Here we go -- FINALLY! A pond for wildlife...

[Lisak1]

@bagsmom WOW is all I can say! You outdid yourself woman! It's GORGEOUS! I can't even believe that's the same hole in the ground we've been staring at for months and months! Worth every bit of the struggle!

 

[YShahar]

Did you collect any good recipes from the back seat you can share?

No. Sadly I couldn't cook my way out of a wet paper bag. When I decided to get married I told the matchmaker that I needed a husband who could cook. She matched me up with some real duds (rather than dudes). I eventually found my husband/live-in-chef online. Used, but in good condition! ;-)

 

[GBBUDD]

I DON'T KNOW , That estrogen stuff is some pretty powerful stuff. they say testosterone is the power drug. but once for once i think estrogen wins hands down. And a truck for of ladies who play with plastic explosives and by pass the rolling pin . i Don't know me thinks your hubby is one daring man.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Looking fantastic!

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks to everyone for all the kind words!
Update - Mama deer came by today with a new baby!!!!!! I will have a hard time getting mad when they nibble on my water lilies now. Or not. I went outside to discover one with all the leaves missing. It was in a very hard-to-get-to spot. So I made like a crazy woman and sawed a limb off a tree, then used the branches to make a hopefully too-poky-to-fool-with kind of temporary fence in the access areas. It is a little busy, but otherwise looks fairly cool.
Today my neighbor sort of pushed my buttons. She was questioning my set up and skeptical that my water was moving - and so was worried about mosquitoes. I can totally understand being worried about mosquitoes! But I said - in the three years it has taken me to build this, don't you think I would have thought of that? And planned for it? The water moves in the bog, as it goes down the waterfall. AND it has a little pipe that dribbles water and agitates the surface. There are the two aforementioned waterfalls. AND there is a jet at the far end, moving the water in the direction of the intake bay, which is sucking water down into it. AND because I, too, am paranoid about mosquitoes, I put bits of mosquito dunk in any suspicious areas. There are gazillions of dragonflies flying around and about 30 voracious minnows that think they are piranhas. And tadpoles. And goldfish. I have been looking for signs of mosquito larvae and haven't seen any. This ain't just a hole in the ground, sister! Geez. But I have a cousin who had West Nile so I am really careful about mosquitoes too. I can understand her concern, but she should know me better than that. She is a great person, so I will let it slide.
I was feeding the fish a little bit for my entertainment. It is fun to watch the minnows attack the food pellets! But now I have a little string algae on the plants. That's ok. I will stop feeding and let the fish have some salad for a while.
I still have a lot of rock work to do around the flower beds but things are coming together.

 

[j.w]

Thanks to everyone for all the kind words!
Update - Mama deer came by today with a new baby!!!!!! I will have a hard time getting mad when they nibble on my water lilies now. Or not. I went outside to discover one with all the leaves missing. It was in a very hard-to-get-to spot. So I made like a crazy woman and sawed a limb off a tree, then used the branches to make a hopefully too-poky-to-fool-with kind of temporary fence in the access areas. It is a little busy, but otherwise looks fairly cool.
Today my neighbor sort of pushed my buttons. She was questioning my set up and skeptical that my water was moving - and so was worried about mosquitoes. I can totally understand being worried about mosquitoes! But I said - in the three years it has taken me to build this, don't you think I would have thought of that? And planned for it? The water moves in the bog, as it goes down the waterfall. AND it has a little pipe that dribbles water and agitates the surface. There are the two aforementioned waterfalls. AND there is a jet at the far end, moving the water in the direction of the intake bay, which is sucking water down into it. AND because I, too, am paranoid about mosquitoes, I put bits of mosquito dunk in any suspicious areas. There are gazillions of dragonflies flying around and about 30 voracious minnows that think they are piranhas. And tadpoles. And goldfish. I have been looking for signs of mosquito larvae and haven't seen any. This ain't just a hole in the ground, sister! Geez. But I have a cousin who had West Nile so I am really careful about mosquitoes too. I can understand her concern, but she should know me better than that. She is a great person, so I will let it slide.
I was feeding the fish a little bit for my entertainment. It is fun to watch the minnows attack the food pellets! But now I have a little string algae on the plants. That's ok. I will stop feeding and let the fish have some salad for a while.
I still have a lot of rock work to do around the flower beds but things are coming together.

If ya don't see em they ain't there and that's the story and stick to it

 

[addy1]

I have not had one mosquito land on me since we built the ponds. Go a street over and they do nothing but complain about them.

 

[YShahar]

It's looking fantastic!

And no, I also haven't had a problem with mosquitoes since getting the pond up and running.

We had been plagued for over a decade by the Asian tiger mosquitoes, which evidently got inadvertently imported in car tires. Seems they don't lay their eggs in water, but rather, on the sides of containers that will fill up next time it rains. So, yeah... car tires. For years, I couldn't sit outside during the day unless I was covered head-to-toe in clothing, and even then, the little vampires got up my sleeves and left bleeding sores.

But the pond is now teeming with voracious gambuzi fish, and the air above the pond is filled with dragon flies. So even the dreaded Asian tiger mosquitoes are in retreat! Still have some of the native mosquitoes in the evening, but fewer than before.

 

[GBBUDD]

Like bags my neighbor brought up the mosquitos bs as well. I do not have even remotely slow water flow any where. And the one thing I do have is dragon flies

 

[bagsmom]

Like bags my neighbor brought up the mosquitos bs as well. I do not have even remotely slow water flow any where. And the one thing I do have is dragon flies

I feel like there are fewer mosquitoes out there, for sure. But in the interest of fairness to my neighbor, I will ask: do mosquitoes need totally still water? Or does a gentle flow allow them to survive? I have visible agitation in some areas, but in others, the water moves smoothly and slowly. I think the minnows get in all those nooks and crannies but I could get some aeration and create additional movement that way.

 

[GBBUDD]

Or does a gentle flow allow them to survive?

no they need a puddle a dew drop on a blade of grass or on a leaf. any movement and they are done for. not to say in-between a plant along the edge of the pond cant harbor a dead spot

 

[SarahT]

Florida pest control people tell me mosquitoes need a "small capful" of water to breed and that most people don't realize breeding spots are most likely to be the bottom saucer of the flower pot, or a plant where the leaves are tight together (like a lily of the valley, or a pineapple!) that water collects in, or the dreaded clogged gutter or storm sewer. Ponds that have fish which eat the larvae, and attract dragonflies, and frogs/ toads/ salamanders and lizards that eat the live ones. I have very few mosquitoes, even during the rainy season. (SO FAR!)
You might want to go outside at dusk, by the pond and see how many there are. Assuming it's not bad, invite your neighbor to "inspect" over a glass of wine with you. There won't be none, but it may lay her concerns to rest.

 

[bagsmom]

Today's update: I think love is in the air. All seven goldfish are chasing the crap out of each other. It is fairly exciting to watch in this larger pond, since they have the room to get up some serious SPEED! I will be interested to see if I see some babies in the months ahead. With the school of minnows in there, I don't know if eggs would be eaten right away?

 

[bagsmom]

This morning, there is a pile of foam tumbling around at the base of the waterfall. Folks, I think spawning is now confirmed.

 

[bagsmom]

More updates:
I have been working a lot, so I haven't spent as much time outside as I need to. And when I do get out there, I am playing in the back and completely neglecting the front yard. What a jungle it is this year!
For the moment, Mom and Baby Deer are being pretty polite. I hope I didn't jinx that. I have tried to put up my branch barriers and some re-purposed wire fence (from a pallet of rocks) in the areas they were using to access the water lilies. For the moment, everything is growing. I have a few nice hornwort "trees" down in the water. I hope they make a good place for baby fish to hide.
We have had SO MANY giant rainstorms, the pond is very, very full. Probably an inch and a half over ideal water level. This is the point at which my overflow functions. The only downside to that is that the draw into the intake bay is less powerful. It still works, but it isn't as efficient. With the excessive rain, the overflow was creating a squishy area, so I dug a skinny little ditch to direct that water farther back. Everything everywhere is WET all over the neighborhood. (I just know the excess mosquitoes from that will continue to be a point of debate. They are NOT coming from the pond. I keep checking and I am honestly amazed by that.)
I have been using the recycled rocks from our collapsed and rebuilt wall to contain the berm around the pond. I am liking how it looks!
I have to finish that so I can use up that rock pile. Once the rocks are gone, there will be room for the rock place to deliver more egg rock and some flat stepping stones. After the delivery, I can continue my drainage ditch project. (I don't want the delivery bobcat to drive over my work.) It is all an exercise in planning!
So, for the time being, things are growing and progress continues - slowly.
OH! We had an owl visit! That was super cool! I have to take some pictures now - then I will post them.

 

[bagsmom]

Random pictures from this morning. It still definitely looks like a new pond, but I can start to see what it might look like next year!

 

[combatwombat]

Looking better with every set of pictures. Love the forked stump you have in the bog.

Our local vector control says mosquito count this year is 10x the average due to all the rain from La Niña. An we've noticed! There's a species of mosquito that lay eggs in dry floodplains. The eggs can remain viable for a decade or more, I guess, and once the area floods, they hatch en masse. Good news is that species doesn't bite (so they say) and doesn't carry disease.

 

[GBBUDD]

from most minnows, I would say no, they won't eat the fry or eggs.

They are NOT coming from the pond. I keep checking and I am honestly amazed by that.)

Odds are you are probably breading less than if your backyard was all lawn. The minnows will take care of any blood suckers

 

[bagsmom]

from most minnows, I would say no, they won't eat the fry or eggs.
Odds are you are probably breading less than if your backyard was all lawn. The minnows will take care of any blood suckers

Those little minnows are extremely fun to watch! I am enjoying them! They are very active and busy, busy, busy!

 

[GBBUDD]

i put in a couple hundred neons . they are boring they go down the bottom and come up now and then . the glow danios are very cool night or day you can see them clearly and at their size it's not too much. Even with the colors that they are it's perfect can see them from across the pond playing darting around