Bill,

Thanks for the great comments. Makes sense about the aeration on a new pond. Wonder the benefits of winter aeration vs. not if we aerate the rest of the year and keep the sediment under control that way. Seems like it may be a good idea not to aerate during winter but to keep snow cover off part of teh pond so that oxygen can be generated by plant growth under ice.

My stone pier is made up of car size stones. I know ice can do nasty things so time will tell wether it was a good idea to create the pier this way. Right now you could probably drive a car over them with out moving them but who knows what the northern ice will do.