Sooooooo cute!!!
Memorial frog pond
Aren't they, though? I just love my little buddies. :)
The fish have apparently gotten used to me sticking my hands in the pond- they used to all zoom as far away as possible, but now they all gather around and bump my fingers to see if I have any food for them. It's so cute! And I saw a teeny tiny baby fish yesterday!
Looks like things are beginning to even themselves out. From total frustration to pure enjoyment. I'm so very happy for you.
I was driving to a friends home on Wed and saw a "barren" patch of roadside. I got out, scratched the surface and threw down some seeds for Ivy. Hope they don't get washed out with too much rain but I'll check back later and see how they did. I just love this concept Pony and I can't thank you enough for sharing it with all of us. Barb
Barb, I love that you're doing these things. Thank you. Ivy would be so tickled to know people are carrying on her traditions. :)
I know one person drove by me and must have been thinking "What's that crazy old lady doing there?" but that's okay by me. I don't care what they think. The look on her face was funny though!!!!!
Hahaha! I get funny looks when I guerrilla garden too. People always wonder why I'm scratching around in the dirt or flipping something with a plastic spoon... ;)
Now that I have a slingshot, I'm going to try Ivy's trick of making seed balls. I can't remember exactly how she did it, but there are lots of sites with instructions. Just think- you can lob seed balls into places that aren't easily accessable! :D
Let me know what you find please. My grandkids would have a fine time with that!!!!
Here is an article I flound. This is an interesting concept. I would love to walk around my neighborhood and lob a few of these into the yards that are bare and BORING! LOL!
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/pathproject/gardening/seedballs.shtml
Bea, that looks like a good seedball recipe. Ivy used to throw them into boring yards in her urban neighborhood, they go over fences quite nicely. I've got a couple of yards in mind already... *grin*
Could be fun. I have thought about scattering my saved sunflower seed into an empty lot down the block. A field of sun flowers would be great. Sadly it has weeds and grasses taller than me right now.(5'4") Have complained to the city , as there are rules about this kind of things..but that was months ago and many $$ on allergies medication because of it!
Yikes. I wonder why they haven't acted on that? Lots like that not only cause allergy problems for people, but they attract rats and other vermin.
A field of sunflowers would be awesome. :)
Think I will call the city again to remind them to get in touch with the lot owner!
The pond is doing great! The fence is definitely working. I watched a raccoon trying to figure out how to get over it the other night- he was verrrrry careful not to touch it, I guess he'd been zapped before. He finally gave up and walked away. (and then ran like heck when I fired a ball at him with my slingshot!) ;)
I have been driving the poor frogs crazy taking their pictures all the time. hehe.
Pretty baby!
Hangin' out on a lily pad
Pony, So glad that your pond is coon free now! The pics of your babies are great, and the expression on the face of the one in your hand is priceless!!
Haha! Thanks, Julie! The poor little guy, he's like "Oh. You again. Hmph."
Pony I am so glad your coons are gone but OMG did you have to send them to my HOUSE???? I stepped out onto my screen back porch last night to run right into 3 coons.. I guess searching for my cats cat food.. First thing I thought of was you and how are free of them and now out of the blue (for the first time) I have 3 standing on my back porch.. lol..
Oh and i watched a show the other day and their was a lady who would go out to feed her cats and 50 YES 50 coons would fill up her back yard.. They had to bring traps out for them.. And they were there even during the daytime.. Searching for food.. Oh and they did mention that it would be breeding season soon and can you imagine how many she would have had in her yard then???? lol...
This message was edited Aug 9, 2009 3:53 PM
LOL! You can't blame me- mine are still present and accounted for! I'm out there pingin' away at them with the slingshot amost every night. They still wear a path through my back yard, but the fence is keeping them off the pond. *whew*
Ya need to get you a coon dog.. lol.. Let it tree that sucker for a few hours and it wont come back again.. lol...
I have been leaving the light on in hopes they wont return, might just have to put up some twinkling lights to try and keep them away..
Keeping the light on won't bother them at all. I haven't tried the twinkling lights yet, but I plan on buying some soon as I can afford it. I reckon we've got an extension cord out the window for the fence, I may as well plug some other stuff into it. LOL!
No dog for me- last time we had a dog it destroyed every inch of my garden. Dug up every plant, chewed up every bulb, totally wrecked everything. Never again. I'm a cat person anyway. hehe.
Well, I just layed White blinking Christmas lights all along the bottom of my porch.. so if the coons come up the hill that will be the first thing they see, and hope they run for the hills!!! Good thing I have woods all around me or my neighbors would think I have lost my mind with blinking lights up this time of year.
Im not sure if Im on verge of a migraine or what or maybe I was coon in a past life but those lights are sure bothering the heck out of me.. I had to come inside, couldn't stand looking at them any longer.. Even though they are Christmas lights they have a different effect when you stretch them out in a straight line. And I never use the blinker bulb so this is new for my eyes to adjust to.. Hmmm or maybe another migraine.. lol..
Pony I was really lucky that I bought 50 boxes from a yard sale a year ago.. They were brand new still in the boxes, the long stands with the connection on each end.. She wanted 25 cents for each box.... I had to stop myself at 50 boxes~~ ONLY because my oldest daughter was standing there going MOM what in the world are you going to do with all those lights...I must say I have used those lights from every thing from A ~ Z.. and finally down to my last 3 boxes.. :( Now if I had known that I would have been using it for coon repellant I would have bought the last 10 boxes at the yard sale lol.... As it was I walked away with a black lawn bag full of them.. lol...
LOL That's awesome. Totally something I would do. I always buy christmas lights at yard sales when they're new in the box. Just my luck there are never twinkling ones...
Oh how fun!
Great pond, great tribute to your friend.
LOL Sharon- I just replied to you elsewhere.
Here's a fresh photo of the pond- I've added some new "trash to treasure" solar lights and other little decor items. Still need to build a better "sitting spot" than I have here, and get more marbles glued around.
*ahem* It would help to add the photo... *blush*
But so pretty! I love the orange and yellow, and what is the creeping plant that spills over the sides?
Ahhhh so thats where the new solar lights went.. I love it.. It has come a long way from a childs pool or was it a sandbox?
That's periwinkle- (vinca minor) it was a favorite of Ivy's, so I thought it would be fitting for her garden. It'll have little blue flowers in the spring.
I need to bring in some new hedera helix to plant back in the corner behind the crow- the runners that were back there aren't recovering well, they were too close to dead when I found them, I guess. Funny, it'll grow like crazy if you *don't* want it to...
Yep, Janice... I got them home and ran straight to the pond with them. They're perfect!
It was a kiddy pool that had holes poked in the bottom to be a sandbox. It was leaning against the fence in my neighbor's driveway for months. I finally asked them what they were gonna do with it, and they said they were going to cut it up and throw it away. I put a stop to that! ;D
ahhh so I was right with both guesses.. lol.. a pool/sandbox.. I thought I remembered a thread where you posted a before picture of it.. Hmmm I think you should post a BEFORE picture in this thread.. Im sure others wouldn't believe this cute little pond started out as a kids toy.. :)
Yep- I was going to make a planter out of it with hypertufa, but changed my mind. I'm glad I did. Here's the before photo:
Wow!
That is a great Trash to Treasure for sure.
Oh my gosh, how have I missed this wonderful thread!
(must go back and catch up!)
KM
I just read this whole thread :) A few things . . .
My daughter and I found a marble at the beach in Florida this past summer. I always wondered what that was about. Her name is Lilly and she is a free spirit like Ivy, even at 2. She LOVES her seeds, and we are TOTALLY going to make seed balls to toss for the spring! What a cool idea!
Do you have any updated pictures of the pond? I am so intrigued by your above ground set up. I may have to convince my husband to make something similar for me. Do you have any pictures of it being constructed.
At any rate, thank you all for this very interesting thread. If you are still "frogging" in the spring, I will send you a few mementos to addd if you like.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
The pond got totally trashed again- the little electric fence failed and the raccoons destroyed all the plants again. I've given up on fixing it for now. The state just gave us permission to trap and kill the raccoons, so we'll be trying to get that done soon. Then maybe I can fix it all up nice again in the spring.
These stupid raccoons have been damaging property all over the neighborhood, it'll be nice to get rid of them. They dig up my garden all the time, and they chewed up our internet cable under the house, among other things.
I am always looking for more little things to add to the bed around the pond- so if you want to send something that would be really neat. :)
Oh, and I didn't take pics of the building process- I just put the kiddie pool where I wanted it, put the liner in, and started stacking the retaining wall blocks around it. Then I filled the bed with dirt and Presto! Pond! :)
Well, you did a great job. How wide/long is the retaining wall? Is the pond sunken into the soil? It's a very cool idea, and I would definitely like to make my own!
D-Mail me your address if you don't mind :)
Oh! And also- Ivy came up with another seed flinging method... gel capsules! She had this giant bag of them, and I wound up with it. (When it was time to empty her apartment, it was just me and her boyfriend- she had no family, so I brought home a lot of her stuff.)
I gave the gel caps a try, and they work great. I have a small slingshot, and I tried it out on a vacant lot I'd been wanting to seed. They flew pretty well! Not as far as clay balls would, but for quick and easy 'ammo' they're great. :)
Hehe, very cute! Here are some tips I found online for getting ri of raccoons:
Raccoons are active in twilight and evening. They prefer relative darkness. Installing motion activated lighting may be helpful in discouraging raccoons. However, simple porch lights may not be adequate. You might need to go to extreme measures in terms of lighting. Bright flood lights, like the quartz halogen fixtures used for driveway illumination and security purposes may be necessary. Plus, one light, at a distance may not have the desired effect. We recommend multiple lights, either on the same circuit or independently triggered, to saturate the area.
Raccoons don't like being around humans, so placing a waterproof radio near trash cans may be helpful. Set the radio to a "talk" station. It doesn't have to be loud. The voices will discourage raccoons from the area.
Buy metal trash cans with sealing lids. You can improve the tightness of the seal with a length of plastic tubing (like for water supply lines in you windshield washer system or your ice maker supply line). Slice a cut along the length of the tube and slip it over the rim of the trash can. When you put the lid in place, the tubing compresses to form a tighter seal. Also, place a heavy object, such as a cinder block, on top of trash can lids.
Raccoons like their food clean and will sometimes wash it in available water. They also find the smell of ammonia objectionable. By adding a small splash of ammonia to your garbage, the raccoons will be less likely to scavenge your trash.
Your pets need water available at all times, but as much as possible, eliminate sources of water for raccoons. If possible, lock your pets securely away at night, with their water. Don't leave water out that the raccoons can get to. Also, don't leave pet food out at night, raccoons love the stuff.
LOL We cross posted. :)
The whole shebang is 8' by 6' including the flowerbed. The pool is just sitting on top of the ground, our ground is too hard for me to dig in, so I laid weed blocker cloth over the area I was building on, and plopped everything on top of that.
I'll go zap you my address now. :)