New member...pond, waterfall

[rb.]

Just posted for the first time today, will attempt to upload pics. Pond was installed a year ago, just puts plants and goldfish in this spring. Slapped some moss on the rocks of the waterfall from the backyard, and boy, has it grown!

 

[addy1]

very nice rb

 

[j.w]

Love how you put that moss (what kind of moss?) on the rocks and what kind of rock is that? It's pretty cool looking rocks. Cute set up w/ your pond and plants around it :lol:

 

[taherrmann4]

JW beat me to it. Nice lookin pond and really like the moss on the rocks.

 

[addy1]

I think rb needs to deliver some of those nice rocks to us!

 

[rb.]

Thanks, everyone. LOL

The moss is good old, standard, native northern Ontario moss. It was growing in the backyard in the shade. We're on solid clay here, so the grass gave up in that spot, and the moss moved in. And I relocated it.

The stone...that's an interesting one. It came from a local landscape supply business, they called it wormstone, for lack of a true name. I live at the eastern edge of Lake Superior, and grew up in the country. My dad built our house, and when the well was dug, they brought up the soil. The top of the pile they brought up was almost a pure white, powdery silt, like gray clay, but it didn't stick together. It came from a depth of 22feet. My brother and I played in it as kids. Above that, our land was almost pure sand. The company that I bought the stone from is based out of the same, small, rural community. I'll have to take some pics of just the rocks to really show the next bit. All the rocks are roughly the same height (as was the slab of about 6'x3' that I passed on when offered), the only difference being some rocks have a curved edge, from what appears to be erosion. They look like there are brown worms, in a different texture, running through the almost pur white rock. Some dont have the brown, but "wormholes" where the brown would be. I think this rock is the same white, silty stuff that came up from 22' down from my childhood well, and may have been lake bed, or just the surface of the ground in eastern the Lake Superior area. I suspect the wormholes were where plant roots were, when the silt was compressed by the glacier in the last ice age, and when the glacier retreated, it pulled the brown sand that is on the surface now, down into where the roots had been, and then, over time, that was compressed (10 to 20 feet of sand, possibly). A layer of silt compressed would make for pretty uniform rocks in depth. Anyway, that's my theory. I do know they are heavier than the local sandstone...Dad used that on the outside of my childhood home, and I had to help move a lot of it.

I'll get some pics close up in the morning. It's definitely neat rock.

 

[addy1]

Thanks for the explanation, looking forward to seeing pictures.

 

[j.w]

Yep love to see more pictures and thanks for the info.

 

[rb.]

Sorry...crazy day. Will try for tomorrow, in between 4 soccer games...a tournament weekend, and two kids involved.

 

[addy1]

Take your time we aren't going anywhere..........

 

[j.w]

Understand completely.........been there and done that several yrs ago :surfing:

 

[callingcolleen1]

Hello rb, long time no hear! Are you still running your pond?

 

[sissy]

wow nice pond ,do you take your fish in for the winter .

 

[rb.]

Hello rb, long time no hear! Are you still running your pond?

Hello, from the Way-Back Machine. LOL. Life just gets in the way.

Still running the pond. Last year I over-wintered my 6 goldfish in my dining room...never do THAT again. Aquariums are far more work than even my small pond. I could not keep up with water quality issues at all, and they ate every bit of plant I had in there. Pigs. LOL

This past winter I left them in the pond, and my husband built a plywood and rigid foam cover, with ABS pipe for gas release. I stuck an air stone in, no heater. This was a very long winter, and very cold. Lots of snow for insulation. The other day, the snow was finally gone from the cover, so I removed it. I was hoping the fish weren't dead.

Not only were all 6 alive, but active, and larger! I have 2 small tubs of daylillies in the pond, and they had sprouts, even though they were in the dark. Today we ran headlong from winter to summer, so I put the pump in, and started up the waterfall. Now the backyard sounds normal.

I see I still owe pics of the rocks. Will do so tomorrow. Wait til you see how much the moss has grown.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Good to hear all the fish made it threw the long cold winter and did quite well! Tell your hubby job well done!! Just Amazing! Can't wait to the the moss too!