The streambed is mostly made up of smooth, multicolored river rock. There are large, rectangular chunks of striped, petrified wood that ask the eye to pause. Small turtle and frog figurines peek out, and the water rushes, rushes, rushes by.Hauser shows the recirculating pump system, down by the lowest pool, and explains that he and Lass ran flexible PVC pipe alongside the house up to the top of the feature. He wrapped the pipe from the side of the house out to the pump in heat tape, which allows him to run the water feature all year without worrying that the pipes will freeze.”It’s so cool when the stream freezes in the winter,” he says. ”It looks like Tumalo Falls – all frozen blue ice with the water bubbling underneath.”Hauser says that his garden is a joy to him throughout the year.”In the springtime, when everything is bare, the water looks like a Monet painting. It’s a year-round pleasure.”Hauser credits his father with instilling a love of gardening in him as a young boy.”My father was a yard nut, and I was always helping him. That’s why I love working in the yard,” he says.On this overcast, cold fall day, Hauser’s yard glows with color. Vine maple exclaim loudly in bright red, aspens quake yellow and a plum tree in deep purple anchors the back yard.”I like a lot of color for fall,” says Hauser.The landscaping in his yard is based on an Oriental influence. Due to the shaded aspect of his lot, Hauser can get away with planting a lot of ferns, which he says he really likes. He also has two beautiful Japanese lace maples. Hostas, many perennials – now entering into dormancy – Japanese and Irish yew trees and arbor vitae provide serene greenery and color to match the centerpiece of the water feature.It’s very odd to notice the young redwood tree, growing happily by the stream.”I got that as a little seedling a couple of years ago at Redwood National Park,” says Hauser. ”I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it sure is happy.”The tree, now waist-high, is blissfully ignorant that it is living in the dry High Desert. Hauser has indeed created a small park for himself, one that has wandering pathways through unusual plants. His garden has the feel of a secret place – much loved, but not micromanaged.”I really love my garden,” says Jim Hauser. ”I wish I could give up my day job and just work in the yard.”He bends to scoop up a few pine cones and toss them in a pile, wasting not one moment.”What I love to do is get a glass of wine, sit on the bench by the water and relax.”