I've helped Bill with the manual labor in building the pond, and since then, with the manual labor required to create or maintain aspects of its physical appearance (mowing, weeding, planting, and cleaning), but other than moving machinery during the oxygen crisis, haven't been allowed to make many decisions or suggestions. Just getting rid of the old barrel, motor parts, and drive shafts buried in the berm on the north side of the pond, and filling that area in and building the waterfall and bench, took almost two years of conversation on my part. I haven't had the energy to bring up any thing else. Unfortunately, Bill was injured last week (shoulder dislocation) and is starting to depend on me to take care of some of the daily tasks. I decided to read about ponds and have spent the past month learning new things, and applying what I already know (I used to teach Biology) to analyzing this particular pond.
All in all I am amazed at how well we have done and what a healthy little ecosystem we have set in motion. Without really knowing the specifics of pond building information, we managed to get the depth correct for maintaining maximum photosynthesis, the alignment correct so that the prevailing winds will create waves and enhance oxygen diffusion, and the biomass (plants and animals) that we introduced is also the most appropriate one for this location.