The pond dig has begun!

[j.w]

Yep, real pretty ice formations there CE.............getting colder there now and we just stay the same, wet and wild

 

[CountryEscape]

Only because we had those 60 mph wind gusts did this ice even form, in my opinion. There was no ice anywhere else, so this was nature's sculpture for me this morning. The only thing I'm worried about, Colleen, is I have used black flexible tubing, it's not the heavy rubber stuff that pond stores sell, it's used for sump pumps, that pump water out and underground away from your house. It's ok underground, supposed to be very sturdy, but I'm worried because it goes out of the pond, along the outer edge of my waterfall area, and then to the Skippy Filter. This spring, I'm going to change that so it goes over the other side of the waterfall. That way, there is liner under that whole side, and if there was a break in the line, the water would be pumped right back into the pond, or maybe some of it would go into the bog, still draining back into the pond. So, I will leave it all up and running until I leave on Jan. 5, then I'll be draining the Skippy (unless the extended forecast is for nothing lower than high 20's at night, and 40's during the day, which is unlikely), and draining all the exposed water lines, so they don't freeze solid and break. Then I will rethink things next spring.

 

[callingcolleen1]

The water running threw the hose should not freeze as the water is running. If you turn the water pump off and the line freezes, I still don't think it will burst, as I have left water in cheap garden hose outside lots of time and it froze hard and never burst as the hose is flexible. Lots of my hoses that run from the bottom pond to the top pond are running under the rocks in the outside of the pond and some are over twenty years old and I never had a problem. I used to have a smaller cheap garden hose pumping water from bottom pond to middle, years ago when my bottom pond was much smaller, I used a small pump under 250 gph that would freeze on occasion when the temperture went below -35 or -40, hose never cracked, used to take it off pump and bring in house to thaw and then hook back up. I think you will be fine.

 

[sissy]

A hose will only break after a freeze if moved or brittle from age I have noticed .I did have some animal chew through my hose one winter I could see the chew marks .

 

[callingcolleen1]

Have a very happy Holiday CE, JW and Sissy!! I'm not going anywhere, Sissy, you going to stay and help me monitor the pond threads?

 

[sissy]

yep guess so because no place to go and just home relaxing .Since hubby is on a strict diet he is having fish for dinner .Guessing you and hubby and puppies will have a nice relaxing day. I have a lot to do here as I have been going through closets getting rid of stuff .Donations to the salvation army and lots of things to just get rid of .Also trying to get back to my workshop and all the projects on hold .Happy holidays and may Santa bless you all with his goody bag ,no coal Santa

 

[j.w]

I'll be here also as family is coming on Christmas morning for the day

To All of you Have a

 

[sissy]

early Santa visit huh :razz: hit and fly off make sure he does not damage your roof and make sure he can get in .

 

[callingcolleen1]

How's he going to land on roof with no snow down there? While outside checking pond in the wee hours of morning, I could hear the tires from a vehicle squeek and crunch out front as car drove by. When it is this cold snow make lots of noise.

 

[CountryEscape]

Merry Christmas everyone! I have been here and gone, mostly gone because of computer connection issues. Soooooo frustrating!!! Was going to switch to Verizon wireless on Sat., so frustrated with this Hofnet I'm on, and then V told me they did not yet have coverage for my house .... all around it literally, but not quite close enough to get the 3G or 4G., whatever he was talking about. Said they are "lighting up the towers daily" and I will likely be able to get on their internet within a month, maybe less! So, I have to struggle and call and get ticked off with this coverage. Can't hardly download pics, just every now and then it is running great. Most of the time I see "problem loading page" or "the connection has been reset".
I plugged in my floating heater, got an area near the skimmer in koi pond opened so I could drop the milk rate with bubbler near it. Figured the pump feeding the waterfall is deep in the water, so this will keep the water from freezing in front of the skimmer. The goldfish pond I plugged in the water pump that is shooting water to the surface like a water buggler, and now both ponds are free of ice, and there was about 1/2" or little more sheet on koi pond yesterday. Temps were close to 50 yesterday! Took my brother (single, never married, lives about 80 miles N of me) riding my mule yesterday. He enjoyed it, but this morning says his lower back is sore. Darn it! Here he is on Clyde. Oops, never mind, downloading not working ... again. :sad:

 

[callingcolleen1]

Well it is nice to hear from you CE and I can download a picture in my mind of you and your brother donkey riding. He he he
Have fun!

 

[CountryEscape]

I rode my Paint Quarter Horse mare, and he role Clyde, the MULE. LOL A donkey is a small "long ear", whereas a mule is when a donkey (usually they use large ones, called "Mammoth Jacks" breeds with a horse or draft horse. Mules are 99% sterile. Funny, huh? That's humans messing with nature. I think maybe a pony/zebra or horse/zera or donkey/zebra also results in a sterile animal. I'd always wanted a mule, so now I have one. Thinking of breeding my Fox Trotter paint mare with a gaited Mammoth jack next year, try to get a well gaited mule. Clyde has a Fox Trotter mom, but his dad was not gaited. Gaited means they "trot" smoothly, instead of bouncing up and down.
Yeah, I can post, just can't post pics. I sooooo wanted to go to Hofnet on Wed. and tell them where to shove their internet, but now I have to mind my threats and be nice for another month or so. Grrr .... Sure isn't going to stop me from telling them what I think of their service. AND, they came here to "fix it" last Thurs. and obviously did nothing or found nothing wrong.

 

[sissy]

Yep puts strain on muscles you never knew you had .I finally got the westell box from my provider and now internet is working great so now I can keep up with the pharmacy and hospital bills and health insurance pay outs .I had to contact hospital as we over paid them 415 dollars to much as they had our deductable wrong

 

[callingcolleen1]

Yes I forgot about the donkey is small, mule is bigger and half horse. Kinda like a koi and goldfish make a "mule fish" that don't breed well. Is it true that mules are all male?

 

[j.w]

Hey, hey CE glad you are out having fun and enjoying the holidays. Wow sun just popped brightly through the clouds here and feels so good!
The uploading photo thing might not be the fault of your provider. addy and I and don't know of anyone else but we are having trouble also getting photo's bigger than say around 3 or 4 and up MB's to load up. Says Upload Skipped (Error 500) and Ian will be working on it after the holidays. I found that if I reduce the size of my photo's which I never had to do before it will work but Ian says we should not have to do that as upload size allowed is up to 8 MB's.Check in this forum thread: http://www.gardenpon...uploader-today/