Our featured pond is owned by Kathy Dupree
I started ponding back in 1997. My first pond was one of those pre-fab peanut shaped ponds. Wow, didn't satisfy me for long. My husband and I started laying out a design for our new pond which would be located directly off our deck. It just kept getting bigger and bigger. We finally decided on a size of about 22' x 21', round in shape. If you are building a pond by yourself, it is ALWAYS a work in progress. There wasn't a lot of advice out there at the time of our building, so I researched as many books as I could get my hands on.
We had to have the liner specially ordered as it was bigger than you could buy on the open market. We had the rocks for our ledge hauled here from Gatesville, TX. We started to dig it by hand, and quickly discovered, there wasn't enough time in the day to ever finish it, so we brought in a small bobcat to help in the digging. Through the years, the veggie filter changed, it had to be enlarged in order to keep a pond of this size clean. I have had the veggie filter full of plants, elephant ears, etc, but now it is void of most of those plants, I went to less is better. I was slowly collecting koi and had about 13, most were at least 10 years old. One January day, 2 years ago, I noticed a blue heron outside and by then, he had eaten every single one of those fish. That is the worst feeling in the world to know you didn't protect your fish. They were 10 years old before I ever even knew of the dangers of predator birds. During the pond tour of 2009, I had been asked by several people "where are my fish?" I shared the story with many people that weekend, and by Sunday morning, I had inherited 5 beautiful koi who needed a bigger home. Within months, I had a total of 15 large koi, all of whom adjusted beautifully. In the spring of 2010, the most awesome thing happened! They spawned! Wow, what an experience that was. I was able to capture lots of the eggs and have raised several tanks full of baby koi, many of which will be released into the pond this spring. Now that I know what to do, I am really looking forward to the next spawning! And, I want you to know that now, every winter, we have a portion of the pond covered in netting, giving the fish a safe place to hide.
In 1999, I had an over abundance of water lilies, and since I couldn't throw them out, I just had to build another pond to house them. This one was an above ground, cement block pond, and the liner was a roll
of roofing liner. Through the years, this pond too has seen many changes, including the claw foot tub my husband mounted for the water fall. This pond has only gold fish it, as I learned not to have both gold fish and koi in the same ponds if you expect breeding.
Through the years, I have had many beautiful water lilies, Victoria is one of them.
I have learned to get the Tropical's and Hardy's to produce seed, which is very gratifying. Just lots of fun making baby lilies!
I love gardening, so we have a pretty big vegetable garden every year and love plants, so the flower gardens are full. At this point in time, I 
pretty much have most of my space occupied, so won't be adding anything else. If anything, my husband Charlie would love for me to downsize, which might happen in the years to come.
(click pictures for a larger image)
Sitting out on the deck, with my feet hanging in the water is one of the most relaxing things I can do, with the fish tickling my toes. I wish that feeling for everyone.
Kathy Dupree
