Finally Getting Around To Pond Building

[sissy]

Oh my gosh my dad cleared a lot of that area for Kaplin builders back in the 60's .I had friends that worked at ford that lived up there also in one of the houses .There name was Salleto .I use to love to go to Great Eastern and Two Guys out on route 22 .I remember as a child talking to Abe Kaplin saying I could only dream of a house up here in the Watchung Mountains

 

[qclabrat]

Oh my gosh my dad cleared a lot of that area for Kaplin builders back in the 60's .I had friends that worked at ford that lived up there also in one of the houses .There name was Salleto .I use to love to go to Great Eastern and Two Guys out on route 22 .I remember as a child talking to Abe Kaplin saying I could only dream of a house up here in the Watchung Mountains

there's been a lot of building since I moved to NJ from NYC in the early 80's. Even us common folk can live here now. Yeah, I remember Two Guys and Korvette which became the Watchung flea market and now BJs. The old Lockheed site is now Watchung Commons which has a Walmart and HD amongst other stores. I remember as a kid walking from Fanwood up to Blue Star through Mount Saint Mary's to the flea market just for something to do in our sleepy towns. They just keep building despite the flat economy, it's getting better but I'd like to eventually move out of NJ all together when the kids are done with college.

 

[sissy]

Forgot korvettes and yep went to the flea market and the one on route 1 and the englishtown one and the Columbus one .Reason I moved was taxes and wanting to retire .11 thousand in Edison for 1 acre and here 3+ acre's and it iis 1 thousand dollars a year and car insurance was 400 a year but now with new car it went up to 600 hundred a year. Plus the traffic ..Here a traffic jam is 6 cars at a red light .My one son lives back there yet and does towing for the NJ turnpike and the Parkway .I miss my friends but not much else .You can take the girl out of NJ but you can't take NJ out of the girl

 

[addy1]

What's the best deterrent for these predators?

I won the battle by hanging a wide weave net over the water. I have it attached to fence posts around 3ish feet above the water with a bit of a edge dropping down.
Since I installed it my 3-4 year battle with the heron has me winning. They still fly over almost every day, but do not stop any more. The wide weave net hung high stops their ability to strike.
I leave it up year round, herons have stopped by even with snow on the ground. The cable you can see is my anti snow load cable. Still have not removed it. Might just leave it.

With the net hanging high I can work on the lilies without removing it. But I usually pull it to the side because of all the spiders that like to nest on the net. I do not like spiders falling on me!

 

[qclabrat]

I won the battle by hanging a wide weave net over the water. I have it attached to fence posts around 3ish feet above the water with a bit of a edge dropping down.
Since I installed it my 3-4 year battle with the heron has me winning. They still fly over almost every day, but do not stop any more. The wide weave net hung high stops their ability to strike.
I leave it up year round, herons have stopped by even with snow on the ground. The cable you can see is my anti snow load cable. Still have not removed it. Might just leave it.

With the net hanging high I can work on the lilies without removing it. But I usually pull it to the side because of all the spiders that like to nest on the net. I do not like spiders falling on me!

View attachment 99808

I like that design, simple and easy to work around it

 

[addy1]

I like that design, simple and easy to work around it

I wove a rope through the edge of it, leaving around a foot draping down. The rope allows you to move it, hang it without the net getting all out of shape. @j.w she has a post in here about how she set up the net.

She covered her pond a lot more tightly than I did.

 

[qclabrat]

I went over to my neighbor who has a pond with koi and has a thick knotted net hung over the pond to protect his fish from the protected blue herons in our area. He showed me all the places he has had to patch the net from the herons biting holes through them. Due to this I'm planning to put in a perimeter fish line canopy as a first defense barrier then the net will be there if they are brave enough to get that close.

To think I used to view them as awesome birds, now they fall into the pest category same as deer and chipmunks for me. A deer has been getting into my fenced in year and had a feast with her favorite salad items...

 

[sissy]

Rabbits here and skunks are worse than deer here lately .

 

[qclabrat]

was making lots of progress today till the mattock split a rock which hit me square in the mouth. Lucky to have my teeth, just split my lip pretty good. I'm still really enjoying this project and hope to start mortaring the blocks over memorial day weekend.

 

[sissy]

sorry to hear about your booboo but if that is the only one then you are a winner .Blisters are next

 

[qclabrat]

sorry to hear about your booboo but if that is the only one then you are a winner .Blisters are next

already have them
between, gardening, home improvement, golf and a healthy dose of mountain biking have more calluses than I can count...

Also glad I had my eyeglasses on, piece of rock also hit my lens
If anyone is digging in a rocky location, wear eye protection please
my back yard is 50/50 rocks, some over a foot in width, so a slow process
but hey, the rosy side is the foundation for the pond is "rock solid"

 

[sissy]

rocks grow in my yard every time it rains they appear .I was out already even though it is misty out and picked up a bucket and then it started to rain harder .I have 2 rock gardens here from just rocks on the property .This used to be a cow farm a long time ago so maybe cow pies become rocks I have more blisters than I can count and I am one of those barefoot people .

 

[addy1]

Glad you are ok!

He showed me all the places he has had to patch the net from the herons biting holes through them

With my net the herons just quit coming, they have never bitten through it. The only damage I have is from age/ uv/ I have had it up around 3-4 years now.

 

[qclabrat]

Glad you are ok!


With my net the herons just quit coming, they have never bitten through it. The only damage I have is from age/ uv/ I have had it up around 3-4 years now.

well the Jersey varieties must have an attitude

and thanks for asking, healing up fine to resume digging this 3 day weekend

 

[qclabrat]

was done with digging then my wife wanted it to be bowed instead of straight. Had to dig some more then the rain interrupted my progress

got 5 yards of gravel delivered
but going to rain next five days, mother nature really slowing down project