Squirrels eating salad

[bagsmom]

This is something I never expected to see.
I was looking out at the pond in back and saw a squirrel hopping along the water's edge and looking for a good branch from which to get a drink. At least I thought that's what he was doing.
The little stinker was using the branch to reach the floating leaves of my Water Hawthorn. He would get a good grip on the branch with his back feet and reach waaaaayyy out to grab a leaf, then pull it in and take a bite! He was even willing to dunk the top half of his body to get to it.
We are in the warmish south, so there are a bazillion things growing right now. Why on earth he was willing to get wet for a Water Hawthorn leaf is beyond me!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Dastardly little hooligans (aka - squirrels) are a force to be reckoned with. In previous years I've had my pickerel rush stalks bitten off & chewed, which I blamed on bunnies until we had game camera footage that revealed it was *squirrels* doing the dirty work! They like what they like & will go to extreme lengths to get it! Nothing's safe when hooligans are in the neighborhood. Good thing they're cute!!

 

[Guestie]

Yesterday I discovered that a squirrel had pried the lid off of my tin of outdoor feeder birdseed and was going to town on marauding that stash.

This prompted me to investigate squirrel catapults ... not kidding.

 

[GBBUDD]

This is something I never expected to see.
I was looking out at the pond in back and saw a squirrel hopping along the water's edge and looking for a good branch from which to get a drink. At least I thought that's what he was doing.
The little stinker was using the branch to reach the floating leaves of my Water Hawthorn. He would get a good grip on the branch with his back feet and reach waaaaayyy out to grab a leaf, then pull it in and take a bite! He was even willing to dunk the top half of his body to get to it.
We are in the warmish south, so there are a bazillion things growing right now. Why on earth he was willing to get wet for a Water Hawthorn leaf is beyond me!

When do you go rebuild dads waterfall?

 

[bagsmom]

When do you go rebuild dads waterfall?

Sometime in early summer! We are still looking at the logistics of the family schedule and who can go when. He is getting excited!

 

[GBBUDD]

Good luck,
There are more and more faux rocks being mage out there , a couple 3 boulders, two character stones and one odd ball along the edge of the pond could go a long way

 

[bagsmom]

Good luck,
There are more and more faux rocks being mage out there , a couple 3 boulders, two character stones and one odd ball along the edge of the pond could go a long way

That is definitely something to check out! He has, however, already had a load of rocks delivered to the house! (I told you he was excited. ) Over Christmas, we went to a rock yard and discussed the types and sizes of rocks that could work. He went and bought them all! Next will be equipment purchase. I think I am going to "build my own kit." He needs a pump with a looooong cord. I have found one but I will need to be sure that all the components will play nicely together.

 

[GBBUDD]

POST WHAT YOU think you'll use we can google spec sheets.

Just make sure you have a gfci receptacle. Electricity and water don't place nicely together

 

[bagsmom]

@GBBUDD
These are a few items I am thinking about. The pump has a 50 foot cord, which is possibly long enough. My Dad and I still have to have a conversation about all of it. The plan is to dig up what he has and re-shape the pond hole, enlarging it a bit. I figure that liner will work for what we need and we can adjust our digging plans to suit the liner we have.
I would still need a check valve and tubing.

 

[GBBUDD]

I would still need a check valve and tubing.

CHECK VALVE IS A WASTE OF MONEY. DRILL A PIN HOLE JUST BELOW THE WATER LEVEL IN THE BIO FILTER .or get a vacuum breaker you can put a Tee fitting just before your pipe goes in the bio filter and have the vacuum breaker on one of those branches they do best vertically. here's the big difference i have never known a vacuum breaker to fail , while i have only seen check valves always successful a few times.

I would also bump to 2000 gph, 1600 is just not much water and the price to run and buy should be almost mute

don't be surprised if firestone liner gets replaced with another brand it seems firestone sold the line i believe it was to elite i forget who they are it did begin with an E

I WOULD ADD A GFCI PLUG END SO THE SYTEM IS PROTECTED https://www.homedepot.com/p/Yellow-Jacket-1-Outlet-GFCI-Extension-Cord-Adapter-2762/204667709

 

[bagsmom]

CHECK VALVE IS A WASTE OF MONEY. DRILL A PIN HOLE JUST BELOW THE WATER LEVEL IN THE BIO FILTER .or get a vacuum breaker you can put a Tee fitting just before your pipe goes in the bio filter and have the vacuum breaker on one of those branches they do best vertically. here's the big difference i have never known a vacuum breaker to fail , while i have only seen check valves always successful a few times.

I would also bump to 2000 gph, 1600 is just not much water and the price to run and buy should be almost mute

don't be surprised if firestone liner gets replaced with another brand it seems firestone sold the line i believe it was to elite i forget who they are it did begin with an E

I WOULD ADD A GFCI PLUG END SO THE SYTEM IS PROTECTED https://www.homedepot.com/p/Yellow-Jacket-1-Outlet-GFCI-Extension-Cord-Adapter-2762/204667709

My Dad's pond is going to be fairly small. Is there any danger that the 2000 gph pump would be too powerful? We will definitely do the GFCI - for sure!
I'm still debating which tubing to use. I know the kink free is a little easier to manipulate and we've established this doesn't have to be a 20 year pond. But it seems like a lot of the components are sized for the 2" PVC. When we did all the pond plumbing here at our house, it was very easy to use the pvc cement and made a very secure bond. Husband is going to drive me up there so he can help with some of that. He'll probably leave me there about 2 weeks and then come back - at which point he can help with all the other stuff. I'm handy with the digging and grunt work. He is good with electrical and plumbing and such.
@GBBUDD - I am trying to wrap my brain around how a small hole/siphon breaker would work in a biofalls container. Wouldn't that just be a place for a leak? And wouldn't the water just continue to backwash from the container backwards to the skimmer? My biofalls has the water coming in from the bottom, where it fills and flows up through some matala pads, then spills over to the pond. I've been thinking they are all that way. ? I'm sure my Time Change Challenged brain is just imagining it wrong! If I can save some money by drilling a hole, though, I am all for it!
Thank you again for all the thoughts! I really appreciate the ideas!

 

[GBBUDD]

Actually your right i was thinking the bio falls was plumbed from the pipe as it cam in over the top. but it is plumbed in from the rear and below the water line so, no your right, they will work but only after it drains quiet a bit of water out of the biofalls

 

[bagsmom]

Actually your right i was thinking the bio falls was plumbed from the pipe as it cam in over the top. but it is plumbed in from the rear and below the water line so, no your right, they will work but only after it drains quiet a bit of water out of the biofalls

I'm thinking in this situation, it might make sense to go ahead and do the check valve. With my limited time up there, I think it will be good to go in with a set plan and a basic set up. With my own pond, I had the luxury of unlimited time and could play around with creative ideas as I went along. This will be a "git 'er done" situation!