All the equipment lined up at the start of the job. Using the Kubota to scrape away the top soil to start with. Our favorite tool!  It looks like there's soil, but it only went 4 inches deep - the rest was ROCKS, and then more ROCKS, and more ROCKS... A much better way to dig! We would have liked to use a larger machine, but the site was very tight, with an expensive tree peony bed just 6 feet from the new pond's edge. Starting the real digging.  The plan was to dig a finished depth of  6 feet. While the backhoe work continued, we started to move the plants next to the old pond which would have ended up under water! The backhoe could only loosen the rocks, then they had to be moved into a storage pile on site with the tractor. We stored the soil/rock so that it could later be used to make raised beds along a new pathway. Shaping the edge of the pond by hand. "Shooting" the depth of the dig at the end of the first day.  We had some areas 30 inches deep. The end of the first day of work.  Note the gradual slope going into the pond necessary to get the backhoe in and out. Still life.  Morning of the 2nd day. The old 500 gallon pond.  Well planted!  Note the small size of the coping rocks. We have just started to dismantle the waterfall for the goldfish pond, which was exchanged for a bamboo pipe, to be located a little to the left.  The elevation of the old bed here was too high, and would have blocked the view of the new pond. The plans called for a pseudo stream connecting the old and new ponds, with a bridge crossing it. We could dig some by machine, but most of the work near the old pond had to be done by hand to assure  structural support and not disturbing the goldfish. Digging for the new patio.  Nearly a foot of screenings was used as a base to insure stability during freezing and thawing. Did we mention rocks? About as big a rock as this machine could pick up and transport!  There were lots of bigger ones... Top down view. The waste pile is growing!  Juggling all the tasks required for pond completion - on schedule! Moving more plants from the area between the ponds.  These were "heeled in" under pines, until they could be replanted. When digging at a really BIG rock or stump, the front wheels came off the ground! The bane of every excavation - STUMPS! One of the stumps being removed.  Usually requires lots of pick-axing and hand digging to accomplish. A planted strawberry tower being very carefully moved to it's new location. Removing the old coping rocks. Fondly called "Todd's Rock", it took over an hour for the machine to loosed it, and then it had to be rolled away!  We decided to use it in another part of the landscaping. Resting.  Working out rocks with a blue-bar is time consuming!  Unfortunately, it's still the best way to work around the edges.   We discovered that there was bed rock at about 48".  This limited the finished depth to 40", which we are "shooting" here. The end of day two, and the backhoe was returned.  From here on, it's hand work to shape and finish the edges in preparation for the liner.