GrainewsArticles by Lois Diebel - Grainews Practical production tips for the prairie farmer Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:08:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 163163758 Building The Family Affair Park https://www.grainews.ca/farm-life/building-the-family-affair-park/ Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.agcanada.com/?p=23689 When my granddaughter Linda was in high school, she had to do a project in horticulture. My daughter Janette (her mother) suggested she make a fish pond in the backyard. Their old house had been torn down and the ground levelled, leaving a backyard of well over an acre. So, Linda went out with a

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]]> When my granddaughter Linda was in high school, she had to do a project in horticulture. My daughter Janette (her mother) suggested she make a fish pond in the backyard. Their old house had been torn down and the ground levelled, leaving a backyard of well over an acre.

So, Linda went out with a shovel and started to dig. After a short time she decided, “We’ll get the neighbour, Jim.”

Jim came over with his backhoe, and by then Janette (Mom) had decided to have him dig a whole riverbed, the width of the yard.

Now, how to find all those rocks to fill the riverbed of over 200 feet long?

Janette, husband Dean, daughter Lisa and son-in-law Joey, daughters Linda and Amanda and son Kevin (the whole family) raided every rock pile in the area and picked them out of the fields.

After many hours of hard work the riverbed was lined with rocks, the fish pond was lined and filled, a bridge built over it and four goldfish put in (which multiplied to about 200!).

Janette added dozens of flowers, raspberries, saskatoon bushes, grapes, cherry trees, strawberries, apple trees and assorted ornaments. Amanda added the walkway of cement blocks. Kevin added the rose arbour and bench.

Eight years later and that one little fish pond has turned into a park, still being added to.

Lois Diebel writes from Unity, Saskatchewan

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