The Leather Oaks Garden

Thirty Years of Gardening -- and Frogs!
Page Three

This Page Created on January 14th, 2008

The 2001 Leather Oaks Pond Tour

     These are the first digital photos of Leather Oaks, the Garden event, and I think they've stood the test of time pretty well!
     My web site had only been active for about a year, so this was my first chance to post a photo record of the Leather Oaks Garden for the whole world to access.
     Bandwidth has gotten a lot cheaper in the intervening period, so it's more than time to update the photos. They're a good bit bigger than before, the better to see our favorite spitting frog, of course!

The Great 2002 Leather Oaks Pond Makeover!

     Here's a secret, just between you and me. The actual design of plants within the Leather Oaks pond's botanical contents were never subject to an artful input. It's true!
     With more people looking at my pond, I figured maybe someone who knew more about attractive plant displays should step in.
      I talked to some fellow pond society members, and soon three folks showed up and proceeded to do an extreme pond makeover at my place.

The 2003 Leather Oaks Changes, and a Skeletal Stream

I should have known that remaking my pond would open others up to suggest additional changes!

No sooner had the pond recovered from its extreme makeover, someone commented (maybe it was even me) that it would be nice to use the outlet from the Biological Filter for a more visible effect. Well, Roy was glad to oblige. Once I talked him out of five horsepower pumps, the effects really made a nice addition.

In the meantime, I'd been scheming about a way to use those little pondlets that every Garden Center seems to have by the stacks now. Let's see, a few pieces of PVC, a little pump, and that bare area along my West fence will make a great exit strategy for Pond Tour visiters!

The 2004 Leather Oaks Photos

Is it summer again? Neptune was certainly ready for it after the close call he had a few months back. Seems a rotten tree on my neighbor's property fell right over him. Only thing that saved my Marine friend was the large grape vines running through many of the older trees in the area.
When I found that Neptune had been spared, I promised him his own water feature. You saw it under construction last year. Now he proudly leads off this year's photos!

Piping in the Night at Leather Oaks Pond

The 2004 Leather Oaks Night Pond Tour

One of my favorite times to view the Leather Oaks Garden is in the evening. You do have to fight the mosquitos, but the view with just the illumination from the path lighting is worth the effort.
My piping boy (we call him Pipe, for short) was gracious enough to provide the background music, although I seem to remember a chorus of frogs helped him out a lot!

The 2005 Leather Oaks Photos

The next year started with so much promise. My firefighter/carpenter friend Craig finally found time to repaint my place, and what a change from the drab grays with which the house and garage had been burdened! Sunshine Yellow had been the name that US Steel gave the siding I'd used on my Lameuse Street place. We were able to get a good match from an old scrap. Then, looking through the color book, I found Saddlery, a deep, reddish brown. The name was enough to recommend it as the perfect color for trim!
You know, I was so busy, that it appears I didn't take any regular pond-oriented photos that whole summer. Think of the hindsight of that statement when you visit the next page.

The 2005 Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

     I don't know whether it was a blessing or a curse that I was in Thule, Greenland, when Katrina blew through! But, I've been skittish enough around hurricanes since my near miss with Georges in 1998.
      I was two weeks getting home. The house and garage miraculously survived with hardly a scratch. The Leather Oaks pond was buried under mountains of tree branches, but my whole yard seemed to have escaped the salt water treatment that so many of my neighbors found.
      I've tried to balance the photos of damage with those of rebuilding and regrowth.
      The photo at left was taken from my front porch: That used to be my largest Live Oak. I really miss your welcoming shade, Sir Tree!

The 2006 Leather Oaks Pond Photos

Can a year truly make this much difference? Actually, only ten months separate the photo above from the one at right. I'm happy to give my good friend Wolf credit for this year's photos. I was still occupied with small repairs, so he took the camera, and when not documenting my carpentry skills, made some really outstanding shots of the recovering Leather Oaks Garden. Thanks, Wolf!