Country Escape's 2nd pond - Goldfish only

[sissy]

Hey they have a stainless steel pool I saw it on the DIY network on yard crashers show.Pretty neat .The fairy moss does take over believe me but it does have a very fine root system and found it is hard to keep it in even the nets in the pond and when it gets loose it gets sucked into the filters .I got one of those hibiscus and I have taken seeds from it for lots more plants and funny thing is each year the flowers get bigger and bigger .The mother plants flowers have not bloomed yet but last year they were the size of a large dinner plate .

 

[j.w]

I had a Hibiscus I bought at Lowes a couple years ago that had large light pink dinner size blooms w/ a magenta center but I think it rotted from all our rain over winter this year so it went to the plant heaven in the sky :sad: It made it through the first winter it had here but didn't bloom that Summer, just got the buds and they never opened before winter froze them. I covered it w/ a clear plastic tub raised up a bit so it wouldn't suck up all the rain we get. The next time tho it didn't make it even w/ the tub cover.

 

[CountryEscape]

Took a panorama pic of the goldfish pond.

Moved a couple of the lilies from the shelf to the middle of the pond, on top of a upside down basket. Put some of the creeping weigelia in there from the farm pond, too. Think I need to anchor some of the weigelia in a pot of dirt to keep it around longer, but for now it's just floating.

 

[taherrmann4]

He is a good one CE and he's trying to come up w/ a way to make my air pump slow down w/ the volcano bubbles now

JW having trouble with your air pump pushing out too much air? If you do not want as much air going into the pond why not just divert some of the air to a hose that just goes to the outside of the hose. Not sure if this is your problem or not.

 

[Shoestring Ponder]

I have Duck Weed growing in a kiddy pool and love it. I had gotten some from a friend a couple seasons ago and late last season the kiddy pool got a crack in it...in one place. This Spring, the DW surfaced in the kiddy pool amongst the muck and sure enough, it keeps on spreading. I turned the pool w the crack towards the hill and continue to add a bucket or 2 of pond water every so often. The DW continues to reproduce. Every other day or so,, I take a childs sand sifter and "harvest" quite a bit of the DW and drop it into the pond. The fish love it!! Does not take them long to gobble it up! In a few days, the DW in the kiddy pool has reproduced enough for me to "harvest" more. Pretty cool. I would love to find some fairy moss and do the same in another kiddy pool. In fact, a couple Greenn Frogs have taken up residence in the kiddy pools. When I check them out, their heads are covered w Duck Weed. Pretty cute. Ironically, the water under the DW is clear, so clear you can see the muck! LOL

:goldfish:

 

[j.w]

Tmann not sure what we are doing but DH has some ideas so I'll let him run w/ them for a bit and if they don't solve the problem yes we can just allow some of the air to go up in the air. Actually I'm getting used to the volcano and the fish don't seem to mind. They play in it and jump around like kids in a sprinkler! Might get a flow valve to cut some of the air down or some of those flat round air stones. All I have right now are some dinky little aquarium ones and didn't have enough so some tubes are just hanging loose.

 

[CountryEscape]

Checking out my plants in the bog, noticed a group of those tiny powder blue butterflies getting a drink. Looked sooo peaceful ...

until I noticed what was behind them!!! This bullfrog sat there the whole time I was outside, never did make his move, but I'm sure he was waiting for the right moment.

Saw this really large Praying Mantis by my landscaping. It was at least 4" long, maybe tad longer. Female, I assume, since males die after they breed (females kill them), and I've been seeing lots of little ones, about 1" long, in the same landscaping.

I just can't pass up a pretty setting sun ....

 

[fishin4cars]

Cool pics! I love them all but the Praying mantis got my attention, ( LOL, I have one tattooed on my upper arm that is sitting on a mushroom.) Yea, I'm a 60's child. lol That is a female, the males are usually green shorter rear body, and the wings are shorter as well. MOST males are eaten after breeding similar to black widow spiders. We don't see many praying mantis around here and when I do find one it's s special treat. I've seen more walking sticks here than i have ever seen, we found a few females this past week that were close to 6" long and really huge. there would be several smaller males close by every time we find one of the big females.

 

[CometKeith]

Great pics CE, I have never seen butterflies that color and to see so many together is really neat. I missed seeing the bullfrog the first time but spotted it the next time. He looks like he has been eating good lately. Hopefully he wasn't too hungry when the butterflies showed up. Amazing picture of the praying mantis. Did you take all the pics on your phone? How did you get such a good close up of the praying mantis? Shoestring, My fish love duckweed, I haven't gotten them any yet this year. I bet they taste better too them than peas and are just as healthy.

 

[sissy]

A few you think getting a drink ,with that many they could drain your pond.Looks like the mantis is posing for you .A model for sure ,freeze and pose :razz:

 

[j.w]

Cool pix CE and we don't ever have those kind of pretty little butterflies or any praying mantis either. I think my daughter once brought some praying mantis home from a school she was working at and she told me that they would eat up the blackberry bushes in her yard for her if she let them go. I think she needed many more to get rid of all the bushes she had back there tho! I seen the bullfrogs eyes first and then his body appeared. Love that sunset too!

 

[CountryEscape]

Thanks, all. The photos of the Praying Mantis were taken with super macro mode, not zoomed in, I was that close. She just held real still. That's why the one where she's looking at me, it was funny, cause it was like she was saying, "What's your problem? Leave me alone, ok?" I took others, and cropped the one of her eyes, to see them much closer, and this is what it looks like ... cool, huh?!

JW, I was told that a Praying Mantis in your house, behind your curtains, will stay there as long as you have any type of flies or bugs. They will keep them all eaten up. I've never heard of them eating blackberry bushes, though. I thought they were bug eaters, but maybe they eat plants, too! The pretty lady was on the same plant again this evening, so that must be her pad. I'm worrying about the bugs this year with the drought. So few, no mosquitos to speak of, which I'm not complaining of at all, but I bet my barn swallows are hurting! Seems not much action morning or evening with the birds. No bugs in abundance in my yard this year.
When I was a little girl (ok, when I was YOUNG, I'm still little, LOL), I used to catch butterflies and mount the nice ones. I always wanted one of those little blue butterflies, but they are very fast and hard to catch. Never did catch one, so they have always been special to me. These guys are going wherever I water and there is wet dirt, too. They gather moisture from the ground, but the ones in the pic are drinking from the bog itself.
Larkin, post a pic of your tattoo. Bet it's cool!
When I was a child in Phoenix, I remember watching tiny babies emerge from an egg sac on our big backyard slide. I was on the steps, watching them for hours. They were maybe 1/2" in length when born, and looked exactly like the parents. Soooo adorable. Loved them ever since. And, this lady has such a personality! She is in no hurry to leave, unless I touch her. She will look away, then look at me, then away, probably planning her escape route if necessary. When I saw her while watering tonight, I made sure to not spray her, which I probably did the other 2 times, not looking for her first.
Glad you guys liked the pics!

 

[sissy]

She likes her pic taken .I know the other day i had one on the front porch and he just kept rocking back and forth like he was sitting on a rocking chair

 

[CountryEscape]

There's a reason they rock back and forth, Sissy, but I can't remember what it is. Something to do with catching bugs, or the heat or something. Maybe Larkin will know, since he has a fascination with them as well.

 

[sissy]

I got a kick out of this one because he was down near the floor and poor pee wee could not figure him out and was scared every time he moved .