everything seems to be working well. The only thing left to do is to perfect the level mechanism to autofill and to finish some of the edging detail where there is exposed liner.
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Pond Construction Progress
Today, the high was 106 degrees F. Anyhow, it was a day for outdoor work, wrestling boulders into place around the pond. The depression had been excavated already, and months ago, I helped my dad with a homemade water level to figure out the elevation of the entire perimeter. After filling up the pond to…
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Family Reunion and Getty Center
Everyone came over for a little family reunion time. We first had a simple worship service at home. For lunch, our family got together by the pond. Afterwards, we took an excursion to the Getty Center. Our day concluded with a vegetarian dinner at Happy Family Restaurant.