Mi pawnd rebild tew

[sissy]

I have to owls hanging around here ,I guess there barn owls but still owls and I don't thrust them.I have seen what they can do

 

[taherrmann4]

Sissy are you sure it wasn't this?

[ame]

 

[sissy]

there nuts If I saw someone doing it around here , then I would suspect they have been hanging around there still to long or they are growing something they shouldn't be growing and need to be shot at ,I can help them out with that too .

 

[DrDave]

Owwwwwwlllllll!

 

[sissy]

This is an area where they hide pot plants in any clearing around and you see the drug spotting plane flying around here all the time .Caught 30 mexicans last year mcdonalds cups with pot plants growing in them over 4 thousand cups

 

[Shdwdrgn]

The hawks around here will grab up fair sized rodents, and have been seen grabbing a fish from ponds, so its something I keep an eye on. Regardless, the fish always seem less 'jumpy' when they have floating plants to hide under.

I think I finished off my ground-cover today. Lowes has started their clearance sales, so I picked up a bunch more creeping jenny, another 6-pack of perriwinkle, and some fountain grasses they had for half price. The jenny was used to finish off the bare paths I still had by the fence leading up to the filters. Once that fills in, it will make a great covering to hide the paths, but still leave them accessible. The fountain grasses went in near the other two grasses I planted last month and help fill in the area around the irises a bit more. And the perriwinkle finished off some spots that were still bare of ground cover, and should help give a more complete covering of evergreen plants through the Winter.

I also picked up another lizard tail plant... The nursery had a very healthy one on hand that is nearly twice the size of the plant I already had in my pond (which is also growing like crazy). They seem to grow well here, and I like how they look, so this is another one I'll be keeping an eye on next Spring to see how they come up.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... I haven't had to add any more bacterial supplement, the water has been staying very clear! I guess the larger body of water just takes a bit longer to find its balance. I expect next year won't be so difficult, but new water always has to be such a pain -- we spend all this time trying to add in all that stuff the City so helpfully removed for us

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Hooray!!! Today I was watching the small fish after feeding them in the lower pond, and happened to spot one of my original standard dojos pop his head out of the rocks for a bite! This is the first time I've seen any indication of them being alive since the day I let them go in the pond, and this guy was obviously healthy. He's about doubled in size. Wish I could have gotten a better look at him, but I didn't want to go digging through the rocks and scare him. It's just good to finally see that yes, somebody has survived to this point, and there's a good chance the others are also hiding in the rocks (I put in a lot of large rocks around the edges for the rosy-reds to spawn in and for babies to hide in).

I decided to make a mad-dash towards Winter, borrowed my sister's rotortiller, and ground up the section of yard behind my garage that was packed as hard as cement. I turned in a couple cubes of peat, planted some full-shade grass seed, and have been watering it three times a day for the past week. Last night the grass popped up everywhere! That last section of yard I had to replant took 2-3 weeks before the grass sprouted. but its just been so hot here, I guess the seed didn't want to waste any time. That works for me, as we only have another month before it really starts cooling off at night, maybe two months before the growing season is done. Should be just enough time for the grass to get some good roots going. I haven't had grass growing back in this area in years, because of the high traffic. The addition of peat to the soil should really help keep it from packing down badly again.

 

[j.w]

That's great news on the fish, congrats and good that you got busy before winter to get your grass going gung ho!

 

[addy1]

Our ground is like a rock, but we are finally getting some rain.......... and maybe going back to "normal" temperatures.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

This area I'm working now is the main pathway from the back gate across to the patio. Plus I re-did the landscaping in that area. I've also had a ton of stuff stacked up against the garage for some time, and finally got it cleared back enough to expose the sprinkler heads again. On top of that, the area is underneath a large pine tree, and doesn't get a lot of exposure to sun. Needless to say, the grass was trampled to death some time ago, and without the grass growing, the soil just got packed solid.

Last year I got more aggressive about trimming up the bottom branches of the pine tree. I like to keep it cut back far enough that I can comfortably walk underneath it, and that allows some sunlight to shine back into the area. So with the new grass growing in, I'll see if I can dig up some nightcrawlers from the garden to break up the deeper soil, and see if I can keep this area nice and green again.

We've been getting some serious thunderstorms blowing over nearly every day, but unfortunately they just blow right past and we're not getting a drop.

 

[DrDave]

We had an unexpected rainstorm about a week ago overnight. Took us by surprise, this time of the year it is dry in So. Cal.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

All right, its been awhile since I posted any picture updates, and the plants have been growing in like crazy this year. You'll have to excuse my string fence that shows in some of the pics, I got some new grass seed growing in a shady area under the pine tree, and don't want the dogs tearing them out.

The area to the left got all new grass seed just a couple months ago, and has filled in nicely. The bright green moneywort is crawling over the rocks, reaching into the water and out into the yard.

Strawberries, moneywort, perriwinkle, various grasses and irises line this side of the pond, then in the water I have more irises, lilies, corkscrew and snake grass, mini cattails (which are actually showing signs of life this year, compared to the last two years), lizard tails, and hyacinths spread throughout.

Some recently planted moneywort marks my path to the filters and should fill in completely next year. Between the various grasses and rises, this are is starting to look more like a bog from the other side.

What? You guys think that just because I'm standing here, you need fed again? Sheesh! Oh, and my lily bloomed again... This is the first time it's ever bloomed twice in one season, so I guess its happy!

 

[addy1]

beautiful, it has really grown, great job! Love all the plants you have put in, your water sure is clear.

Next year it will be even more settled, can't believe how all mine have grown.

 

[j.w]

Gosh it looks like it's been there for a long time like that now looking great. I remember the splotches in your grass and bareness around the creek. Now look at it, it's all green grass and growing plants like crazy. And fish are looking up at you saying thank you and oh yes.....................where's the food fellow?