The new garden fountain was delivered and installed yesterday, and while the two strong gentlemen were hefting the unwieldy and heavy fountain elements into place, I was hopping about uselessly asking them, “What happens if there’s an earthquake? This is California, after all. Will the fountain topple over in an earthquake? Break into a million pieces, squashing plants as it explodes onto the terrace?” The installers assured me that it is too heavy to go anywhere, and in fact that in 1989 after the Big One, not a single one of their fountains at the showroom had fallen or broken.
That very evening as I made dinner, there was a sudden loud BOOM! and the house shook. I ran to check on my daughter as pots banged together loudly on their iron rack (and my knees wobbled in fear). Later that evening, the news confirmed that we had had, indeed, a 4.2 earthquake right here in Lafayette! And guess what? The fountain continued burbling away, undisturbed and upright as promised.
The raised pattern of lemons around all three components of the fountain are a reminder of the Meyer lemon trees we have in the garden. The stone finish will weather to a softer, warmer tone over time. The fountain’s top spigot pours water into a shallow basin, from which it falls into another, slightly deeper basin which itself has three miniature spigots that carry the water down into the largest pool. All this falling water produces a satisfying splashing sound that completely masks the noise of the construction next door, the traffic on the street out front, and the neighbor’s incessantly barking dog. Wish I’d thought of this years ago.
Welcome! Your blog is just a delight! What a gorgeous fountain! Really, it all looks and sounds so wonderful! And you have not one, but two of those incredible coral bark Japanese Maples!
Oh, and the orchids…..
What’s not to like! I’ve enjoyed reading very much!