Well, pretty much. A few touchups here and there, and of course I need to flatten the footprints in the bottom once it dries (if ever…rained this afternoon, raining now), and P still needs to run Hot Rod over the stuff I raked out around the edges, but the grunt work is done, and I ordered 40 Allegheny spurge bulbs I can’t really afford (damned Furnace Fund), but I have a pond!

Took this as my interest in bashing dirt flat with a sledgehammer was waning this morning. I needed to stop and see that I really was almost finished.

I shovelled in most of the dirt where the spurge and the heuchera will go. It’s not going to be packed hard, obviously.

The water standing in the low spot after the last rain saturated the clay beautifully, so instead of using polyethylene foam or something, I packed clay over the biggest roots. The liner I got is 8 gauge, but I’d rather be safe than end up with a hole in an expensive liner!

Edges all packed down, loose stuff raked out…grunt work is done! FINALLY! It’s fairly level, but once P is available, we’ll check it and make sure. God, I hope I don’t have more dirt work to do.

Spicebush Doot-doots are doing well, and I counted 12 Monarchs today.

Yellow Bear (Virginia Tiger Moth) on the coralberry. I might move the coralberry over by the pond…dunno yet. Anyway, fuzzy dude is cute.