MAKING THE REFLECTION POOL
I have seen loads of photo’s over the years with birds bathing or drinking from water and they look really cool with their reflection so I thought
I would have a go at building one, I needed a break from Rhodie bashing anyway.
So first week in May I started to mark out an area which would get the first light of day, well nearly as in May the trees where in full leaf.
I knew I wanted to be sitting level with the water so this in mind set about raising the pool on stilts.
I have an abundance of Sweet Chestnut in the wood and new these would be great for post as they are rich in tannins and don’t need any preservative.
Trying to use as much timber from the wood as I could I selected about 20 posts and knew I would have to buy the rest,the rest being the pool itself, made from sheets of ply and some 6 x 2 for the walls.
I would have a go at building one, I needed a break from Rhodie bashing anyway.
So first week in May I started to mark out an area which would get the first light of day, well nearly as in May the trees where in full leaf.
I knew I wanted to be sitting level with the water so this in mind set about raising the pool on stilts.
I have an abundance of Sweet Chestnut in the wood and new these would be great for post as they are rich in tannins and don’t need any preservative.
Trying to use as much timber from the wood as I could I selected about 20 posts and knew I would have to buy the rest,the rest being the pool itself, made from sheets of ply and some 6 x 2 for the walls.
Certainly holds the weight , takes me anyway.
You can now see the pool before the liner goes on and get a feel for its size,
basically 20 x 8 foot with the hide going at the front.
I would like to thank my good mate Mick Davis for helping and keeping me from getting carried away. I do tend to rush things and cant believe I have the patience to photograph anything, but I do…
Anyhow the forecast was for heavy rain passing over for the whole day and with the liner stuck in a depot somewhere it was a rush to locate it and get it installed.
You can now see the pool before the liner goes on and get a feel for its size,
basically 20 x 8 foot with the hide going at the front.
I would like to thank my good mate Mick Davis for helping and keeping me from getting carried away. I do tend to rush things and cant believe I have the patience to photograph anything, but I do…
Anyhow the forecast was for heavy rain passing over for the whole day and with the liner stuck in a depot somewhere it was a rush to locate it and get it installed.
I must say first that there is no water on site so the pool is filled with rainwater and some I carried from a ditch nearby so with this in mind the roof will have some sort of guttering (make that bit up later) to catch any water lost.
I was talking to the farmer who informed me they where about to burn a load of timber from an old barn on site and did I want any, you bet I did, out of this load I made the benches for the hides and the siding on the pool.
The siding help steer the birds to the end where they can land and not drink from the sides.
I was talking to the farmer who informed me they where about to burn a load of timber from an old barn on site and did I want any, you bet I did, out of this load I made the benches for the hides and the siding on the pool.
The siding help steer the birds to the end where they can land and not drink from the sides.
More post where sunk in the ground to form 2 goal posts and then I found a load of posts from some old deer fence and made use of these as roof struts.
You can see now it starting to form the shape of the hide, and you can see one of the benches I made from the old barn.
View looking down the pool
The sides where clad with some smaller larch.
The sides where clad with some smaller larch.
The sides where clad in Sweet Chestnut and I cut these to length then split in 2 with a froe & mallet so I could get 2 for the price of 1 as they say.
The other end has a small channel cut and this acts as an outflow which in turn goes into another set of barrels ready for the hot summer months – if only.
The other end has a small channel cut and this acts as an outflow which in turn goes into another set of barrels ready for the hot summer months – if only.
Roof on, sides clad and a bit of camo .
I put a slight fall on the roof and this catches in the gutter before flowing to the water butt.
The plan is to use this water to top up the pool or for planting if there’s plenty.
I put a slight fall on the roof and this catches in the gutter before flowing to the water butt.
The plan is to use this water to top up the pool or for planting if there’s plenty.
The inside was finished off with some plastic Mick gave me, enough for a cup or 2.
The pool now has a few rocks and some shingle and grass is already starting to grow from wind blown seeds.
I am now looking forward to see it weather in properly with moss hopefully growing on the side planks.
The camo netting you see in the background gives a nice backdrop to the photo’s and will be replaced by a hedge of laurel once they grow tall enough.
I am now looking forward to see it weather in properly with moss hopefully growing on the side planks.
The camo netting you see in the background gives a nice backdrop to the photo’s and will be replaced by a hedge of laurel once they grow tall enough.
Coal tit
Blue tit
Blue tits
Coal tit
Chaffinch
Some of the birds drinking from the pool
Birds come in to feed on seed placed near edge of water , you have to be quick but every so often they pause to drink or even look around and that’s your cue for a photo.
At the far end there is another sheet of ply on top of the liner this is supposed to stop it getting punctured, I hope anyway.
On top of this I gathered loads of sandstone pieces and some gravel and formed a shelve for them to land on.
It will be nice over the winter for it to blend in, I have already planted ivy on both sides and hopefully next year will take off and cover the sides and with the old timber for the sides i hope they will be moss covered later on.