Adios Bamboo....Hello Water Garden

It's been about a year or so that Myguy fired up the dozer and dug up our backyard to remove the "whole dumptruck load of running bamboo root gone wild.  ...... I've done alot of stupid things in my life but planting this type of bamboo was way up there towards  the top of the big regrets list.  It was growing over on our neighbors "Ole Doc n Dickies" homeplace and I admired it so much.  It seemed harmless and as it grew I loved how the birds found sanctuary in it.  We had this goldfish pond in just about the same spot it's going back in today.  Behind it I had the bamboo planted and lots of colorful and tropical looking Cannas plants, as well as a big railroad tie bed planted in  peonies, roses and a grapevine.   If only I knew what bamboo does eventually.  Because there's more going on beneath the surface than what we could see.  This vast root system went on a rampage underground and sprouts started coming up all over the place.  I started cutting them down with the weedeater or mower but they were faster and stronger than me.  They started coming up in the railroad tie flower bed, and up through the cracks of the rocks at the fishpond, and then ... in time way out toward our garden....    Panic was setting in because you can't imagine how hard the roots are to cut through.  If we  wanted to dig a shovel full of dirt in the railroad tie bed and hit a bamboo root... well; that was it.  We couldn't get through them.  When we saw it getting away from us we tried killzall.  First; we'd cut the bamboo stalk and then douse it in poison.  It seemed to work maybe ... for a while.  Perhaps it was just wishful thinking though?  We asked around, and contacted people and yet no one had any solutions.  So a year ago, Myguy fired up the dozer he had bought and we were appalled at what we found under the soil.  The roots seriously filled a whole dumptruck load and I'd already cut down all the stalks above ground and we burned those.  What a nightmare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the dump truck hauled away our load of bamboo root... Myguy smoothed out the backyard and everytime a new sprout popped out from root we missed; we'd use the shovel to dig it up and get it out of there.  That went on the rest of the Summer.  Thank God we think it's over!!!  It's been a long time now since we've seen any so this afternoon we started putting the fishpond back in.  We got a little farther than the photo above- and almost have rock around the pond perimeter now.  -- Just ran out of daylight.   Myguy did get  the electric put on a shorter board though and all the plumbing fixed as well as the fountain is now in and working.  Tomorrow will be a fun day getting more rock around it; pea pebbles added ;... flowers.  ... and fish!  Can't forget the fish!  It will probably be too soon to put goldfish in the water since it hasn't set very long so theyll have to live in the big stock tank a couple more days. 

This evening we looked through a water garden book together and guess what it said the number one pond predator is?  ........... raccoons.  Ohoh.  Our raccoon has been here every single night since the night we met him when out building the greenhouse.  I've been taking food out and setting it in a bowl near the birdbath and last night as soon as I got to the bowl he came running out towards me from the cedar trees by the prayer closet.  I actually dropped the food and ran!  Yall can laugh but you woulda ran too!  Anyways; we'll see how all this goes. 
Last night I forgot a whole bucket of eggs on the kitchen porch and this morning it looked like we'd been egged by a gang of juvenile delinquents.  Oh my word!!!! 

Other than that; ... thought I'd share  this sign I just finished.  Myguy   bought me the skylark emblem at a flea market because it was my very first car.  It needs to go on the new side of the shed somewhere because it's mounted on one of the decrepit boards taken off the potting shed.  When waiting for my sweetheart to get home from Tony's house this afternoon, I started working on wire windchimes using olde silverware.  It was the first time I'd ever used the drill to screw holes through metal before and is kinda fun!   

Leaving the shed today I noticed this little seedling growing up through the crack between paver stones in the sand.  I don't even know what it is for sure..... basil maybe?  It will be a future scripture picture for sure. 

Okay; it's late.... but thought I'd share part of our day. 
Sweet dreams everyone,
L