[tc4332]

Sorry Mark and Lynn, I somehow managed to upload our outing photo.
Why do some of the photos decide to be upside down?

Finally after a couple of years we now have a pseudo river in the back garden. The garden still looks like a building site but management is a lot happier now that the huge piles of rocks have disappeared.
It has taken a long time because after Gwen's Mother passed I lost heart, it was originally meant for her.
I started by sinking an old bath in the garden to act as the sump. The "river" course is made up of seven 3x2 flags laid roughly end to end. Some of them have been cut so that they form an approximate "L" shape. They are sloped upwards to ensure the flow. I then cut more flags into 12" wide strips that form the sides. There are three pumps in the sump. The first is a small one that feeds the bird bath at top front of the mountain and we plan on running that all the time. Some of the wild birds have started to use this already. The other two pumps though small are special in that they both deliver a large throughput aqnd they both feed a hidden header tank on top of the mountain behind the bird bath. I have arranged it so that when these two pumps are switched off then the feeder hoses siphon the header tank empty. Means less chance of frost damage in the winter. These pumps are lifting the water some three metres and as can be seen are delivering a pretty decent amount of water.
I used a latex paint to water proof the channel.
I then dressed the front with various rocks using a strong cement mix. This has also been latex painted to lessen water ingress that could lead to frost damage. I have formed pockets in the dressing so that SWMBO (with the aid of the grandkids) can plant alpines.
I have placed a fogger in the lowest of the rock pools but I do have another eight foggers to place in other parts of the river.
Not fully finished but it was rather pleasant this evening sitting quietly with a nice cuppa listening to the babbling brook.