Couple enjoys pond from deck and kitchen

Look what can happen when a woman mentions she would like a pond in her back yard.

Ellen Trauten did that, and her husband, George, not only created a large pond with a waterfall for their Buffalo Grove home, but he would like to find partners so he could build them for other folks.

The pond - which Trauten dug by hand - is 16 feet long, 9 feet wide and 30 inches deep. Five years ago, he started digging in March, and fish were swimming in the pond by Father's Day that year. That's with the retaining wall and berm, of course. The landscaping came later.

The Trautens really enjoy sitting by the stone-edged pond with its water lilies, koi and goldfish.

"It's in a perfect spot off our deck," said Trauten. "And you can stand at the kitchen sink and see it."

Plants in and around the pond include manna grass, hostas, bluebells and coneflowers.

Every year a pair of ducks visit the pond, and one time the female laid an egg, but the Trautens have yet to see ducklings.