South side of pond
Monday, August 23, 2004
Thursday, August 19, 2004
08/19/04
The strangest thing is occurring - after four years of being frog-free, and several introduction failures, the pond has become Frogville almost overnight. It started with a frog here and a frog there last weekend, and by last night there were frogs jumping everywhere. These first ones are much too fast to be photographed, but as the population increases, slow (or just unconcerned) frogs will start to appear.
The time is perfect for late Summer oxygen inversion problems and Bill is determined to not lose any fish this year. The pump that he uses to pull water from the bottom broke several days ago and he doesn't think the waterfall and sprinkler system will oxygenate enough in this heat. The fish don't show any signs of stress yet (such as being on the surface in the early morning trying to find oxygen), but his school of pet whale-catfish ignored him when he tried to give them food treats yesterday. I don't know if I have ever mentioned that group of fish, but they are almost human. They are the largest fish in the pond, and they are waiting for him every morning at the same time. I walk early in the mornings, and have usually circled the pond before Bill is out there, and always thought it was odd that when I walked by a certain spot, a group of fish would surface with their mouths open. One day I showed up just as Bill did and watched his ritual. He gets a small tray of fish treats, walks up on the berm, and taps his cane on the ground. The fish surface and have an eating frenzy for the main course, then spend another thirty minutes skimming the surface like whales. It is fairly impressive to watch.
The time is perfect for late Summer oxygen inversion problems and Bill is determined to not lose any fish this year. The pump that he uses to pull water from the bottom broke several days ago and he doesn't think the waterfall and sprinkler system will oxygenate enough in this heat. The fish don't show any signs of stress yet (such as being on the surface in the early morning trying to find oxygen), but his school of pet whale-catfish ignored him when he tried to give them food treats yesterday. I don't know if I have ever mentioned that group of fish, but they are almost human. They are the largest fish in the pond, and they are waiting for him every morning at the same time. I walk early in the mornings, and have usually circled the pond before Bill is out there, and always thought it was odd that when I walked by a certain spot, a group of fish would surface with their mouths open. One day I showed up just as Bill did and watched his ritual. He gets a small tray of fish treats, walks up on the berm, and taps his cane on the ground. The fish surface and have an eating frenzy for the main course, then spend another thirty minutes skimming the surface like whales. It is fairly impressive to watch.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
08/17/04
Cashmere, Bill's daughter, and the person who has taken most of the photos on this log, has a new and much better camera, and will be posting photos and comments on her own now. I already like what she has done with the dragon flys, even the blurred ones. I'll still post photos, but no more close up attempts.
During the past week I have seen two of the leopard frogs that Bill's friend, Juan, brought from his pond in June. They are approximately 2 1/2" long X 1" wide, light tan or brown, with dark (green?) irregular spots. One hopped from the waterfall into the water as I was walking by, and the other jumped off of the bank onto some moss when I was trimming the edge of the pond with clippers.
The other strange sighting was by Bill. Over the past two weeks he has seen a parrot flying around the water.
I have decided that the crepe myrtle is the best plant introduced this summer. I expected blooms but this will be an incredible pond ornament in a few years.
Finally, August and we haven't lost a single fish this year (to suffocation - plenty have been absorbed into the food chain). We managed to anticipate the oxygen extremes and countered them.
During the past week I have seen two of the leopard frogs that Bill's friend, Juan, brought from his pond in June. They are approximately 2 1/2" long X 1" wide, light tan or brown, with dark (green?) irregular spots. One hopped from the waterfall into the water as I was walking by, and the other jumped off of the bank onto some moss when I was trimming the edge of the pond with clippers.
The other strange sighting was by Bill. Over the past two weeks he has seen a parrot flying around the water.
I have decided that the crepe myrtle is the best plant introduced this summer. I expected blooms but this will be an incredible pond ornament in a few years.
Finally, August and we haven't lost a single fish this year (to suffocation - plenty have been absorbed into the food chain). We managed to anticipate the oxygen extremes and countered them.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Monday, August 09, 2004
County Fair Week = Rain/Humidity
Although we didn't break 100 degrees this weekend, it was hotter than any of the previous 100+ days, and as I watch through the window from work, the clouds are building for an afternoon of seriously high humidity but probably very little rain. It's odd that no matter when the Fair is scheduled (first of August or last of August), this type of weather shows up for it, and it doesn't indicate a cooling trend. The nights will start to cool down, but the daytime heat will persist through September and probably October. I worked on the pond on both days, but whatever I cleaned up was overgrown again this morning. I'm kind of tired of weedeaters and mowing.
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