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Well I had to make a very tough, but informed decision about the pond project. No Go. The test pits showed very little clay and a lot of hard pan that consisted of sand and silt. There are also some engineering concerns, along with a county road easement issue. The word "probably" became a frequent buzz word while discussing the project.

My wife and I both agreed that we did not want to go to heroic measures to make this work, nor did we want to try and spend our way to an unattainable ideal. There are some long shot/expensive possibilities, but that is a bridge much further down the road.

The whole things just sucks. I can't even see an excavator with out turning my head and wincing in pain. While this is very hard news to swallow, I will always be grateful for the advice and knowledge base available here on Pond Boss.

Thank you and take care.

Joe

Sorry to hear that Joe. I guess that's where the lyric "know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em" comes in. Sounds like you made an educated decision. But you don't have to run off, you're always welcome here!

I hate to hear that Joe. I know exactly how you feel. I went through times of grave doubt when pursuing my project.

Maybe, just maybe, you still have ponding in your future. Maybe fate had something even better in store for you.

Good luck!

Sometimes you just have to reset and let your mind be free to come up with new options. In other words, don't let the dream die but instead just let go for a little bit and forget some of the design envelope desires and constraints.

See what new ideas pop into your head.

A very small option is to excavate a hole and get some clay put in for a liner, or just go with a liner for a small body of water, like 1/10 acre or even 1/20 acre.

Have a small pond for a while.

Hey Joe...
I had to dig back with the search function, but I knew I could find a post I made about walking away with regret, then finding an even better one. I'm not sure how it translates for you. Perhaps you can re-figure your plans and purchase a second parcel tailored to bring your dream to life. We re-mortgaged and searched very hard, ultimately finding the diamond in the rough that we seeked. Yep, we're kinda far in debt and have sacrificed a number of other frills in our life, but the payback in dream fulfillment and land equity makes the choice easy.
Anyway, my post is about 1/2 way down this page. The entire thread is inspiring.

Good advice from these guys Joe. The initial slap in the face wake up call is brutal, but by no means a reason to quit hoping. If I had to "suffice", I would go small and specialized, practicing for the day the dream gets put back on the drawing board.
Check out this place for liners.
http://www.watergardencreations.com/main/products.asp?catid=1
Right now, they are selling 45mil (Firestone) liner for 33.5 cents per sq/ft, free delivery.
Pride yourself in the strength and wisdom you guys exercised in not only educating yourselves, but making a wise ( though very tough) deccision.
Try this: Tell about 6 realators that you "might" be interested in selling and buying something else IF they could find you a property with a pond already in place. That's kind of how we got ours.
In the end, do as Winston Churchill said: Never, Never, Never Give Up... He also said "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Stay focussed and keep the dream on the front burner. I waited many, many years for a pond, and all the patience paid off in ways I could never have planned it. My Psalm 37:4 came true. And stay with the forum. Us PB'ers have to hang together ya know...

Well said, Double-Camp!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragment. Who knows, maybe someday I will pop back on here with some good pond news.

Every now and then it's good to be reminded of ALL of the great things...I am truly blessed with my place and everything else about it.

Joe

Sorry to hear your soil wont hold water, but there's no reason why you can't put in an ornamental pond. My first ponds were small gold fish ponds that I really enjoyed. Just decide what you can afford for the biggest liner possible. Like all ponds, you can never make it too big!!! hahaha

Just to have a place to sit and hear water moving is about the most relaxing thing there is. Add a few gold fish to it, some nice plants and you have your own piece of pradise.

Honestly, my goldfish ponds in previous homes was really as nice, if not nicer then the ponds I have today. In fact, my wife and I are seriously considering putting in another goldfish pond because we miss not having one!!!!

Eddie

Hey Joe,

I had a small small garden pond. My husband and I loved it. Now we have a small farm pond. And I mean small. But I'll tell ya, we just can't stay away from it. Something to think about. They sure are fun, even the little ones. And a liner. Ahhh, my dream.

Eddie.... I agree. I sure loved my clean little pond. I don't know what it is...the water, being able to see the fish.... the plants..the little water fall. I have joked to my hubby that we need his & hers ponds. He could care less what the farm pond looks like. If he hooks fish, and the fish come to feed, he is happy. I am an artist/avid gardener. I seek beauty. I have seen some beautiful ponds on this forum too.

Teresa: When I first built our pond, I read everything I could get my hands on about ponds. One of the more interesting articles was all about the fact that water, being the "universal fluid" and something that all life can not do without, stirs something deep in our souls when we are near it, be it a pond, a lake, a stream, the ocean, or what have you. When we are home, we have family and company come by to visit, and every one always ends up pond-side just sitting there talking. It's like a magnet that silently draws us all up there. Pretty cool...

Double,

I can believe that. It is a draw for sure. We have no water feature at all right now. We just sit and stare at the water. Looking for a turtle or frog or maybe a fish will jump. Reminds me of looking at a fire. Don't know why, but it just feels good to look at a fire.

I used to live on the coast (Ventura CA) and I remember thinking, boy this ocean is so noisy in reality, yet it is so soothing. I don't care for noise at all, but the ocean is different.

Sounds like you had some really neat books. I'll have to pull out my old pond books. Could find some good information I forgot about.