We got over an inch and a half of rain in about thirty minutes today. The rain poured off the roof through the channel we asked the roofers to provide last summer. The torrent went into the basin, which is also a biological filter, and then into the stream and ponds. By the waterfall, rocks on the patio hide a slot in the stream wall. In the video, the water that looks like it is pooling up on the patio is actually headed into the stream through that slot. Soon, the bottom pond overflowed into the rain garden, where the rich soil and roots soaked it up as planned.

Raindrops on pond with water going over two waterfalls
The notches in the pond walls show where the waterfalls are
Rain pours over a waterfall and into the rain garden below
The lower pond overflows as planned. A channel takes it under the path and into the rain garden.
The bog garden enjoys a good soaking too.
A green-faced bullfrog sits partially submerged on a ledge in a garden pond
A frog enjoying the first gentle rain. When the skies opened, she jumped into the pond.