I’ve been watching the weather like a hawk as it’s so changeable at the minute. Today was my window to get the pond completely shaped, lined with sand and lined with plastic before the rain comes overnight.

I carved a little more off to make marginal shelves and better shape the beach. The water that had gathered in the bottom of the hole wasn’t too difficult to get rid off, mostly through digging a bit more clay out and using some of it as plaster.

Covering everything with a thick layer of sand was pretty easy, although it was difficult to know how even a layer I was making. I only used two and a half of my four bags, but  I think enough protection has been given.

We lined it with one layer of plastic. Two would have been too difficult due to all the folds in the plastic in such a little hole. I bought three paddlestones, two of which are helping to weigh the liner down. The other one is temporarily on the beach as an escape route.

The pond is now filled with water from the butts – and there’s more rain due tonight. How I’m going to deal with two banks I now can’t reach is going to be a challenge. I’ll also have to adapt my plans for planting and earthing up a little, but I haven’t worked out any of that yet. It won’t be as plant-heavy as I’d hoped as the edges are quite shallow, sloped and shiny now.

I picked the last few apples from the tree. We’ve had seven or so in total.