last days of summer

[brokensword]

I think this might be my last nice weekend by the pond, so am posting a current video of the inhabitants. Summer sure went fast!

 

[mrsclem]

Wow, quite the collection there. Envy having the underwater plants, I have a few lilies - and koi! None of my other plant have survived.

 

[brokensword]

Wow, quite the collection there. Envy having the underwater plants, I have a few lilies - and koi! None of my other plant have survived.

Thanks, MrsC; I never intended to have koi but I wanted more color options than my goldfish were giving me. Got bit by the bug just a little, but as the saying goes; I can stop anytime! And not my fault that 14 goldfish didn't have anything better to do than kiss-and-tell.

It's taken a bit to get the hornwort going but seems this summer helped a lot. I don't even think the fish are interested, so I may eventually have an 'addy-like' forest some day and it'll need trimming. Have you tried hornwort in your pond? I also have lilies, most of which are netted and in the far/deep end while a few I've put on bricks just below the water surface, to keep the koi honest.

Thanks for the looksee!

 

[mrsclem]

Tried all the underwater plants, never last an hour!

 

[addy1]

addy-like' forest some day

My fish love the forest! They drop eggs on the plants and the other fish go into a frenzy eating them up. I watch them on the cams. I do yank some now and then, but always leave a nice amount for the winter. They eat off the plants all of the time.

 

[BarbO]

What a awesome pond and great video! Hard to believe that will all be under ice in several weeks? And here in NC I get asked all the time how I can leave my few goldfish in my pond over the winter...and don't they die???

 

[addy1]

Very nice group of fish!

 

[Lisak1]

@brokensword - don't say that! We have LOTS MORE TIME! haha! I was pointing out all the plants that have been touched by the cold to my husband yesterday and all of a sudden noticed a bloom on a water hyacinth in the pond! First time we've ever had one bloom in the pond! My hope was restored that we have weeks and weeks of lovely weather left! Well, maybe days and days... but still - there's TIME!

That's a great video! I always love the fish-eye view of the pond!

 

[brokensword]

Tried all the underwater plants, never last an hour!

ya gotta stop sprinkling them with cocktail sauce...

 

[brokensword]

My fish love the forest! They drop eggs on the plants and the other fish go into a frenzy eating them up. I watch them on the cams. I do yank some now and then, but always leave a nice amount for the winter. They eat off the plants all of the time.

it's been a slow process; probably because I have quite a bit of shade over top, but at least it's a start. The floaters do too well, I guess.

 

[brokensword]

What a awesome pond and great video! Hard to believe that will all be under ice in several weeks? And here in NC I get asked all the time how I can leave my few goldfish in my pond over the winter...and don't they die???

Thanks for the compliment! Actually, I've been 'tenting' the pond the last few winters so hoping 'no ice' again while the snow is flying. Sure cuts down the startup time in the spring! Goldfish are tough, they can even survive being frozen. But as long as you're at least 2' deep, you'll be just fine over winter. I know some here that have had their fish survive in 18" ponds!

 

[brokensword]

Very nice group of fish!

Thanks, Addy.
I wasn't satisfied with the variations of gf so I branched out into koi. Finally gave me a 'good' reason to enlarge the pond, dontchaknow?

 

[brokensword]

@brokensword - don't say that! We have LOTS MORE TIME! haha! I was pointing out all the plants that have been touched by the cold to my husband yesterday and all of a sudden noticed a bloom on a water hyacinth in the pond! First time we've ever had one bloom in the pond! My hope was restored that we have weeks and weeks of lovely weather left! Well, maybe days and days... but still - there's TIME!

That's a great video! I always love the fish-eye view of the pond!

Well, seems there's sort of a rule (think more 'guideline') here when it comes to sitting out by the pond with my wife; she has a very narrow window of 'comfort'; above 82 and I have to have the umbrella up and the fan blowing. Below 78 and I have to fetch a blanket. Weird, yeah, I know, but that's the routine! Hence, I don't think we'll get any more 70s until Indian Summer and it's quite fickle around here, rarely lasting more than 3 days and typically, NOT on a weekend, so yeah, I think this was it!

I tried an experiment this year with the hyacinth in that SUPPOSEDLY, they like to be confined. Did that and STILL only got 3 blooms. AND, we had decently hot, sunny weather this summer, so they can't use that excuse. Next year, they're definitely not going to take a prime spot in the pond anymore--I'll relegate them to a pot on the patio and they can just laugh behind my back. That's fine, I'm getting older and can't hear that well anymore anyhow...

I've tried to 'enhance' my video efforts and think I've hit on a winning formula; I mounted a waterproof go pro to the bottom of an RC boat (in this case, an alligator head=dual purposes!) so I can send it anywhere in the pond now. Used to use a long pole but since I expanded, my reach from my cozy lounge chair is a bit short. I know, sucks, doesn't it? It's offset by the fact all the beverages are right next to me!

heh heh

Thanks for looking!

 

[TheFishGuy]

yeah, It does appear to be the last little while of summer, although not good for me cause Im still tryna dig a pond!

 

[brokensword]

yeah, It does appear to be the last little while of summer, although not good for me cause Im still tryna dig a pond!

which is a LOT better for you as digging when it's 90 is just not the same as when the temps are in the 50-60s. Trust me, I've done both. Lost 15 pounds the first time I dug...