The pond dig has begun!

[CountryEscape]

I tend to agree with you, Addy, and I did so in my goldfish pond bog. And, didn't even think about it when I redid the koi bog, even though I had lots of pieces I had trimmed off. And, the other thing that leads me to believe you are so correct is that the bog didn't leak hardly at all, unless the water was turned on. It had nothing to do with the height the water got, like I initially HOPED, it had to do with the pressure pushing the water out of the hole. So, tell your hubby you were right .... again.
Son is worried the murkiness in the koi pond is due to a snapper very possibly. Now that my fish is found, I'm not quite as concerned, and I know I have rocks that have been bumped in, but there sure were a lot of solid things on the bottom when I netted it last weekend. No more netting until fall, though. There was literally nothing down there but that algae that looks kind of like green carpet. No muck to speak of at all.
Will get the bog drained, goop and new patch put on this evening, extra liner put under the pipe and some on the bottom to side edges, then going to bite the bullet and put the pea gravel in and go for it! I'm sooo tired of looking at that stuff piled up on the other side of the pond, plus I have need to use the wheelbarrow for other projects as well. You never know how much you need something until you can't use it!

 

[addy1]

lol ce I hide my stuff under the deck, see it when down there but ow out of sight, out of mind, sort of Still have some piles of rock to place, some stream tweaking, but it keeps you healthy and away from the tv

 

[CountryEscape]

Absolutely, Addy! Being active is why I have these ponds. I make them sound like a lot of work, and at times they can be, but I'm still tweaking mine and changing things. So, it takes up more of my time.
Got the pea gravel in and plants put back in place tonight. Rinsed some of the dirt out before running it back into the pond. Got most of it rinsed out. Made a "stream" in the middle of the bog so water will flow through it and carry stuff out. Also, I can put plants in the "stream" if they want to be in standing water, or up on the edges if want to be in less water. It's so much fun to put plants in there, too.
Got a few plants at the grocery store today, and a couple of them said they like to stay moist. When I see that, I figure "bog plant" so going to try them out. One is called "Live Wire Fiber Optic Grass". Another is called "Joseph's Coat" or "Burgandy Threadleaf". And the last one is "Spotted Nettle". I know I've heard others that have had these. I think they are all perennials, but if not, that's ok, too. I'm going to put all three in the bogs.
Also got a couple of Caladiums (sp?), one pink and green leaves and the other white and green. I think these are like elephant ears, probably will need to lift the tubers or whatever in the fall and store inside. If so, I'll try it this winter, along with the elephant ears I'll be putting in the basement in storage until about February. I've learned I should have started the elephant ears much earlier inside so they would have been good sized plants by now, but we shall see how large they grow outside, too.

 

[j.w]

Good to hear you got everything all back together CE and even got some nice new plants for the bog. Now lets hope no leaks and everything clears up good in your koi pond by Memorial Day!

 

[CountryEscape]

Yeah, I'm still hopeful about it clearing up, but sure doesn't seem to want to this year. I have to think something is IN the pond to cause it to stay so murky, especially since I jump started the goldfish pond with koi pond water, and goldfish pond cleared up, so why not koi pond??? Maybe the new bog and fact it is so much larger compared to the size of the pond is the trick! We shall see!

 

[addy1]

spotted nettle, pretty plant and it comes back nicely

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh well heavens ... I have a bunch of that. LOL Just didn't know what it was called, and mine on the N side of the house is darker green, so maybe the new one is a lighter version, or maybe it gets lighter gray in the sun! We shall see if it works in the bog, since it says it likes to be "evenly moist" ... that says BOG to me!

 

[CountryEscape]

My pond is finally clearing up! I can see the lily pots pretty clearly now, and they are for the most part at 18"! Woohoo!!! Now, keep clearing and by next weekend I should be able to see the bottom, and be able to get the rest of the goldfish out of the pond, as will have my sister and niece here for the weekend! I have vowed not to get into the pond until I can see the bottom, to make certain no snapper down there!
And, had not seen Aris the red ear slider for 4 days, then remembered 4 days ago I moved one of the netted rings of hyacinths to the goldfish pond, found the yellow koi that had been missing for a week, and now looked in the goldfish pond and there he is! Guess he was another transporter with the netted ring.

 

[j.w]

Great CE happy it is clearing up for you!
Funny how your fish and turtle keep finding new spots to enjoy w/ you moving them. Oh look we are flying first class to a new place.............oh here we go again back home....................that was a short but enjoyable vacation and loved the samples of vegetation the airline provided :razz:

 

[addy1]

lol no kidding jw, Glad it is clearing ce, good for you

 

[CountryEscape]

Actually yes, the yellow koi came back to the koi pond, son grabbed the small net and scooped her out and put her back. Aris on the other hand, stayed in the goldfish pond. I prefer him in the koi pond, though, as I stand on the deck more to view the fish. However, got the middle area between ponds mowed short and sprayed with Roundup (yeah, I know, it's dangerous for frogs, but will be covering it tomorrow!), and tomorrow going to fill in low spots with dirt and then cover it all with dark brown mulch. That will be an easy fix to the "sitting area" for now. If I decide to lay some type of patio later, I can still do that, but for now it will look nice and be finished looking, and maybe I will like it enough to keep it that way!

 

[HARO]

Country;
Just saw your turtle pictures... what you have is not a slider, but a Painted turtle!
John

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, I thought they were the same turtle! I always called them painted turtles when I was a child, but thought the proper name was red slider! I guess mine doesn't have the red on the head by the "ear", so thanks for the clarification, John!
Here are some pics of more work done around the ponds this weekend. Sure was hot yesterday, so I quit and relaxed after 1:30, but today I worked all day in about 90 degree temps, but nice breeze all day, so not too bad.
Here are the "before" pics of the area I worked on. The middle is where the huge stump was ground up a couple of months ago, as I wanted to make this a sitting area.

Then I brought in a few loads of dirt with the tractor.

and put landscape edging stones to define the flower beds and filled the flower beds with dirt.

Out the back door there was an area I could not mow with my rider (and I don't have a push mower nor weed eater LOL), so I decided to make it a walkway with mulch.

Leveled most of the dirt in the sitting area, and mulched the flower beds. Rain chased me in twice, so decided to stay in. Have dark brown mulch for the sitting area, to define it as different than the planted areas. So far I like how it has turned out!

Also, I wanted to plant vining and flowering plants on the upper waterfall area, but there is pond liner under the rocks that I didn't want to poke holes through. Finally decided on using a coco liner, put rubber liner in the bottom of it to keep the water in better, and made holes to let it drain out as well. Then planted it with supertina petunias, variegated ivy, purple potato vine and some other annual flowers for color. I really like how it turned out! The liner doesn't show much, and if the plants do well, they should make a pretty show down the waterfall wall there.

 

[pondlover]

CE all of your hard work has really paid off nicely. It looks fabulous. So glad your water is clearing up for next weekend.

 

[j.w]

Love all that you have done CE and the bark stuff looks good on your walkway w/ the path stones in it. Hope you get some nice weather for your weekend fun time w/ family! Is the water getting even clearer now?