Making the pond pretty

At least the water's nice and clear, Mar 2018 (last year)

I'm ready for a pond redesign!  We built this one a bit haphazardly, with the main intention of attracting wildlife, and keeping a few goldfish.  It's definitely fulfilled this function (though the goldfish keep disappearing--not sure we still have any).  It's just not that pretty.  But as I've always said, I'd rather have an ugly pond than no pond at all.  And now that I have an ugly pond, I'd rather have a pretty pond;  it's time for an upgrade.

The new pond will switch places with the patio next to it, so we will fill in the old pond as we go.  The filters will be integrated, and the edging will be a bit more formal and uniform, hiding the liner underneath.  We'll save as much of the old pond water as we can, pumping it into a container for temporary storage along with any fish still alive (there were only three last summer and I haven't seen any recently).  It needs to be done quickly, as the frogs and toads will be waking up soon and we don't want to disrupt the breeding season.  Time to get digging.

*A note on pretty:  I try to show pictures of my garden as it really is, not the "pretty" version, which I know goes against all the rules of the internet, and especially blogging!  However, I think always posting "pretty" sets an impossible standard which no one in real life can achieve--it implies that the garden is perfect, and by extension the life is perfect.  I'm not perfect, nor am I aiming for perfection.  I call it Not Pretty.  It doesn't mean Ugly, but rather Real.