Summer pond pictures wanted!!

[Timothy]

This was our solution last fall. It was a bit of a nuisance but in the end I think worth the effort. We have oak, birch, and peach leaves that seem to be drawn to the pond. Even with the coverage a few got in but nothing like it has been in the past. One thing that made it almost worth it even without the leaves was to watch a bewildered frog jump into what he thought was the pond only to be suspended above the water. They would look around thinking "What the.......?" Then they'd jump again, look around again, and I'm sure they thought they were in a bad dream.
On calm days I would lift one corner and help dragonflies out which seemed to be the only real casualties. We lost four or five of them.

 

[CountryEscape]

Your netting looks really wide, like 4x6 or bigger. But one area looks more solid. What is the material made of, Timothy?
It's times like this that I am thankful I have the only mature trees in a 1 mile by 1.5 mile "block" ... literally! I have 2 huge elm trees, which have very small leaves, 3 soft maple, only 1 of which is within 50' of the ponds, and a white pine which is far enough away the needles seldom get in the ponds. I also have raised edges on all of my ponds, mainly because I have a very flat yard, and I'm surrounded by farmed fields. In a torrential downpour, I didn't want any of those chemicals washing into either of my ponds. It seems to also help keep leaves out of the ponds. I've never had to put up a net, just net out any leaves a time or two in the fall, and once in the spring, like now, and that's it.
BUT, I have planted oak, hickory, birch, and hard maples in my yard, so someday .....

 

[Timothy]

Hi Country! You've planted a forest! When the Google camera flies over your place in a year or two you won't be able to see your house anymore!
What appears to be gossamer/solid area's are just sun reflection off of a relatively tight weave in the net. My pond is 16'X32' and we had a choice of sewing two smaller nets together or get the next larger size which was actually too big, but less expensive and hassle then utilizing two smaller nets. The net we have is 28'X45' and ran about $50 at Dr's Foster and Smith. I'm glad we went this route because as you see we ran a line from the shed on other end of the pond to the framework of the pergola (Inn) and set up the net as a tent. The leaves tend to slide/fall down to the edges and stay dry allowing me to blow them away rather then them laying on the water surface still allowing them to disintegrate before I could scoop them out with the pool net. One thing we did discover as you have with your raised berm, is that the edges of the net want to be held down right on the ground because a lot of the leaves that gained the pond were wind-driven across the yard rather than directly falling from a limb. It is a bit of a nuisance cleaning before putting it away, but over all better then the alternative - the several frog's dilemmas aside... Another plus was not having the net laying on the islands and getting snagged when the wind moved them.

 

[cas]

set up the net as a tent

I like that idea. Then I wouldn't have to cut back my irises so early.

 

[CountryEscape]

Timothy, I have 6 acres, and the trees I listed are on about 2.5 acres of my property, so there should be lots of sunshine hitting the ground still. LOL I have lived in the woods before, and truly love having all the sunshine here. I like trees, need them for so many of the birds and so forth, but I will never plant so many that my whole yard is shaded. I love having all the sun-loving flowers everywhere. Even the north side of my garage gets sun in the early morning and late afternoon. The only "full shade" area I have would be under my pine tree ... way under it. LOL

 

[Mike in Vermont]

I live in the woods. I have to use a leaf rake daily. Pine trees seem to go through a lot of shedding cycles. The fall is the worst. With that said, i'm not cutting any of them.

 

[HARO]

I have a 35' blue spruce 10' from the pond. That sucker is coming down this spring!!! It sheds needles year-round, and no net will stop those little *****!
John

 

[Timothy]

I have a 35' blue spruce 10' from the pond. That sucker is coming down this spring!!! It sheds needles year-round, and no net will stop those little *****!
John

Agreed! Those little suckers get through just about anything! We had one out front, but as it got bigger the bottom got uglier. Time to take it down. The first thing we noticed was the abundance of light that tree had blocked. We left the stump and have been putting a large flower pot with annuals on it each year. I was/am too lazy to cut and grind on the stump to get rid of it so we just planted perennials around it so by the time the stump melts away the surrounding foliage will have grown to maturity.

 

[tbendl]

I have a 35' blue spruce 10' from the pond. That sucker is coming down this spring!!! It sheds needles year-round, and no net will stop those little *****!
John

I feel you but my tree is the only shade that pond gets. With our summer temps in the +90's I need every bit of shade I can get.

 

[HARO]

I feel you but my tree is the only shade that pond gets. With our summer temps in the +90's I need every bit of shade I can get.

If you move to Canada you won't have that problem!
John

 

[tbendl]

If you move to Canada you won't have that problem!
John

If you wanna take that logic, I also wouldn't have my pond if I moved to Canada.
Or my sanity, or my rubber slippers, or my beach towels... well yeah , you get it.

 

[sissy]

90 degree weather does not bother me as long as there is no humidity and here most of the time I get wind being up on a hill .

 

[tbendl]

See it is like wearing a hot wool wet blanket here in the summer. The humidity is a killer, I've been here 7 years now and I'm still not used to it. It's awful!

 

[CountryEscape]

Spring has sprung here in south central IL, zone 6a. Everything is coming alive, and I love walking around and seeing new sprouts of perennials popping up through the mulch! Best part of spring are the flowers! I love the crocus, always the first to bloom in my yard, but they sure don't last very long, maybe a week at most. But, then the daffodils take their place, and they last longer! Hyacinths began blooming this morning, and tulips will be close behind.

I couldn't stand it, I HAD to buy some annuals. Found some cheap dwarf asters - pink/purple/white, good for bees and butterflies this time of year, and some red/white/blue pansies. It gives me some more color while other things are coming up!

The koi have been begging for food for a couple of weeks now already. I don't even check water temperatures anymore. It seems by the time they think they need to be fed, the water is above 50 degrees. I have only given them a little food so far, but it's nice seeing them come to the surface again.

 

[tbendl]

CE you should enter the photo contest this month with that first shot, it's lovely!