It always amazes me on how the pond attracts people--even in the cold and frozen winter. The painter looked around the room to assess the job, when he noticed the pond out the window.
"What's that?" he asks, and I answer him.
And that leads to a myriad of additional questions throughout the day. Questions that never stop.
Do you have fish? How do they stay alive? Do you clean it? Do you have to put in chemicals? Why do you have a heater? How did you put it in? Is it a lot of work? ...............
It goes on and on and on. And it always ends with "I want a pond."
I know. It's the single best thing we have added to the house---well, next to the bottle opener on the wall just inside the garage door.
Even in winter, the pond changes each day--the water freezes, the leaves blow over the top, the fish swim under the frozen ceiling. There are animal prints in the snow, marking the presence of little thirsty somebodies coming over for a drink. Some days the ice is thick, other days it melts. Come spring, there will be little frog heads who pop up to see if winter is over just yet. It's never-ending--I look at the pond all the time for subtle changes and new miracles.
Yeah, Painter Guy, it is cool. Even in winter.
22 comments:
A pond is a lot of fun. We have one but it is only here in the winter when we get tons of rain. Then it goes away. But lots of stories go with the pond, we agree. Take care.
I love yellow walls - all my walls are yellow - in the old house and this one - and so they shall ever be! My husband and I are not DIY - tho I would be more than happy to attempt things but he won't even consider it. So we have always hired folks to do the dirty work, so to speak - it IS nice, and faster in most cases.
Do you ever think about when you sell your house that the new owners will just fill in the pond?
People are endlessly fascinated by water in all its forms. It's why something like half the country's population lives on the coast.
It's why we spent waaaaay too much money for our lot. But every morning when I look out all of those windows and see that river I'm one happy woman.
Doesn't have to be a big body of water. Just has to be water. Probably remnants of our coming from the primordial oooze.
Especially in the winter. ;-)
Damn. I want a pond.
Marg--It's amazing how full of life it is. I think that is what draws us all.
Grace--I would remove it long before the house goes on the market. I have thought long and hard about that and I wouldn't trust anyone with the fish and frogs lives--a responsibility that I take very seriously. No....the house would come without the pond. And all of the working parts would come with me...wherever we ended up.
Patty--I like the idea that one side of the property would not have a neighbor. :) Your property appears absolutely lovely from your photos. It was worth every penny. :)
Chuck--Well, I sorta miss the fish, and I worry about them during the winter.
Katnip Lounge--See? :)
I don't want a pond. Good thing I wasn't painting your house.
Shoot, we just have our Redneck Fish Pond and people are fascinated! I can imagine how many comments you get on a REAL pond! :)
The pond is cool,especially in winter; yet it is cool in the summertime, too!
So I'm wondering was this guy paid by the hour? If so that could explain all the questions, he was trying to stretch the job out :)
Diane--Really? The question is...does Rowdy and Izzy want a pond??? ;)
Candy--People are so funny about water and fish, aren't they? I probably get the same questions you get because I think a lot of folks want one, they just don't know what is involved.
Vanilla--This summer it wasn't--the water was HOT. I had to spray it down twice a day to cool it off.
Ann--Nope. They were working while we were talking and the price was just for the job. They also finished a day sooner than expected! Hooray!
Maybe you've inspired him. Maybe next summer, painter guy's big project will be constructing a pond?
we always use painters, it's just so much easier!!
both neighbors have ponds so i don't need one to enjoy one!!
but alas, i would love to have a pong also!!
Now I want a pond, too!
OK, everyone's got the pond covered. Me? That bottle opener in your garage. We have one too, except that every freaking time while walking toward it in a darkish garage, I think it's a giant tarantula on the wall.
That's all I have to say about that.
And yeah, that "Kathleen" would be Kathy of the Junk Drawer. I hate it that it doesn't ask me to sign onto my personal account sometimes, even when it says "You will be asked ot sign in after submitting your comment." It's using my work Google account. So in addition to the tarantula, this annoys me as well. *sigh*
Lisa--I have found people rarely follow up after the questions, but I'd like to think he will put one in. They are a bit of work though, and my husband says I always gloss over that part.
Debbie--I like to paint and I hate spending the money to have someone come in. These days, it's just that time is a premium. :( Took us all weekend to put the room back together!
Daisy--Oh, the fish are fun to watch, Daisy. You would like that part!
Kathy--Hahaha! I was wondering who "kathleen" was!! We were sitting around trash-talking the house one night and I said we had to list something, ANYTHING, around here that we liked. The only thing I came up with was the bottle opener. Sad, eh? But ours doesn't look like a spider, thank goodness. I think you need a new bottle opener if yours is scary like that! Google is annoying, isn't it?
I am thinking hiring a painter was money well spent when you didn't have to do any clean up! :)
xo Catherine
I don't really mind the painting but I HATE Cleaning up. Yep, it was money well spent, pally!
BTW - How much does a paint job cost in the US?
hey.... there is some noticeable snow now! looks lovely... get out there and breathe some crisp, fresh air and get some lovely photos.... snow on plants et....
Yes, I want a pond. Have always wanted a pond. But I know they are a lot of work.
Catherine--It was good considering we don't have time these days. I still like painting though. I will do the bathroom myself.
Veronica Lee--I hate all the prep work and the cleaning up. I'm STILL emptying boxes of junk. Blech. It was a few hundred dollars for our family room, laundry room and a hallway. I'm not complaining. :)
BumbleVee--No, the wee bit of snow we had is gone. It will be 60 degrees tomorrow and for Chicago, that's CRAZY! I hope we get dumped on in February.
Sharkey--I don't notice the work, although Joe does. I think it's pretty work-free, but he will disagree. Like he takes care of it! HAH!
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