Backyard ponds provide a relaxing retreat.

Byline: The Register-Guard

THINK WATER. Big, booming storms dumping rain into the rivers and snow on the mountains, rejuvenating our corner of the world.

The sound of water: gentle tapping of raindrops, the hiss of a drizzle, the babble of a brook or the roar of a waterfall. Water is not only essential for life, but for contemplation of that life. How many mini-water fountains have been sold to holiday shoppers convinced that a loved one needs to relax by listening to aquatic music?

Aquariums are going out the doors of pet shops, too, to be filled with water. Watching captive fish swim back and forth soothes the soul, we are told. We can rest, relax and contemplate the oneness of nature. A popular computer screen saver features an aquarium filled with digital water and animated fish.

For deep thinking, Thoreau had Walden Pond; I have a backyard koi pond. I sit on the cedar deck and watch the bold flashes of color. The pond is more than an aquarium, less than a lake.

Tiered waterfalls can be activated or dried up with the flick of a switch. The walls are built of river rock, the edges trimmed with mementos of past river trips: a 40-pound Owyhee River agate, chunks of Willamette jasper, quartz from the John Day.

Basically, I am watching dolled up carp. Say carp to most anglers, and your answer is a sneer - we all know they're not an exciting game fish. Face it, I've had more entertainment reeling a stick to the boat. As for a game fish to put on the table, you can skin them and fillet them, but they still taste like fish-flavored mud.

But then I recall a crowded koi pond at a tourist stop. The sight of koi swarming to a toss of fish pellets was impressive, if not downright scary. Their brilliant colors flashed as the fish vied for position.

The attack on the pellets was a virtual feeding frenzy, shoving several fish onto shore, where they gasped and flopped until safely wet again. Colorful carp? At that moment, they were like piranhas.

As decorations, however, a small school of koi, swimming in circles, bobbing at the surface politely for pellets, offers a pleasant distraction from the outside world. Small water gardens to house your koi are all the rage. The Japanese, who are experts at contemplative nature gardens, started this trend many generations ago, breeding drab fish into bold oranges, golds, reds, silvers, even blues - living ornaments.

Besides koi, other fish can be stocked in a home pond. Goldfish are inexpensive and help round out the school of bigger, expensive koi (which are usually priced by the inch). Goldfish don't grow to the massive sizes that koi do, but they do grow larger in a pond or tub garden than in a fish bowl.

I've not had much luck with maintaining the baby sturgeon available at some water garden stores. Koi are not carnivorous, but somehow the bottom feeders kept disappearing. I had been looking forward to a four-foot behemoth rising from the depths of the pond.

Bullfrog tadpoles are a fun addition to any pond, taking two years to morph into adults. As tadpoles vanish, you will note a bullfrog sign: smaller goldfish vanish, and when you begin weeding and pruning, you almost fall in the pond when a big frog jumps out of the bushes.

Also, your summer nights are spent listening to the "jug 'o rum" call of the male. If your tadpoles produce no desirable females, the male will seek more fertile waters.

Some pond fanciers stock more aggressive fish: sunfish from Eastern distributors, crappie, bass. I've seen a pond about the size of a SUV in width and depth that held a largemouth bass, at least a 12-pounder, one that could swallow goslings and kittens whole.

If you have cold, running water available for your pond, trout might be added, but they are temperamental. (For game fish planting info, contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife).

Making a water garden is simple. For a small pond, use a container such as a half whiskey barrel; for a bigger pond, start digging now, while the ground is wet. Liners keep your pond waters isolated from their innate need to join with groundwater. Most are plastic, but concrete liners work well.

Landscaping is my favorite water garden project. Some plants are free, such as cattails dug from a roadside. Watercress grows all over Oregon and is a perky addition, needing no pot to support its roots. I clip some for salads and sandwiches, while the koi nibble underwater rootlets.

There are wild ferns to gather, or tame ferns to buy, depending on your ambition. (A free permit available from the McKenzie Ranger District allows you to collect 12 plants.) Succulents such as the tame "hens and chicks" or wild sedums, mosses and vines can be inserted into cracks among the rocks. A wonderful moss groundcover smells like mint and is perfect along pathways. Bamboo, ivy, pond lilies - let your imagination run wild when you decorate.

One last caveat: Beware of predators. Raccoons are the worst offenders - to them, your $50 koi are sushi. Blue herons may be scared off by installing a fake heron, ready to defend its territory. Stray cats usually won't tackle fish in a deep pond, but if you live near wild areas, you may encounter minks, which are bolder.

Melinda Allan is a Creswell free-lance writer. She can be reached at: [e-mail].