There is so much both going on and NOT going on in and around the ponds, that today’s post is merely a hodgepodge of things floating around in my head and I barely know where to begin.
My main pond was very murky this morning. I suppose it is rebelling against all of the unseasonal rains. Perhaps I need to clean the bio-filter. The barrel is so large that the chore is a bit daunting for me. Hubby is working long hours and my son is busy with a new “friend”. So eventually, the job of cleaning the filter will fall to me. Really, it is a matter of age, my balance isn’t as good as it used to be, so it’s not so much the cleaning that gives me cause for concern as it is my footing as I ascend and descend the hill. Maybe I should consider a tip into the pond a blessing while the heat here has been so oppressive. And I would, if I could manage not to break an appendage in the process, like my skull for instance. For now, I think I will simply add a filter of quilt batting around my pump.
The next challenge I faced this morning was the discovery that a squirrel had chewed through the lid on the barrel where I keep my fish food and bird seed. With all the rain we’ve had there is mold growing on the seed and pellets. That’s about ten pounds of sunflower seed and twenty pounds of fish pellets gone bad. Not that I really need to feed the fish, there is more than enough natural food for them. But, we enjoy watching them hungrily gobble up the pellets, splashing water at the dogs, announcing, “this food is for us, so back off”. I guess it is time to invest in a new steel drum.
Though my water lilies seem to be late blooming this year, the gardens around the ponds are in full glory, with the hummingbirds enraptured by the prolific monarda that blooms above the original small pond. Daylilies and lilies are in bloom everywhere I look and the rose of sharons are also a beloved stop for the hummers.
My yellow butterfly koi is changing color on her head. It is turning to a beautiful shade of golden copper. If her body remains as yellow as it is and her head stays this new coppery color she may well take the lead as my favorite in markings of my fish.
I finally installed a pond for the fry. I put in a 90-gallon pre-formed pond next to my porch. I counted 35 fish as I moved them from the small barrel where they hatched, to the new pond. Because it is in full sun, I covered the surface almost entirely with water lettuce. So far it’s doing a great job of filtering out excessive algae. The fish seem to be more than happy with their new digs.
The fry aren’t the only ones happy with the new pond, a little frog immediately took up residence and hangs out all day, hidden in the water lettuce.
Neither the fish nor the frog seem to mind that the water lettuce doesn’t like the excessive sun. The water lettuce on the other hand is getting quite a sunburn. I am fairly certain that it will survive the season.
The fry are still too small to capture clearly on camera, but the frog didn’t mind striking a pose.
There you have it, the hodgepodge of ponding ponderings.
