2007 started with the removal of a 35 year old Silver Maple tree that was at the west end of the garden. After dealing with all the leaves during the fall, we decided to get rid of it. That left us a hole for another pond and stream. This year, we are concentrating on getting the mainline loop done, and irrigation system installed for the plant material we have added. We only lost one fish from last year (Tony). He was replaced with Tony II this spring, plus we added 6 Tilapia. They are good algee eaters but will have to be removed prior to winter. We completed the installation of the double track loops in early October. It was great to just set the trains up and let them run for hours. We just sat and enjoyed the views after two years of work.
Click on each thumbnail to see an larger image.
| This is the new pond, where the tree was.
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| | Lorrie had me add a seating area. The bench looks like wood, but is actually stained concrete. Flagstone pavers were used under it.
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| | Since we are attempting to "model" Arizona/New Mexico, we are adding catus to the garden. The varities chosen, are OK for midwestern winters.
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| This is shot from the roof of our house. It shows how much landscaping we added this spring. Most of the flowers (white and purple) are annuals and will come out at the end of the year. They were placed where the town will eventually be built, as we have time to construct the buildings.
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| This is the construction of tunnel #2, approximately 12' long.
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| Lorrie transplanted all of the catus into the area around the new pond.
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| This image shows the finished catus garden as well as the double track mainline completed. | 
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| It was exciting to run two trains together after 26 months of digging, tunnel building, and track work! | 
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| After having so many issues with washouts, I decided this winter to cover all unlandscaped areas with tarps to help reduce the problem. | 
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