Boulders


After the big 'blow', Areas that would be covered in rock were coated in liquid rubber called CIM. This substance is FUN - it's sticky, is mixed from 2 parts like epoxy, and hardens in 20 minutes - so you have to mix small batches and work fast. We have lots of clothes and shoes still covered in black rubber!	'The CIM hardened overnight, and then we were ready for rocks. LOTS of ROCKS!'	So, we went to the local quarry, that had an entire mountain of rock that looked like liquid silver. It is a Micacious Shale with Garnet inclusions (not gem quality!). Here is Carl standing on one small rock, looking for interesting specimens with the machine operator.	Carl pointed to a rock, and the machine operator grabbed it in the claws of a HUGE jaw.

The machine placed the rock into a 'can' which holds about 25 tons.	This wall of rock continues for a mile or so. We are at the bottom of the quarry. Behind us, are a group of workers splitting rock into perfect slabs - by hand!	'Of course, the day they were in the quarry in the bottom of a rock crater, and it was 110 degrees in the shade - the hottest day of the year in CT! You can't imagine how much hotter it felt in that quarry with the reflective rock baking Carl and Karen from all directions. It took 4 hours and a lot of sweat to pick out about 35 tons of rocks!'

'There was so much rock needed, that it didn't even fit on one 'can', so our buddy Rocco picked up about 12 tons in his dump truck!'	The quarry operator loads the 'can' onto a truck, and delivers it to the house the same day! What service!	While waiting for the rock to arrive, we got another delivery of small stone - to fill in the areas around the shell. The 12V lighting wires had already been installed, and all the connections checked.	Dumping the 'can'. The neighbors thought it was an earthquake! It sure made some dents in the lawn! The rocks ended up in a big pile near the driveway, then the big Hitachi craned them into position.

Before we started placing rocks, we looked at all the rocks, and looked at the surface, and measured, and looked...	You can see how tight it was and how close the backhoe was to the house! We tried not to lift rocks over the house - just in case a strap broke!	The backhoe carries a rock towards the pond. We used new straps - as Rocco had broken one the previous day! Moving the rocks into position took 4 days.	'They set the first rock on August 2nd, 2001.'

Water was used to wash down the stones before they were placed. Here is the first stone going on the base of the waterfall.	This mammoth 4 ton 'toy' filled up most of the bottom ledge. The little round thing (about 1/2 ton) was moved to another spot. Usually, the placement was carefully planned, and once a rock was placed, it was not moved!	'Setting the waterfall rocks alone took 2 days. They were very fussy, and the overall impression had to have the feel of a Japanese garden.'	While Rocco on the backhoe swings a boulder into position, Mike and Carl muscle it into it's final resting place. It was still 100 degrees - but luckily, most of the pond is in shade!

One of the next rocks to be placed was the 2nd largest one, and it went up on supports in the middle of the front edge of the big bog. You can see it takes up most of the open face of the bog! Because it is supported on the bottom center - water flows on all sides - even underneath!	Construction ZONE!	The fitting for rocks on the sides and back of the waterfall was ultra critical. When we couldn't muscle them into the perfect position, a diamond blade rock saw was used to nick off an end. These rocks were finally cemented in place so the basin would hold water.	The pointy center stone was set on the upper basin to divide the flow into 2 streams on either side. This rock is over 5 feet tall, but narrow enough to fit on the ledge! Finding things like this among millions at the quarry was HARD!

Here's what the pointy rock looks like from the front. We wanted it look more asymmetrical than perfect. Note how short Carl looks - he's standing the lower basin - which turned out about 4 1/2 feet deep with all the rocks!	The 6th rock being set. The bottom basin flows in one big sheet over a mammoth rock. Some of the rocks have a surface that looks rippled like water, and the mica makes them shine! The rocks seem alive!	We needed a few very narrow rocks for the upper ledge of the waterfall. We couldn't find any to suit our needs - so Rocco made them - with his jackhammer!	Construction ZONE!

'Rocks were set along most of the top of the pond, with a few scattered into the patio area and surrounding landscape.'	Setting the narrow rock created by the Jackhammer. It fit perfectly, and looks great!	Choosing a rock and getting the straps under it to lift it up was hard work! Mike and Carl persevered!	With the waterfall done, we concentrated on the big bog, and integrating the coping rocks into the waterfall.

Mike guiding one of the rocks near the 'Pit'. Finding the right rocks to maintain the Japanese look and hide the tanks was a challenge!	Each of the rocks had character. Some had so much character that Carl and Mike working together couldn't lever them into place! Rocco would leap out of the backhoe and help when one was particularly stubborn.	'The quality of the rocks really sets the stage for the pond.'	The final rock of the big bog. It was another 1 ton monster! We tried to continue the impression from the pointy rock in the waterfall and carry it around the pond.

The last rock on the small bog. This was about as far as the backhoe could reach!	'What did they do when the backhoe didn't reach? They attached a strap to the straps from the backhoe, and pulled the rock with a Bobcat!	The whole area to the right of the big bog will be bluestone patio that overhangs the pond by 2". You can stand on the edge and feed the fish! You can see one huge rock in the upper right that 'decorates' the patio.	Here is the final rock moved with the backhoe. It had to be swung over the pond (yikes!) and pulled with a Bobcat to move it to the back of the pond. If this 4 ton giant had fallen, it would surely have broken the concrete shell! Luckily - the straps held, and we held our breath!

The finished waterfall, with lots of paths for the water. Water can flow into the small bog on the left, and into the large bog on the right.	The left side of the pond. The rocks on the far left of the picture hide the 1500 and the vortex in the 'Pit'. The 'tiny' rock in the foreground (another 4 tons) can be seen from the living room of the house, and makes a great anchor for the front of the pond!	The right side of the pond. The open 'Trench' is in the foreground to the right. That would be the next project!	'50,000 gallons an hour can flow over this falls! I only need a gallon a week'

'The CIM hardened overnight, and then we were ready for rocks. LOTS of ROCKS!'

So, we went to the local quarry, that had an entire mountain of rock that looked like liquid silver. It is a Micacious Shale with Garnet inclusions (not gem quality!). Here is Carl standing on one small rock, looking for interesting specimens with the machine operator.

Carl pointed to a rock, and the machine operator grabbed it in the claws of a HUGE jaw.

The machine placed the rock into a 'can' which holds about 25 tons.

This wall of rock continues for a mile or so. We are at the bottom of the quarry. Behind us, are a group of workers splitting rock into perfect slabs - by hand!

'There was so much rock needed, that it didn't even fit on one 'can', so our buddy Rocco picked up about 12 tons in his dump truck!'

The quarry operator loads the 'can' onto a truck, and delivers it to the house the same day! What service!

While waiting for the rock to arrive, we got another delivery of small stone - to fill in the areas around the shell. The 12V lighting wires had already been installed, and all the connections checked.

Dumping the 'can'. The neighbors thought it was an earthquake! It sure made some dents in the lawn! The rocks ended up in a big pile near the driveway, then the big Hitachi craned them into position.

Before we started placing rocks, we looked at all the rocks, and looked at the surface, and measured, and looked...

You can see how tight it was and how close the backhoe was to the house! We tried not to lift rocks over the house - just in case a strap broke!

The backhoe carries a rock towards the pond. We used new straps - as Rocco had broken one the previous day! Moving the rocks into position took 4 days.

'They set the first rock on August 2nd, 2001.'

Water was used to wash down the stones before they were placed. Here is the first stone going on the base of the waterfall.

This mammoth 4 ton 'toy' filled up most of the bottom ledge. The little round thing (about 1/2 ton) was moved to another spot. Usually, the placement was carefully planned, and once a rock was placed, it was not moved!

'Setting the waterfall rocks alone took 2 days. They were very fussy, and the overall impression had to have the feel of a Japanese garden.'

While Rocco on the backhoe swings a boulder into position, Mike and Carl muscle it into it's final resting place. It was still 100 degrees - but luckily, most of the pond is in shade!

One of the next rocks to be placed was the 2nd largest one, and it went up on supports in the middle of the front edge of the big bog. You can see it takes up most of the open face of the bog! Because it is supported on the bottom center - water flows on all sides - even underneath!

Construction ZONE!

The fitting for rocks on the sides and back of the waterfall was ultra critical. When we couldn't muscle them into the perfect position, a diamond blade rock saw was used to nick off an end. These rocks were finally cemented in place so the basin would hold water.

The pointy center stone was set on the upper basin to divide the flow into 2 streams on either side. This rock is over 5 feet tall, but narrow enough to fit on the ledge! Finding things like this among millions at the quarry was HARD!

Here's what the pointy rock looks like from the front. We wanted it look more asymmetrical than perfect. Note how short Carl looks - he's standing the lower basin - which turned out about 4 1/2 feet deep with all the rocks!

The 6th rock being set. The bottom basin flows in one big sheet over a mammoth rock. Some of the rocks have a surface that looks rippled like water, and the mica makes them shine! The rocks seem alive!

We needed a few very narrow rocks for the upper ledge of the waterfall. We couldn't find any to suit our needs - so Rocco made them - with his jackhammer!

Construction ZONE!

'Rocks were set along most of the top of the pond, with a few scattered into the patio area and surrounding landscape.'

Setting the narrow rock created by the Jackhammer. It fit perfectly, and looks great!

Choosing a rock and getting the straps under it to lift it up was hard work! Mike and Carl persevered!

With the waterfall done, we concentrated on the big bog, and integrating the coping rocks into the waterfall.

Mike guiding one of the rocks near the 'Pit'. Finding the right rocks to maintain the Japanese look and hide the tanks was a challenge!

Each of the rocks had character. Some had so much character that Carl and Mike working together couldn't lever them into place! Rocco would leap out of the backhoe and help when one was particularly stubborn.

'The quality of the rocks really sets the stage for the pond.'

The final rock of the big bog. It was another 1 ton monster! We tried to continue the impression from the pointy rock in the waterfall and carry it around the pond.

The last rock on the small bog. This was about as far as the backhoe could reach!

'What did they do when the backhoe didn't reach? They attached a strap to the straps from the backhoe, and pulled the rock with a Bobcat!

The whole area to the right of the big bog will be bluestone patio that overhangs the pond by 2". You can stand on the edge and feed the fish! You can see one huge rock in the upper right that 'decorates' the patio.

Here is the final rock moved with the backhoe. It had to be swung over the pond (yikes!) and pulled with a Bobcat to move it to the back of the pond. If this 4 ton giant had fallen, it would surely have broken the concrete shell! Luckily - the straps held, and we held our breath!

The finished waterfall, with lots of paths for the water. Water can flow into the small bog on the left, and into the large bog on the right.

The left side of the pond. The rocks on the far left of the picture hide the 1500 and the vortex in the 'Pit'. The 'tiny' rock in the foreground (another 4 tons) can be seen from the living room of the house, and makes a great anchor for the front of the pond!

The right side of the pond. The open 'Trench' is in the foreground to the right. That would be the next project!

'50,000 gallons an hour can flow over this falls! I only need a gallon a week'

'Is it a POND yet?'