worked on pond some more

[picklespickles]

i worked on enlarging the pond mudhole glorified baby wading pool tonight for about an hour. got my ashtma bronchitis whatever you want to call it up. stopped every few minutes.

still made good progress. now it's about a foot deep and about four by three. the geese kept jumping in and out of it.

funny how we try to keep htings so clean for them but they like it dirty. the geese were going to town investigating the dirt and diggin it out of the water.

eventually, and this may be next spring, i want to have a least a horseshoe pond if not a doughnut one with a small island in the middle. i build up the island area right now with the dirt i excavate a bit at a time.

before winter starts too much, i want to have a tarp lining it with a lot of dirt piled over it.

i remember seeing something that was a pond de icer for pretty cheap that was shaped like a lily pad i think. has anyone seen anything like that?

 

[Scrambled Egg]

I have a 10'x10'x20" pond in my backyard full of koi and extremely fertile goldfish!! I just stopped feeding my fish for the winter becasue the water has been 50 degrees for days --yep,even in north carolina we get cold snaps!! I did buy one of those floating pond de-icers though --off ebay -about 40 bucks, in case it freezes this winter. I may not have to use it though becasue I have a defuser blowing air into the water and that seems to make th ewater move around enough that it likely won't freeze. You will need a way for the gases from their poop and leaf decay...to escape or your fish will die. That pond is my money pit, no kidding, way worse than my other critters. The chemicals and air blowers, de-icers, liner, rocks around it... and fish food......it's pretty and I love it but it is not cheap!! good luck with yours

 

[chickbea]

I have a little pond/puddle in my yard. I made it about three years ago with one of those do-it-yourself kits. Mine just has two spoiled regular comet goldfish in it (although I just moved them inside, we freeze solid here).
Depending on where you live, the pump or aerator may keep the water from freezing.

 

[picklespickles]

there are no fish in it right now so i am fine. maybe one day. it's purely for the enjoyment of the ducks and geese and my enjoyment of their enjoyment as i sit inside after a long day.

so what is a diffuser?

i can see totally how it would become a money pit. but a good once.

i have thought of getting a feeder fish like goldfsih or minnows and putting in there to see if the birds would enjoy. but it wouldn't be like pets, like for food.

my firend says koi are super expensive. do you have favorites with names and such?

 

[picklespickles]

do you just run the pump off an electric cord into the house? or one of those solar things or ?

 

[Scrambled Egg]

Hey Pickles, glad to see you survived the whole day after your early morning foray into the horse world!! My pond didn't have enough oxygen in the water with the plants (of which I have thrown out nearly all of them) and the ever increasing numbers of goldfish (comets now all sizes, some about 7 inches long) and koi (some of them about 10 or more inches long). I would come home and find them gasping at the top of the water and again in the mornings after the plants had used all the o2 during the night. A diffuser sits, covered, outside the pond and blows o2 through a hose into the pond. My fish only come to the top now for food because the water is so well aerated. I had a filter and pump unit in it but it never put the air in it needed so I took it out totally for the winter --too cold to get in it and change the filter anyway!! We ran current from the box our outside air conditioner unit uses. Hope that helps!! Darlene

 

[picklespickles]

thanks for the info.

 

[picklespickles]

okay. got a chill tonight and my asthma wasn't terribly happy with me, but i got the pond to a point where i want it! yeah!~

i wouund up making it be a fish shape. the main part where they can swim a bit is the fish body. then the tail part is like two little trenches where they can eat mud and such. i think the chickens will way like it too. they love to sluice through muddy water.

then there are a copule, three, small hills where i dumped the dirt as i dug it out.

they liked climbing on the dirt so much, i was thinking of putting a pile of dirt in for the boy goat and the dog to climb too. the geese like climbing on the various logs i have out there best and also the new pile of dirt and being king of the mountain. i sort of thought that would fit the goose personality.

it makes me feel safer with the geese now at the house. they are like watch dogs. i like it.

the pond is not that deep, about the depth of the metal part on a shovel. maybe a foot? mabye later i will make it deeper. in the spring. ha. but for now, out of breath and getting cold, i'd say it's finished.

 

[johnnyjack]

ok i want to see a pic- of this pond ur workin on lol

 

[picklespickles]

no camera.

picture this:

fat lady, gray hair. the occasional huff and puff.

leaning on a shovel. then a dig, then a few more all in a row. then, leaning back, holding back looking up at sky and saying, uh, hey, god, surely you know how to use a shovel.