Pond in the foothills

[MitchM]

Woodpeckers seem to be the most frequent visitors to the sunflower seed bird feeder this winter.
I hope this doesn't mean that they're leaving the bugs alone.

 

[addy1]

They inhale our seeds, constantly there. I keep blocks out for them too.

 

[CountryEscape]

Cougar is so cool! And, I had to laugh on the cougars and leopards at local saloon! Probably way more cougars spotted there ... I have to agree, your dogs DO look very interested in the same spot where the cougar had crossed! That's pretty scary to me in a way, but would be sooooo exciting at the same time! I wouldn't mind seeing a bobcat face to face ... they are not as intimidating. Cougars would be more scary, even if I was on a horse ... or maybe more so. Do you carry a gun as well when you go walking?

 

[MitchM]

No guns here, ce.

 

[MitchM]

In case anyone is interested, I've turned off our gas boiler hopefully for the season.
I'm going to see if we can rely on solar hot water heating until the fall.
We use hot water for washing, cooking, building heat and indoor aquariums.

 

[RobAmy]

That's awesome have a cougar around. A little jealous

 

[MitchM]

Ok, we've had some warm weather lately...

Today is ice free day from the past winter.

How it compares to past winters:
2013 April 5
2014 April 29
2015 March 31
2016 March 31

Considering the mild winter we had, there's not really that much difference from previous years.
2014 we hit -40, so I guess that explains the extra month for thawing. I think we got down as far as -22C this past winter.

All fish are present and accounted for.

.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Holy I would be so scared of that big Cat!
We're having a really nice spring down here in Medicine Hat. Planted a few Panzies yesterday.

 

[MitchM]

I've come to the conclusion that plants that are going to be successful in my pond are going to have to be ones that are native to my area.
The typical plants that you find in local pond centers need warmer temperatures than we have here.

I had great dreams when I started this pond, a nice waterfall full of all the great plants that everyone typically sees for sale. Then reality hit with our long winters and cool temperatures. Nothing wanted to grow.
I had to rethink how I was going to set up my pond in a way that it wouldn't be a money pit, replacing plants and redoing landscaping that wouldn't be damaged by snow and ice.

So - I went down to see what I could dig up from the natural pond on our property.

My own private garden center...

This is the year round spring as it enters the pond:

This is the stream as it exits the pond, still covered in snow and ice a bit:

 

[MitchM]

At this time of the year, temperatures are still a bit cool for plants to start appearing, so I took a shovel and scooped up where I thought I remembered there was some healthy plant growth.

This is what I picked out:

..and this was my much needed shopping cart...

 

[j.w]

Will be fun to see how they grow for you. I would think sedges and grass like plants would grow there. What about that water primrose that Colleen has in her pond that likes cold weather?

 

[MitchM]

I was actually just as excited to bring home the mud that the plants were in as getting the plants themselves.
I'm anticipating that I'll have a great assortment of various invertebrate eggs that will add to the diversity of my pond.

Here is the area that I'm going to start planting and finishing:

As I was working, the minnows were constantly around the immediate area, while the goldfish stayed on the other side of the pond.

 

[MitchM]

This is as far as I got done today, but at least I think I have a direction now going forward.
I hate having unfinished projects...
I think I found some cattle fencing that needs to be repaired while I was out galavanting around.....

 

[MitchM]

Will be fun to see how they grow for you. I would think sedges and grass like plants would grow there. What about that water primrose that Colleen has in her pond that likes cold weather?

It's considered an invasive species, so it's not available, jw.

.

 

[j.w]

Hey that is a good start and looks good so far. Since they are native they should grow great!
Well darn of course the stuff that will grow great you can't touch.