Not completely just letting some of the pond water drain for awhile so the pots aren't quite so heavy and messy.
Fall and Winter
Gotcha. So where do you store them and how?
I have an upstairs room that is used as winter storage for plants, seed starting and crafts. It has good light and gets really crowded especially when the plants from the living area get moved up there for the Holidays I store the caladium, dahlia, EE bulbs and some of the plants that go dormant up there as it is warm. Some of the plants like the canas that like colder storage go to my son's basement. I think the TWL will go into the upstairs room.
Thanks
Well, we got our first snow. Only maybe an inch or so here, more on the hillside I would assume, and a real dump up in Hatcher's Pass. It will melt though as the temp is 33F and will get a little warmer. Nothing like the mess on the east coast.
Yep..a mess on the East Coast. My daughters BF is in Springfield,MA this weekend checking out a Grad school. Has no power at the hotel,can't find a place to open to get some food and the open house at the school was cancelled. He & his Mom drove 10 hours to get there . (before the storm hit!!) They are saying that the college is supposed to be open tomorrow and he hopes he can meet with someone then. Bummer!
Bummer indeed! What a letdown. We went out to breakfast. The temp is holding @ 33F. Roads didn't clear off. Fender benders here and there. Best to stay at home. And we won't gripe as we have electricity flowing. Wonder how Carolyn is doing? I am assuming you also got dumped on?
Today was beautiful - it only topped out at 48 degrees, which is cold for us at this time of year.
Yesterday was a mess - rain turning to snow and then back again. When I got up this morning, about 8ish, I went outside and started working in my garden. I had a number of things to plant as I had hit the sales at Lowes at the end of last week. I had a number of plants to put in as well as a number of bulbs ( I went heavy on the alliums this fall). It was cold this morning when I started out about 32 degrees and my deck was covered in ice with some snow on top of it. I figured it would melt as the day wore on.
One of the most beautiful things I saw today, was some huge foxglove leaves with an edging of snow. I wish I had taken my camera outside with me this morning. I am not a snowbunny, but it was a very striking display.
I took the pond's temperature this morning. At 10:45 this temp was 42 degrees and the air was 35 degrees. Apparently we were on the fringe of the storm - that is as close as I care to be.
DD flies back into Logan in Boston from Chicago later this week. Hoping the weather holds until she is back home safe and sound.
For those who are already tired of fall/winter check out this video. Love it!
http://player.vimeo.com/video/27920977?title=0&%3bbyline=0&%3bportrait=0href
Oh, Bernadette. That was wonderful. I could almost smell the flowers. What a wonderful thing to wake up to. Thank you, thank you!!
Damien caught me wool gathering. Pond is finished for winter. Colored spots in pond are leaves not fish.
This message was edited Oct 31, 2011 2:32 PM
Beautiful picture MS.
Thanks. Not sure I would use that adjective, but.... The board across the deep end is to keep the cord for the deicer at that end out of the ice. If it freezes in, as the ice grows and the water gets lower, the deicer is stuck anywhere from a foot to two feel above the water level which then freezes. This way I can make sure it stays at water level no matter how deep it gets into the ice.
Guess what? I saw some of my goldfish today. I don't know if it is the circulating water or what but there is slush on the pond in the center of the snow and an about 12x6" open water. I saw three told fish. I thought one was a koi, tancho, based on size, but remembered that my tancho died this summer. so it is a comet, but so big since I last saw it. Amazing. If that one has grown so much, I can't imagine what the koi look like. I was excited. i took pictures but you can barely see them with my little camera.
Here is a shot from the skimmer to the falls, all buried in snow of course.
A little peek at the fish during this aweful time of year is always nice. My pond net was loaded with oak leaves this morning. My Koi were happy to see me when the leaves finally were removed. Good thing I netted the pond. Still a pain to get them out. Think I will rig up some type of frame next year so the leaves fall to the side of the pond .
It is exciting to see the fish after the pond freezes over. It is like a ray of hope.....
Bea - I have been fishing (no pun intended) cherry tree leaves out of my skimmer..
It really was great. I don't think I really realized how much I missed them til I saw two or three down there. How I wish I didn't have ice and snow. Even if the water got cold and they sort of went dormant, if I could just see them.
I've been remiss in getting the smaller leaves out of the pond but the fish don't seem to mind.We have had a warm fall.Today the temperature will go to 15c.I haven't put the heaters in.The perennial geranium that border the pond are one of the remaining spots of colour It is really a 3 season plant even though it is rather invasive.It's not hard to control.This is my pond today.JOY
Another perhaps better picture...new camera is my excuse. JOY
Joy
Very pretty. I love the color of your geraniums.
Have you had any snow yet? I have seen flurries and I know Mary Stella mentioned something about a foot of snow.
We are up to about 2' snow. Two tiny little portholes in the ice is all on the pond. Joy, your pond and surrounds are beautiful. How I wish mine looked like that right now. I have shoveled a path to the pond so when I put on my husband's rubber boots (which come to my knees-the only ones high enough to keep out the snow) I don't fall all over the place. They are heavy and my balance isn't so great. I will get a picture today so you will get the idea. lol
Had a good rain & wind storm last night. Have this mess to deal with now. Removed some leaves from the pond this morning..but I still have much work ahead of me once it stops raining. Love the oak trees in the summer but not so much now!! What a mess!
Here is the pond before scooping some leaves.
beahive
love your garden shed and pond, just keep in mind that the trees are providing you with the best darn much there almost is, leaf humus and when mixed with horse manure you would not believe what it will do for a garden. Hope you have a shreader....
After moving back to my birth state of Florida, the oaks down here are nothing like the beautiful oaks you have there. I do miss my leaf humus.... but I'm learning a whole new gardening skill with tropicals down here and not to do much during the summer...LOL
Jan
I always love gardening in my FIL's yard when we visit. It is so different than working in my own gardens.
Boy Bernadette = looks pretty cold and soggy there. I'm surprised that with all those trees you have that you don't 'net' your pond.
Mary, I do net the pond. The net is just laid across the pond & stream and held down with some large rock. I hope to rig up some type of tent structure next season to have the leaves fall to the sides for easy removal. It has been windy & rainy for the last 24 hours. The yard is & pond is even worse now than the picture above. I need to get out there and get some of the leaves removed from the net and of course my rain gear is out in the shed!! Only good news is I think this storm will knock down most of the leaves so I can get the yard cleaned up. Hate a mess yard!
Yeah. I had that problem also only I still had leaves coming down, not very many, nothing like yours and the pond froze with the net in it. Lot of good that did. Fortunately it thawed out enough before going into deep freeze so I could at it out. My neighbor has trees in the front yard and it was driving him nuts because the wind would blow just enough to knock down some, not all of the leaves. So he borrowed my leaf blower but then they got wet then it doesn't work. He also said he wished we would have a huge blow to get all the leaves down at once.
Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all the friends here at Dave's and especially my ponding friends. I have a lot to be grateful for, not the least of which is all the friends here. I am not given to platitudes. Heck, I don't even send Christmas cards. But it makes me happy to know you are all out there and spring is coming while we plan all the new stuff to go into our gardens (just received seeds) and expectantly await to see how changes we made last year come out next year new peonies and lilies).
Take care, stay healthy (as possible),
Mary Stella
To all my DG friends,
I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Even if our cold weather is only 3-4 months I still read all the threads that I participate.
My pond is netted so i do not have to clean leaves!!!
Belle
I am blessed, so I am thankful. Blessings and happy wishes to all fellow DG-ers! Happy Thanksgiving!
I agree, I have been very blessed as well. We had a wonderful day with family. My parents, children and grandchildren such a very nice day for our family.
Just got home - I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that I too, have a lot to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I don't want to make any of my northern friends feel bad....it must be global warming!!Here is what my pond looks like todayJOY
Joy,
your pond is so pretty.
Okay Joy. I give you points for having a liquid pond not surrounded by snow. lol. I got a new puppy so I am happily playing with my new playmate. A little 5# chihuahua pomerian mix. Looks like a little fox. Adorable. Woodrow is his name
Lucky you.I have a 15year old senile Siamese cat who loves me very much and bosses us all around!!JOY
Joy
I love Siamese cats....... I had a Lynx point Siamese for years. I don't think she could see that well. She never missed a stair step or anything, but I just got that impression from her all the time.
Here is my boy...he is a handful, but he makes me laugh.
Mary - do you have a picture of new puppy?
I have 2 Siamese, a flame point, and a blue point. I'm getting ready to pick up another one this week, probably a seal point, although there was a cute linx point in the litter, so not sure just yet. I love them, I've had siamese my whole life. They look good around my koi ponds, lol.