The water puppies are trying to figure out what happened to last week's temps in the mid 90's. A chilly 43F here in Northern California this AM........brrrrrr!
These guys get fed all winter long since it never stays cold long enough to slow them down much.
Happenstance, if I ever decided to become a fish your pond would be my destination of choice! You have the most awesome pictures.
If you ever want to see fish REALLY slow down in cold temps come to any number of states on our side. Our fish retire to the bottom of the pond and don't move. You would think they were frozen in time. But every spring they come back alive like faithful friends.
Ponds and fish are so much fun and so interesting.
Please keep posting your pictures, they are so tranquil and appreciated.
Morning purpleice -
You said:
"If you ever want to see fish REALLY slow down in cold temps come to any number of states on our side."
Been there done that! Lived in the mid-west (Chicago area) for many years and never care to see snow or ice again, except from a distance. Your ID reminded me of an old cold weather adage, "Don't eat yellow snow."
I'll try and remember the yellow snow tip. Sorry to have bothered you.
You didn't bother me, you just reminded me of years of snow country and "purpleice" is a very cute ID that reminded me of the "yellow snow" thing....we had a dachshund that would disappear in the snow and come burrowing through at the end of his tunnel like a mole/ He made lots of yellow snow.
ROFLMBBO
I am a new water gardener and I just can dream of having something as nice as this (set it as a background on my computer) Just Beautiful- Thanks R.Simmons
That is beautiful Happen, and we are getting close to the "yellow snow" watch! LOL
Thank you for your picture, Happen! We have an area we are still designing, hubby wants another pond, and that gave me some great ideas. Lovely, lovely! What a wonderous job you did.
Wow, that is some pond! Nice fishes, too. Thanks for the inspiration!
Purpleice, you sure called it. Last winter was my first ponding winter and I was so worried about my little finnies -- I was certain they were goners, but come spring here they were again. Li'l pals!
great pond!!! 48 today, 38 last night. my fish haven't figured out, there's no more food.
Whow what a nice pond, plants and fish. Where in the world do you get you fish? They are fantastic. Do you have any fry? All mine came from wally world. My first year at KOI and one is already 12" long. Dont you just love to feed them?
I have a question? Did any of you buy what is known as "feeder fish"? Thses guys, after they are five years old, grow the most incredible tails, some are longer than their bodies. The girls stay pretty much the same except they become dinner plate sized. We have added Koi and other goldfish since, but have never known the name for the original fish.
Veil tails or Fan tails perhaps, Ladyanne. They can be beautiful. That is one gorgeous pond, Happenstance. Thanks for sharing.
Gee this is a really old thread from October 2003.....lots of changes to the pond since then. Here's a link to a thread about the expansion I did to the pond this summer:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/444582/
And a link to some other threads from the past about my pond:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/threads.php?user=Happenstance&limit=water&submit=submit
We get a few babies that survive each season, usually 3-6. There's more information on the fish on some of the other threads, we have about a dozen Koi that started out as small 6" or so fish, most are now HUGE. The goldfish were all from Petsmart at 10cents to 25cents each about an inch long.
The fish are less active in the winter months here, but are fed twice a day year round as our lows are about 38-39F for only a couple of hours in the early morning hours for a few weeks. Generally 45-55 during the daytime, unless we have an unseasonably cold winter.
And my favorite image of the pond.
That's me..."a day late and a dollar short..." In this case, a year late! lol I must have done a search to have ended up were I did. It was still worth while visiting though. It is lovely to see your updated pond, and it is just as gorgeous I am in awe. Not to mention, having a terrible case of "zone envy". Thanks for sharing. It's always a pleasure, Happenstance.
This message was edited Oct 16, 2004 11:30 AM
Very beautiful ponds, no intensely beautiful. Makes mine look so small and insignificant. Please post more photos. Those ghost koi are fabulous.
Hehe. Zone envy. Heh. Gaw! I can't wait for my fish to get that big, Happenstance. So gorgeous! Hey, are the fires out out there yet? Last I heard they were 75 percent under control. I hope all's well with you and yours.
I have plans. I am going to kidnap Happen and bring her come to my house (just a few hours away) and keep her at the front yard tree. She will be fed well, though, and I built a lovely tree ring bench she can sit on and will have the bunnies for company.
Lordie, that is nice, Happen! Equal, truly, yours is equally nice, too. I am not posting mine because they truly are measly. We love them, but they are measly.
We have an empty section in the front screaming for landscaping. I did build the tree bench, but that's it. Its shaded and while I resisted the idea of another pond in the front, I am now open to it, and your pictures have been true treats and souces of incredible inspiration! Thank you!! This one will be better than ever. I hope!!
Er uh ladyanne, it's common knowledge that I like to eat massive quantities of food. Quality is not nearly as important as quantity. You can kidnap and feed me and in return I will help you create ittie bitty herp ponds! I'm getting pretty darn good at setting them and leveling them in sand these days! I'm thinking that empty section in your front in shade that is screaming for landscaping is right up my alley!
"Will Work For Food"!
Equal, I believe there is a train that goes RIGHT past your area. ROFL!!! Quantity works. We have bad habit of making a BIG pot of whatever, and there are only four of us, including two teens who usually don't make it back for dinner. Cooking is one of our millions of hobbies.
When I see a pond with the plants and vegetation overflowing into the pond, that's what I have yet to figure out. One pond is inbetween grass walking area, you cross the bridge to another walking area, so side plants are out. Plus the dogs would mutilate anything in tht immediate area, so you see the entire cement pond edges. Yuck. Does that make sense? On another small pond, we got smarter and placed plants all along the stream and the end pond. The new one? Oh, I have so many ideas. The dogs won't access the front so anything is possible.
When can you guys be here? Can have a multitude of great meals ready in an hour......
RockCity -
Seems like the fires are now under control.....the smoke in and around the Bay Area has been pretty bad this past week, low visibility and lots of debris in the air. The weather pattern has returned to normal and the air seems to be clearing out. The CDF has a great website http://www.fire.ca.gov/cdf/incidents/ . The first fire incident listed "The Rumsey Fire" is the one that was affecting a good portion of Northern California this week. http://www.fire.ca.gov/cdf/incidents/Rumsey%20Fire_166/incident_info.html The stats listed for each incident are truly amazing. For this particular fire almost 40,000 acres burned at a cost of almost $8million involving over 1,000 firefighters. The rainy season can't start soon enough around here, we need a really good drenching to knock the fire danger down.
ladyanne - several suggestions for foolproof plants to cover the edges of ponds. These will not only grow along the edges, but will fill all the nooks and crannies and crawl on over the edge and trail in the water.
Mimulus guttatus (Common Monkey Flower) http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/26373/
Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny, Moneywort) http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/26278/
Phalaris arundinacea Ribbon Grass, Reed Canary Grass, Gardener's Garters http://davesgarden.com/pdb/showimage/25944/
And my favorite is Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' - Golden Creeping Jenny, Gold Moneywort. These were plugs I put in the end of July around the new portion of the pond. It has been trimmed several times since then and in our climate it is evergreen and grows year round.
Pond puppies at play on this overcast drizzly day, this is one of the six Platinum Koi that I have.
And my Butterfly Koi, not the greatest picture. He's very shy and will seldon pose for pictures.
Major food fight going on here!
And one smart fish, taking time out to smell the flowers.
And the Golden Creeping Jenny that I forgot to post above!
Such lovely photos, Happenstance. And your Koi are just beautiful. Thanks for sharing. (Like I said earlier, I have major "zone envy"!!!)
Hello Happenstance, the butterfly koi has very vibrant colors. He's a real beauty! Maybe it's just me but... the butterfly koi are the most beautiful of all the koi.
Hello ladyanne, classic foot in mouth syndrome since I didn't bother to look at where you lived but since you're a seasoned veteran with teens under your belt, please send food anyway... it was an honest mistake! About your pond edge, I know what you mean. I am struggling with planting a pond edge in a wooded area. We'll figure it out sooner or later. The Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) planted around a pond has the potential to become a concern regardless of what zone one is in. It definitely isn't as big of a problem down south by you though. The native reed canary grass, for the most part was pretty much long ago replaced by an aggressive Eurasian cultivar. There's some debate out there as to nativity however in southern climes, it would definitely be an exotic. Here's one of the more informative links-
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/phalarun.html
Thank you both, Happen and Equal, for such lovely plant information. Now I have to find these guys, lol! At least I now have a new "Look for pond plants" category for them! Next, the backhoe!! Right after we conquer the roof....sigh.....
Seven children here, down to my last two, thank the Lord. Will send food. Might you have a preference? Killer Italian Battuto Minestrone, KFC biscuits, Thai peanut satay chicken?
Ooh! Thai peanut satay chicken here, please. Spicy! Oh and can we pop up to Yosemite for a picnic? You've got a bus that goes right to the valley -- I rode it on my honeymoon.
Happenstance, those fish are so darling! I just want to cuddle them. I have not encouraged mine to eat from my hand because of little boys/raccoons/possums -- my fish are better off shy. How do you keep from lifting them out of there and gurgling baby talk in their faces?! "Whoda mommies fish? Youda mommies fish!"
Hi ladyanne, we had our first move out and into his own apartment with a room mate earlier this year. Oh My God! I think I am still having a heart attack over that one. My husband is ok with it but I'm not. I drive by at least once a week just to see whaz happening over there. Amazingly, he hasn't lost any weight and he smells as if he is actually bonding with a laundry machine. Funny, he never could bond with our washer and dryer over here??? It will be a while until the next ones fly the coop as the oldest one wasn't adopted until he was older so there is a big gap in ages. 7 for you huh? God Bless you for that one. I thought 5 boys was tough. My big question is how did you manage to get down to 2 with your sanity? He he he! Good sense of humor I suppose! That's how I survive.
Say uh Rock City, I talk to my fish. I don't lift them out and hug them only because they are too darn hard to catch. The herons and raccoons have made them all shy! But the bullfrog is a different story. He gets boy kissed on a regular basis by the little ones. Poor bullfrog. Just hanging out to try to absorb some rays and along comes a frog kisser. I must admit he is very tolerant of the boys. Best frog in the world!
Oh, Equal, I am insulted. I did not make it, I AM insane. Oh wait, my insanity was discussed on another thread. ROFL!! My next tee will read "I dont suffer from insanity - I enjoy it"
Have you ever heard any mother with three boys has earned her place in heaven? Five boys? Whoa....you are doubly blessed, especially for adopting! I had my 22 year old move back in last year. Actually I dont mind, I rest easier with him here. By the time my 16 year old baby moves out, I might be used to it. Then I can really get some gardening done!! Ha ha.
Do we all talk to our wildlife??? Love your frog! I want one again, sniff....I coo at the fish and they swarm. People are blown away to see them come when I call them for breakfast but I think they don't know about Pavlov's dogs. We built a huge eating station for the loose bunnies in the front, just in time for the rain. When we brought it out, both bunnies showed up and hoped in. That was sooo great. When I put fresh feeders out for the hummers I yell "Breakfast!" and within a minute, there are always a couple on their way. I swear one day I am going to see a neighbor climbing the fence, plate and fork in hand.
No, you won't get any more gardening then because round about that time, they will be coming back home only this time they will be bringing wives with them and grandchildren. Ha, joke is on us. We will never be alone, never.
OMG. She's right.
