Water Garden in a Day

 by Carl Hufford

T’was the night before digging and all through the house,

Not a pond member was stirring, not even their spouse.

The liner and rocks were all stacked in the yard with care,

In hopes that some ponders would soon be there,

The ponders were all nestled snug in their beds,

While visions of clean digging danced in their heads,

The sun through the window woke me from my long nights nap,

So I donned my work clothes and pulled on my hat,

While pouring my coffee, outside I heard such a clatter

I ran to the window to see what was the matter.

Eight pond members were early and climbing out of their cars

Some of them carried shovels and two with wheelbarrows

The president and first lady were leading the line

A barber and post master where following behind.

There were farmers, carpenters, accountants and more

Then I heard a loud banging at my front door

I ran to answer and what did I find

There was even a lady that brought us some wine

Out into the yard I went to check out the plan

They said he’s in charge and pointed to a small thin haired old man

He told every one to gather around and wait

Till his wife got there and set him straight

How long? How wide? How deep? Which side

Does the water falls go on, will the dirt slide

Do you want a stream or do you want a bog

Do you want to cross it with a bridge or a just log?

After half hour of measuring this way and that, we came up with a plan

Then we measured our liner and did it all over again

With a garden hose for outline we moved it all around

Then we painted the shape onto the ground

The phone lines are out front, water lines over there

The sprinkler system never works right so I really don’t care

The club president picked up his shovel and made the first cut

Little did he know one member was looking at his butt

With seven rusty shovels and two pick digging away

It looked like we would be in good shape by the end of the day

The half inch of black dirt went really quick

The rest was clay filled with rock and an occasional brick.

With the hole done and the liner spread out with care

The 90 degree temperature made it impossible to bear.

With a gardener on each corner with finesse and grace

We settled the liner down in its place

The skimmer, the filter, the pump and bio falls

The stacking of rocks up the pond walls.

It was getting late as we laid our last rock

We only had two hours left on the clock

Now it was time to drag out the water hose

We stepped back and watched as the water level rose

A bush or a shrub, an annual or a fern

The women showed us men that we had lots to learn

The lilys in their baskets, the setting of the log.

The water plants all nestled snug in their bog.

We all stepped back to take a good look and see what we missed

Guess who showed up with a surplus of fish

To the thrill of two onlookers watching in vain

For on a near rooftop sat a raccoon and a crane