Mr. Bill's Pond

The End

2008-09-12T15:30:00.003-06:00

Eight years of work is plenty of time to spend on any one nature project so these pictures are of my final visit to the pond and this will be my last post. It was a great adventure for several of those years, but now it just seems like more yard work and I'm not interested in labor for its own sake. I'm going to leave the blog because it's like a good book that others might be interested in (five years of pictures and personal observations), and I hope the pond is stable enough to maintain itself for many more years because the local wildlife has become so dependent on the water and plant life.

Maintenance is a never ending activity

2008-09-07T19:44:00.006-06:00

And it's little things - my sister and Cashmere have done the hard and heavy stuff. Cleaning out the little canal (6 inches wide, 10 feet long, and 1 inch deep at the most) that waters the plants on the east side of the shop took me all day and I'm not even counting the nap. I sat there for a while today to reconnect a little more and experienced an unexpected sense of the cosmic. Usually (or maybe only lately) the sense evoked has been sedentary, or almost agricultural - like a chore rather than a retreat. I'm just glad that I can still move between the two states.

Goodbye to Mr. Bill

2008-09-06T21:35:00.004-06:00

From his local family and friends to his family and friends who couldn't be here.
It was an incredibly beautiful day and the pond is almost perfect.
The closing of a good story.

Waterfall repair completed

2008-09-06T06:04:00.004-06:00

The kids enjoy being able to cool off in the spillway.

Underneath the tall grass and debris lurks an ecosystem

2008-09-03T15:59:00.005-06:00

Every day I try to do something to the pond, and no matter how insignificant any single task seems at the time, they are adding up. It looks better every day and should be spectacular by mid-fall.

The cool breezes are extending through the day

2008-09-01T18:24:00.003-06:00

More perfect weather

Spent time at the pond this evening

2008-08-31T19:28:00.002-06:00

Nice day

2008-08-31T11:50:00.003-06:00

Just a little more work

2008-08-30T08:36:00.002-06:00

The pond is almost manicured

2008-08-26T20:10:00.003-06:00

Even though we get along perfectly and never argue about anything, from childhood my youngest brother has always done the opposite of anything I ever asked of him, so I finally quit asking. Even now, if I were to ask him to move a piece of junk out of the way, he would stack five more pieces on top of it just to let me know I can't tell him what to do. Which is fine, but I just find it to be odd, and even more so today because our youngest sister has been here for the past week and he has been following her around with a chainsaw, a lawnmower, and a junk trailer, doing whatever she points out as needing to be done.

However that works, she almost finished the pond this afternoon.

Nice evening

2008-08-25T19:07:00.003-06:00

I have been putting off chores until I find time to (I'm not sure what - am I just lazy?) but finished some weeding today and noticed that every little bit helps. The plants are maturing nicely but we need to make the watering system a little more geriatric-friendly, and then figure out some kind of workable mowing system. Camron has refused all of my offers to mow for money (he said "No" almost before I finished saying, "five dollars", so I offered twenty and he said "No" just as quickly), and we can't make him participate in our hobby.
What a hobby. The deer are here at night and early in the morning. The large white owls hunt all night. The heron spends late evenings and nights on the edge of the water. And, the bittern should show up soon.

I took these just before sunset

2008-08-24T20:22:00.002-06:00

Beautiful day

2008-08-24T19:48:00.002-06:00

The weather seems to improve each year, and today is just the latest new level of perfection. The evenings, nights, and mornings are cool, with just the right amount of heat during the afternoon. I spent a lot of time at the pond today.

January 11, 1944 - August 21, 2008

2008-08-21T23:29:00.003-06:00

So long Mr. Bill

Still action packed

2008-08-19T13:50:00.001-06:00

Last week at the pond

2008-08-06T22:27:00.001-06:00

Today the pond looks the best it has all summer.

2008-07-27T20:58:00.002-06:00

Camron and Cashlin's Grandfather, Great-Grandmother, and Aunt are here for the week and everyone seems to be working outside (not that I go outside in this heat, but I can hear them making noises.)

She checks my gate every day to see if intrusion is possible.

2008-07-21T20:26:00.002-06:00

And today she let me know that she knows that the lock isn't really locked. It's just holding the chain together. (She said, "Let me in." I lied and told her that someone else had the key and she said "it isn't locked, just move it!") She is almost as bad as the gopher.

Great job Josh!

2008-07-20T19:55:00.001-06:00

He spent yesterday mowing the pond area and it's starting to look great again.

Quite a lot of rain lately

2008-07-16T23:03:00.003-06:00

1/4" two different times and 1/2" once, but maybe I mentioned that.

I almost got something accomplished today

2008-07-13T19:49:00.004-06:00

It is almost not muggy.

2008-07-11T20:41:00.000-06:00

1.7 inches of rain last night

2008-07-10T21:17:00.003-06:00

I try to be quiet when I walk up on the berm now so the fish won't know I'm there, but it doesn't work out. Fluffy, and Spot, and Shady, and Wiggler, and etc. follow me all around the berm, splashing for food. I know logically that they are fish and they have been led to expect food, but I feel guilt like we were friends and I've hurt their feelings.

Raining some more

2008-07-09T17:24:00.004-06:00

3/4" of rain last night and this morning, and it's sprinkling right now. The fish surface when they hear me on the berm so I gave them some food for the effort.

Sprinkled earlier

2008-07-08T17:59:00.005-06:00

Cashmere weeded her garden all morning and it looks like a real garden again. I've been working on my lazy days of summer and was too busy with that to help her.

Maybe rain, maybe I don't know what.

2008-07-07T20:22:00.003-06:00

And why did I think we could finish trimming the berm?

That there's no dandelion....

2008-07-07T17:32:00.003-06:00

Waterlily

Flowers

2008-07-07T17:09:00.003-06:00

I have no clue what these plants are. They come back every year. I'm certain they come from my grandma Sally and have been here for 15 years. If anyone knows what they are let us know.

Some type of southeastern N.M. wildflower
What are these?

Some kind of native thing. Flowers are tiny.

Bird of Paradise

Things were watered today

2008-07-07T16:57:00.003-06:00

I had a great little helper today.

Mint
Lily's

The pond plants almost appear to need watering.

2008-07-06T20:32:00.002-06:00

Hot and muggy, but nice from inside.

2008-07-05T18:32:00.003-06:00

What happened to the good old days? Rain so infrequent that old people forgot what it was and most young people had never seen it. Dirt storms so powerful they hurled boulders across the plains.When did our beautiful, parched and windblown high plateau become a swamp?

One inch of rain last night

2008-07-04T13:24:00.006-06:00

I went to the pond this morning to take these pictures and Camron was already there, pouring water out of a glass into the pond. When he saw me he said, "The fish are following me. And they come to me when I make noise." Actually, after only two days they are already conditioned to the food, but I still don't want Bill to know I have been feeding them so I took that opportunity to shift the blame to the child. I told him they were wanting food and if he would go and get some (out of the fish food sack) and drop it in, they would really show up. He got a small handful, dropped it in the water, and created a feeding frenzy of catfish, perch, and koi. He was so excited he ran to the house for his camera, and as he ran by his grandfather he yelled, "I gave the fish some food and they're having a frenzy!" I didn't hear what Bill said but it wasn't "NO" because Camron came back with his camera. I explained to him (not my fingerprints) how to carry a larger amount of food, and how to throw it where he could have the best view of the fish feeding. Then I left and let events unfold as they would. Hope it all worked out.

Raining

2008-07-03T21:18:00.002-06:00

They were waiting for me this morning

2008-07-02T19:53:00.003-06:00

I'm sure that Bill will tell me to stop if he finds out I'm feeding the fish, but when I walked up on the berm this morning they started jumping on me like Lamont does when I take him his evening snack.

The breakfast club

2008-06-30T16:17:00.002-06:00

I sometimes forget they live here.

Superwoman has left the building!

2008-06-29T20:00:00.003-06:00

After working here steadily for the past three days, as my sister was getting ready to back out of my driveway and drive 170 miles to her home where the hard work has really been piling up, she kept looking at the pond and finally said, "I need to just finish the rest of the mowing before I leave". She was getting out of the truck to go do it but I told her to go home and we could manage what little is left. I could see that she felt terrible about leaving us with any kind of burden, but she went away because that's just the life of a superhero. It's a big planet, and there's lots of work to do.

Raining

2008-06-28T20:48:00.004-06:00

My sister is still mowing the pond so I'll take pictures of the finished product tomorrow. Nice clouds today.

Sprinkled this afternoon

2008-06-26T20:40:00.004-06:00

Storms have been building every afternoon, but most of the rain has missed so far. Our youngest sister is here for the weekend, and I anticipate that the pond will be cleaned up, all the yards will be mowed and groomed, the houses will be painted, and she will still have time to cook dinner and repair all of the cars before she leaves on Sunday. It's like watching a very clean, efficient, and productive comet fly by.

There is another very large turtle in the pond. It looks like a very large snake when it first sticks its head up, but the turtle beak is quickly obvious. Bill doesn't like them usually stalks every one that shows up, but this one appears to be very cautious and fairly safe for now. My brother located where the deer are sleeping. He said it is the perfect place (yet he found it?).

Stormy and humid

2008-06-25T17:32:00.003-06:00

But not in a good way. The air is stuffy rather than refreshing.

One inch of rain last night

2008-06-24T17:57:00.003-06:00

Raining

2008-06-23T21:10:00.004-06:00

This morning about 6 am when I looked outside there was an adult doe mule deer standing on the pond berm. I see similar incredible events every day and am never prepared to photograph any of them. Even though she couldn't see me, I just froze and stared at her. Then instead of going for the camera I called my brother and sister and told them. By the time I got back to the window she was running away. My brother said he got to watch her for a few minutes and she was healthy and beautiful. He also said that a neighbor to the south has been seeing a doe and buck pair by his house. It's just so odd that just a few years ago they weren't seen in this area.

I think it is raining right now

2008-06-22T23:18:00.005-06:00

Lots of lightning and noise.

6/10 inch of rain last night

2008-06-21T21:10:00.003-06:00

I haven't really been very observant, but have noticed an absence of catfish fry this year. Today there were 3-4 inch fish all over the surface of the pond. They are such perfect replicas of the large fish.

Today is a big day.

2008-06-19T22:05:00.002-06:00

I was too lazy to walk to the pond.

HUGE BUTTERFLY

2008-06-13T20:21:00.002-06:00

This butterfly is huge, way bigger than a hummingbird

Barely over 100 degrees today

2008-06-12T22:51:00.003-06:00

Apparently I have chosen this summer to become completely worthless, but Cashmere gets a little more done every day. She has planted moss rose in the abandoned waterfall. I never could stop the leak into Bill's shop so he doesn't allow us to use it any more. We have a plan to eventually bury the fill-pipe up to the water's edge, eliminate the spillway, and turn the entire waterfall structure into a planter, but even without that the pond is beautiful when we can just keep it mowed and edged.

We are closer to getting the pond manicured

2008-06-09T21:27:00.002-06:00

If we keep this pace I can see a definite finish date of July or August.

Too hot to maintain much of anything today

2008-06-08T21:15:00.004-06:00

Although I can't walk by the pond without doing something - there is always a plant needing water, or some debris to pull out of the water.

This will take a few days, but it's looking better already

2008-06-07T20:27:00.002-06:00

We are doing maintenance tomorrow for sure

2008-06-06T21:50:00.002-06:00

Incredible winds, all last night and today

2008-06-05T21:17:00.003-06:00

I use plural because there appeared to have been several types of wind from different directions with different speeds throughout the day. The maximum average wind speed was 47 mph and the maximum wind gust was 56 mph.
They stopped just as the sun set and everything came alive through the twilight period.

Everything is wilting fhis week

2008-06-03T23:37:00.004-06:00

And we are obviously falling behind in maintenance.

It bums me out that the berm needs mowing so badly

2008-06-01T21:47:00.002-06:00

So I didn't look down while I was out there.

This afternoon at the pond

2008-05-31T21:44:00.003-06:00

There were a lot of fish on the surface but they seem to be hunting rather than stressed. They could hear me walking on the berm and always kept on the opposite side of the pond from me. Stressed fish are sluggish and not very aware.

The internet rejected me yesterday

2008-05-31T11:55:00.002-06:00

But this was the pond during that time.

The pond greens fairly quickly once it gets started.

2008-05-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

Filled in for Cashmere at the pond today

2008-05-28T20:40:00.002-06:00

But mostly I just sat there and looked around

It rarely ends well for the subject of a study

2008-05-27T21:45:00.004-06:00

It's a long and complicated story, but the tree that the hummingbird nest was in is adjacent to Camron's motorcycle track, and the specific limb that it was built on caused him problems when he rode under that tree. We never told him that we found a nest and were watching it so all he knew was that a branch was in his way and he got rid of it. I did find the nest and save it.

The gopher could be gone

2008-05-23T20:33:00.004-06:00

My brother said that his cat Lucy brought a freshly killed gopher through the dog-door on Wednesday night. I watched and there were no fresh dirt piles on the berm yesterday or today. Lucy is a mean cat and doesn't have many (if any) friends, but I can almost like her if she got the pond vandal.

Cashmere thinks that we may have done something that caused problems for the hummingbird - which then led to the disappearance of one of the eggs, so she stayed away from the nest for the past two days. Maybe, but I checked on it anyway.

Colorful

2008-05-21T21:09:00.000-06:00

93 degrees today, but it felt like 100

2008-05-20T20:27:00.002-06:00

Clear Skies & A Little Breeze

2008-05-19T10:18:00.004-06:00

Nice day today, checked on the Hummingbird's Nest as I walked up, was trying to keep quiet , stepped on a twig and the momma flew away. I am still going to try to get a picture of her on the nest.

I can't stop myself

2008-05-19T10:16:00.003-06:00

As soon as my camera was working, I went directly to the nest, and the bird caught me. I am much taller than Cashmere and was able to focus my camera, while her shots were blindly point and click. I get the strangest feeling when I look at this nest and the eggs - like how your stomach feels just before the cars make the first drop on a roller coaster ride.

I intend to leave them alone, but the eggs incubate in 12-19 days, (depending on species?). It would be neat to get video of them hatching but it would be awful to drive the mother crazy (no one knows whether or not males help with the eggs or offspring.)

LATE BREAKING POND NEWS HUMMINGBIRD NEST

2008-05-17T15:29:00.004-06:00

Only minutes ago Kenneth was foraging through the Forrest behind the pond and came across a one inch hummingbirds nest with 2 jelly bean looking eggs inside. This thing is so tiny I put my thumb behind it to show the size of it. Also Kenneth had a handy measuring device to show you the size of it. I find it absolutely amazing, I have seen them on tv and in books but "eau naturale" was thrilling to say the least. Will post more on this as the season progresses.

2008-05-17T10:53:00.001-06:00

The garden gnomes are happy to see that the honeysuckle and bird of paridise are in bloom

More Rain

2008-05-17T10:42:00.003-06:00

Off and on from about 4:30 a.m. today it has been raining. Not a heavy rain just a cold drizzle. Mother Nature must have known I needed a break from watering.

Tremendous winds last night

2008-05-11T20:12:00.002-06:00

An actual copper colored sky

2008-05-09T20:16:00.002-06:00

Stormy evening

2008-05-09T19:58:00.001-06:00

I love the lily pad pictures.

Climbing roses?

2008-05-08T20:43:00.002-06:00

Early in the mornings and late in the afternoons the smells from these roses saturates the pond breezeway. They are now really high up into the pine trees without any noticeable ill effects to either.

The maturing ecosystem

2008-05-08T20:30:00.002-06:00

Each day I am more astonished at the intrinsic nature (to the plains) that the pond presents. Only eight years old in July it's like an ancient camping ground, or watering hole, for what has now been several generations of a variety of small mammals, birds, reptiles, and insects. I forget that when the work it has required makes me think of it as Bill's big aquarium in the back yard (stare at fish - change the water, clean the rocks, feed the fish, check the air, check the temperature, - stare at fish some more, then do it all over again).
Instead, it lives.

It might rain

2008-05-05T17:33:00.003-06:00

Another perfect day

2008-05-04T20:16:00.002-06:00

The pond is becoming colorful

2008-05-03T19:35:00.000-06:00

The rose bushes have climbed 15 to 20 feet up into the pines along the pond breezeway.

2008-05-01T17:15:00.001-06:00

Yesterday at the pond

2008-04-30T14:24:00.003-06:00

Cold this morning, but perfect afternoon

2008-04-27T19:33:00.003-06:00

This must be how a plant system matures. I've noticed that every year (from the beginning), the pond has appeared more uniformly lush, but never understood that our efforts were the cause until I started watching it come to life under Cashmere's care. I have a new view from my back door.

The bird in the last picture is a Bullock's oriole. Today he took over the salvia plant at the southeast corner of the pond, but he spent most of his time fighting off the hummingbirds.

Cashmere's work

2008-04-26T20:51:00.001-06:00

The pond is alive with activity

2008-04-25T19:09:00.002-06:00

Bill has been making it more kid friendly.

Very nice sunset colors

2008-04-22T21:44:00.001-06:00

Perfect weather

2008-04-21T20:50:00.002-06:00

Cashmere and Josh grilled outside today and we ate in the breezeway in mid-afternoon when it was shady and the day is the most pleasant. Great food and what a nice time.
It's interesting that I enjoy the place more now that I'm not so attached. I have loved the pond from the beginning (8 years in July) but I have rarely enjoyed it. I was engaged in a nurturing project rather than pursuing direct entertainment, and it was mostly solitary. Although I did have a fantasy of some day drinking coffee there in the mornings before going to work, I never once did that. Not for any sad reason (like I ran out of coffee) but because it's like raising a baby and there was always something else that needed to be done. I couldn't stop to enjoy anything right then.
Anyway, the pond is mature enough to stand on it's own now, and I've not only stopped annoying them, I've stopped feeling obligated to do so. They're not only maintaining it well, they have actually integrated that nice space into their lifestyle.

I've come a long way from bickering with Mr. Bill over how to decorate and maintain the big aquarium in his back yard.

Danger In The Trees

2008-04-20T10:25:00.002-06:00

The Cats Sweetie Kittie and Meowzer sit up in the Mesquite Trees where the hummingbird feeder is stalking the little hummingbirds. One little bird will distract the cats while the other 3 have a drink. They seem to take turns and work with eachother when the cats are around. When the cats are not there the team falls apart. The hummers fight with eachother over the feeder. They could definately get more eating done if they would use teamwork all the time. I never noticed that hummingbirds were such mean little things.

Interesting winds today

2008-04-19T16:32:00.004-06:00

Today is the first time in a while that I sat at the pond and watched it unfold. The serenity was almost disturbing.

Hummingbird

2008-04-18T19:15:00.001-06:00

Not the best pictures in the world but I caught a female hummingbird at the feeder today.

Pleasant day

2008-04-18T19:11:00.000-06:00

I forgot to change the camera setting so these are distorted but they are all I took of the pond this evening.

2008-04-17T19:42:00.003-06:00

Or maybe I didn't forget. These aren't so bad, especially the moon picture - my best one yet.

Interesting clouds moving in

2008-04-17T14:24:00.001-06:00

She and her mom work on the pond every morning

2008-04-16T12:39:00.003-06:00

We rested in the shade and ate candy eggs while her mom watered the yard

2008-04-15T13:28:00.002-06:00

Nice colors today

2008-04-14T21:24:00.002-06:00

Perfect Sunday

2008-04-13T19:45:00.003-06:00

Strange that the wind didn't stop at sunset.

2008-04-11T22:02:00.003-06:00

Took this when the wind slowed down for a few seconds

2008-04-10T23:01:00.003-06:00

Stormy day

2008-04-09T17:00:00.002-06:00

Perfectly nice day

2008-04-08T20:11:00.003-06:00

Just A Cloud

2008-04-08T19:52:00.003-06:00

Just as the sun was setting I snapped this picture of a cloud. I call it Angel-Winged Iris as bloom.

This day last year

2008-04-07T21:56:00.002-06:00

80+ degrees in the daytime seems to have arrived.

2008-04-06T19:55:00.004-06:00

Our brother's birthday

2008-04-05T19:21:00.002-06:00

I am glad that Bill and my sister had that remarkable child.

2008-04-04T20:58:00.002-06:00

Obviously it will be mostly up to her to keep the pond maintained from now on (or until she breaks, whichever comes first).