Continuing on with the Austin Pond Societies Annual Pond Tour, this was another of the larger sites on the tour. It is a beautifully manicured paradise of ponds, play houses and pirate ships.

S5     Mark and Debbie – Westlake

This site is a perennial tour favorite, and each year it exceeds expectations. Follow the artesian-fed streams down to the 40,000-gallon pond filled with exotic tropical water lilies and marginals, but don’t stop there. Go past the gazebo that’s at the back of the pond and check out the new greenhouse. Take time to wander through the 1,200-foot long maze, which spells out “Love “and was constructed by the owner for his wife. Continue past that area to the far back of the property. You’ll come to Never Never Land, which the owner is building himself for his seven young grandchildren. To the right, there is a sweet pink playhouse for the little princesses, and to the left the Jolly Poppy pirate ship is being completed. Feel free to explore; it is magical!

As with all of these slides, if you click on any one of them it will enlarge and then use the side arrows to move the pictures along. Press  “Escape” to get back to normal.