7 Beautiful Backyard Ponds

If you've been reading this blog for very long, you know we have lots of BIG plans for our yard! I've mentioned tearing out bushes, cutting down trees, repaving our patio, moving the shed, and building a pond as just some of our plans! We bought this house primarily for the outdoor space, so our priority is to make the yard how we want it. Yardwork takes time and planning though, so we've been chipping away at the to do list little by little. 
Today, I'm excited to say that we will finally be breaking ground on our pond this weekend! It's taken a lot of planning, and there are definitely a few details left to go, but we have some free time this weekend, so we're going to start digging and hopefully (fingers crossed!) have this project complete by October!
If you've been around for long, you probably also know that I am a critter lover. Currently, we have two cats, two African cichlid aquariums, a saltwater aquarium, and two turtles. Growing up we had cats, dogs, rabbits, and turtles and whatever creatures I decided to collect from the yard here and there (you know, lizards, frogs, fish, tadpoles, bugs, etc.). I even had a hedgehog in college! Animal lover, right here!
So our two turtles (named Tank and Tortuga) have lived with me since my senior year of college and used to live in my aquarium with the fish. They got along fine with the fish surprisingly. The problem started when I transitioned from peaceful fish to African cichlids. African cichlids are relatively aggressive fish and every few months I sadly have a casualty. African cichlids are the most colorful freshwater fish you can get, so to me, that occasional sadness is worth it. However, being the animal lover that I am, those fish need a proper burial (don't laugh!). The turtles, although they never attacked live fish, would take it upon themselves to eat the casualties, and that made me sad. Turtles also aren't very graceful creatures, so they often clumsily ruined my rock work. And so they earned themselves a separate home. 
They temporarily moved into a twenty gallon bucket outside. However, temporarily turned into far too long as we realized pond planning took more effort and details than we anticipated. I've felt guilty about their life in a bucket, but the good news is, they LOVE being in the sunshine, and they've grown significantly in size being outdoors as compared to their growth with the UV bulb that was in the aquarium. Thankfully, they will have a big enough home soon!
So heads up, be prepared for some pond building details coming up soon! For now, enjoy some of our inspiration from the beautiful ponds below!

Seven ideas for raised ponds:

Source: Backyard Chickens

Source: OhMy!Creative

Source: Vertical Wallpaper

Source

Source: Maher & Greenwald Gardens

Source: Koiphen

Source: Backyard Design Ideas

My favorite pond supplies:

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