"All the world's problems can be solved in a garden" (pond) πŸŒ€

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This winter i have been pushing myself to turn the shower water to full cold once i am done with the hot and stand under it for a period of 30 seconds to 1 minute, making sure the water touches all areas of my body. In the coldest part of the winter the temperature of the water went down to 7Β°C and was quite a test to stand under, but always so invigorating when it was done. A once cold bathroom suddenly seems quite pleasant stepping out of the shower and i can feel an elevated sense of perception which stays with me for some hours. In addition i noticed that i didn't feel so cold during the day, even when i was working outside for hours in freezing temperatures, so this was an unexpected bonus.

Inspired by the cold water i have been dreaming for some time of heightening this experience by building a mini earthship in the Spiral Garden which will also double as a sauna.
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I intend to build it right here where i have already created a sunken greenhouse.
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Even without the back wall of rammed car tires designed to act as a thermal mass it is still very warm in here throughout the winter simply because the only window faces south.
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Being able to make myself super hot in an enclosed space like this (with steam) means that any cold water will feel much colder upon entering it. The tradition of alternating between hot steam and cold water is of course deeply rooted in both Russian and Finnish cultures and the therapeutic benefits are many.

So i started looking at this area to the left of the greenhouse as a potential place for a plunge pool/pond, filling it with cold water from our canal which comes directly from snow covered mountains.
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I did not feel motivated to dig it however till Esteban told me on the way to his first fencing competition how much he would love to have a pond!
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I would like to tell you more about Esteban's fencing in another post, though i will tell you now that he won a medal and does seem to have a natural talent for this sport.
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So a few days after the competition i decided it was time and began the process by digging the hole. After which i placed the pond liner in there and added a little sand to make it feel soft underfoot.
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Luna says it looks like the footprint of a giant. Which sounds perfect!
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I made a bamboo 'fountain' which plugs into our hose from the canal.
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I also put some spider plants around the edges and in a single day it was done.
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An outflow zone leads the water directly into the rabbit enclosure and out of the back of the garden into the bamboo forest, at the bottom of which is a stream where this water will end up.
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So simple to build and what a difference it makes to the garden!
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The pond liner cost €15 and was my only expense. If any of you know a natural alternative to this plastic liner i would love to hear about it!

Over time it will attract aquatic life such as frogs & dragonflies, each of which has their benefits for us humans. In the case of frogs they will help us keep our slug population under control.
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Since then i have every day been stripping off my clothes and saying a little prayer at the edge of this water before submerging myself for 5mins.
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The temperature is currently 13℃.
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Needless to say the children have been enjoying it too.
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Ever keen to compete with their father (and each other!) they both had a go at submerging themselves. Esteban managed 1min 30secs.
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While Luna managed 1min.
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Later in the Summer having this pond to cool off in will be less of a 'pushing ourselves' experience to one of complete pleasure. Even just being able to clean the sweat off my body without going home will be enjoyable.

We actually have a shower zone now, right next to the forest, so one can enjoy a clean hot shower when they come out of the pond if they choose.
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The water is heated up in the sun during the day, making it a very pleasant temperature in the cool of the evenings.
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Drying off only takes ten mins when you sit naked in the sun, lapping up that vitamin D.
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Luna cheekily snapped a shot of me doing just this a few days ago.
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It really is a joy to sit in this water and observe all the beautiful colours of the garden which unfold in an ever changing slide-show of infinite perfection, willing us always to observe and repeat what we learn here in our lives.
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And Geoff Lawton was so very right when he told us how "all the world's problems can be solved in a garden".

Love & Light everyone 🌱

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16 comments
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It does look like a giant footprint ! ❀️
and the bamboo "waterfall" feature is awesome.
alternative to a plastic liner and even cheaper (!) is clay.
also, padding the hole with lots and lots of organic material will eventually rot away and water proof the pond.
another, is the use of bentonite. not sure how cheap it is tough.
I made a similar pond but there is no room for me. only frogs and water plants. the frogs sing all night long. I doubt I could now sleep w/o them 😊
one last thing. the best for slug control is a duck or two πŸ’ͺ
regards from Portugal.

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Hello old friend. How's it going over there in Portugal?

Thanks so much for the very logical suggestion of clay which i completely overlooked. Next time!

And yes to the ducks! Though do you think this little pond will be sufficient for them?

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sufficient, yes. sure.
but they might not let you use it πŸ˜†

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This is so amazing! I love the pictures, especially of you inside the window with thr tabby cat looking in. Great work here & very inspiring

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We have cats everywhere this year. They all descend on our garden during the day when their owners are not at home! I really love them all but did find a massive green lizard dead on my table yesterday, which made me question their presence for a while.

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yeah that is hard! I have three cats myself and the land where I live in a refuge for many neighbor cats who have to put up with scary dogs at home. But, yes, I have wondered if they over-hunt some animals here in the forest. This are used to have a bigger population of wild cats so, I feel that domestic cats have taken up the role that the wild cats used to. Luckily my cats are pretty good about only hunting what they want/need! They give me such happy energy in general that I feel their presence is overall positive.

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The garden diy thing is just so amazing! The work seemed hard until it's done.
The pond makes the garden even more attractive, releasing relaxation vibes in the vicinity not to mention its cooling effect during scorching days.

Have fun! and congratulations to Esteban for the medal!

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The pond looks lovely - though I'd suggest you'd need to flush it out often if you're going to bath in it - speaking from someone who has a plastic lined pond! And yay to the cold showers and a sauna/spa room - everyone's dream! Your garden is looking abmazing as always, and Esteban's fencing exploits are awesome!


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Thank you for your comment. Am curious to understand what happens over time to plastic liners which will put me off bathing in the water? Flushing it out as you say will be quite a mission! Though not impossible.

I did notice a lot of dead bugs at the bottom yesterday which is slightly off putting, but i think i can deal with this.

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Just rotting leaves, insects, maybe wildlife (frogs, birds) etc. plus human oils and skin if you're bathing in it. It's essentially stagnant water if it's not flushed out. I don't mean to put a damper on it!

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What a cool thing to add. And one day, there may be a sauna next to it. Also, I had not seen the nice window doors on the green house...

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I have all the bits needed to build that sauna room/earthship. The same as the nice window on the greenhouse, when they renovated our house last year they removed all the old wooden windows and shutters, so i asked if i could keep them. Four massive ones are still in our courtyard, waiting for me to find the motivation to begin the building process...

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(Edited)

your posts are the best visualization for the life i want to live. SO AWESOME.

you created a microclimate also!

Sepp Holzer describes in his "permaculture" book that he will literally use machinery to compress the bottom of pond excavations in order to avoid having to use any liner at all. but that only comes from theory, i sadly cannot tell you from practical experience.

page 49 and following, but the entire chapter would be relevant

https://archive.org/details/SeppHolzersPermacultureAPracticalGuideToSmall-scaleIntegrative/page/n67/mode/2up

edit: now that i reread the chapter i realize i even memorized it wrong ahahaha. but you are a resourceful guy.

blessings!

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Many thanks for the permaculture link. Was not aware of that book and does seem like a good one. Will find a version i can download for future reference...

My feeling is that i should use clay to seal the pond next time. I know where i can dig it up for free so this seems a pretty logical solution.

Very pleased that my posts help you see the life you want!

My family are actually going away for three days this week so i will be living in the garden for this period, eating raw food from the land, sleeping in a pile of hay. Not much need to come home at all except to feed the cats ;)

Blessings right back at you πŸ™

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you are super prepared for the system revamp with all those practice runs.

god, i hope i still have the time.

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