It is time for new photos. I'll try to get some updates this weekend. Light is too harsh right now. Our little fish have finally starting eating the fish food! They are growing so we weren't too concerned, but wanted them to come to the surface so we could see them. Yeah! Ok, so it has to be after the sun sets and the waterfall has to be turned off.....but they are learning!
New pond project now under way - join us!
Hi,Debra! Looking forward for the new photos !How are you today ?
Hugs,
Adina
I know what you mean, Debra! We couldn't see ours for quite a while (pond is pretty deep), but then the water got very clear, and they are getting braver now! It's very exciting to see them "come and get it", but it's taken a while for ours, too! Bet it looks gorgeous, can't wait to see!
They have to be trained, just like anyone else. I've read, however, that it's a bad idea to bang on the side of the pond, or something like that, to call them to eat. Apparently racoons will mimic that, and it won't be to FEED the fish! Mine know when they see me that they have a shot at getting a light snack, so they come to the surface. Also, once you've trained just one, the others will learn from him/her!
Right now, they are still skiddish and run for cover when they see us. The more plants we add, the more adventuresome they are. I'm sure they will figure out we are the 'good guys' before much longer. We don't give them much food since they aren't eating it. We were told only give them what they eat within 5 minutes. Well, that would be about 1 grain of fish food! We've been turning off the waterfall and putting a small amount (about a teaspoon) in then leaving them alone for about an hour. They don't eat it all but are starting to come up to check it out. Like I said before...they are growing so they are eating something!
Hi, Debra! Don't worry about the fish, they are eating like you were told...I have gupis in the aquarium and I only give them once as much as I can take in two fingers. I feedthem twice a day and they are fine. They always come towards the corner where they sense a movement, but when we first moved in here they were like stone , no movement at all...only after a day they began eating and moving towards me again !LOL
Adina
Adina, I'm sure your fish learned very quickly.....what a good cook you are! LOL! Have they ever tried your cabbage rolls?
ROTFLOL ! Oh,no, it'd kill them !Only fish food !I tried to take a picture,but it's a bit blurry...sorry !
Adina
Pretty fish, Adina. Do they all have names?
Here's a current photo of our garden pond. The plants are starting to fill in - but still lots of room for more - more - more!!! The little fish are starting to learn what fish food is for. They are growing so they are eating something. I went out after dark to feed them last night and nearly had the pee scared out of me by our resident bullfrog. (remember the two-hander who showed up the first week?) He was on the concrete patio and I was almost on top of him when he jumped. He is so big! I did scare the pee out of him - he left of puddle. LOL! Wish I could have gotten a photo of him but, when searching for him with a flashlight, I could never find him again.
LOL, you scared the pee out of the frog! The pond looks absolutely gorgeous! Don't you just love it?!
LOL,Debra, you should have a light out there !Poor bull frog !LOL The pond looks gorgeous ! Where were the fish ?
I took a better picture of my aquarium...I figured out how to make this with the digicam !
Adina
Grrrr...rain passed through and I lost my satellite connection before posting the second photo. Yes, Brenda, we do enjoy it. The courtyard area is still very hot due to the afternoon sun and no shade. I'd like to get patio set with umbrella for immediate help, then plant a river birch tree in the dog yard above the courtyard for long term shade. During the cocktail hour......just when we most want to enjoy the pond.....it's too hot to sit there but we enjoy it when we can. The hummers just swarm the area. It's so fun to watch them.
Adina, much better photo. Your water is so clear!
Debra it looks wonderful! Consider a shade sail for overhead---we love ours. Best price I've found is on Costo.com if you are a member. Otherwise, take a look on backyardcity.com.
Janet
That's a good idea! Can the sail be taken down easily? I'd probably want to remove it in the winter months. I had also thought of having DH build a large arbor type structure that I could grow vines on (there's a name for it but can't recall it) I need something to shade the area, but not block the view from the dining room window or create too much shade for my sun loving plants.
This photo of the opposite corner of the courtyard shows the area where we usually sit - our backs to the corner or window and facing the pond. We are looking due west when we face the pond so the sun in directly in our eyes. The heat from the bricks and concrete is brutal!
Yep, next project, you need a shade structure! Any of the ideas given here would work great, we put up a "barzebo" and a gazebo, and added a misting system (do you have those out there?). Don't know that they would work well in high humidity, they work best here when it is very hot and dry, mist almost evaporates as it hits your skin. I've noticed that if it's only moderately hot, the mist is much "wetter".
Again, beautiful!
Brenda
Here's part of the "barzebo"...
This message was edited May 30, 2007 5:14 PM
We now have a total of 4 shade sails, and all but the front one come down in the winter. They're just hooked up to strategic locations with snap hooks and cargo straps. We also convinced a friend to put one over her front courtyard, and she's stopped wishing for AC. They make a HUGE difference, and are a great alternative to a permanent structure.
In spite of the front courtyard facing northeast and being in shade much of the day and having 2 big trees, the concrete still heated up enough from the ambient temperature to make it too hot to sit in most of the day. Now it's just too full of plants that need to be moved to sit in, but that's my next project.
In our side patio, the heat from the afternoon sun made it impossible to enjoy sitting out there till after dark. Besides, the concrete heated up so much that it also heated up the house. Two shade sails side-by-side solved that problem. There's probably a 5-degree difference in the house temperature from them, and I can eat lunch out there now.
And the newest one shades the yurt----the first day it got over 90 and I was out there, I was cursing my neighbors for whining about my big willow tree, (which shaded our yard nicely, but also got totally out of control and was going to put us in a mess) which had to be cut down last fall. So Bill ordered another shade sail, placed it strategically, trying different spots over a few days, and it's just lovely in there now.
It's a great short-term solution while you figure out if/where/what shape you want a permanent shade structure (pergola, pavillion, whatever) to be!
imapigeon, could you post a photo of your shade sail? I don't think Debra will mind, will you Debra? I'd like to see how you've placed it (or them).
Thanks, Brenda. I was going to ask the same. Would love to see them.
Home miserable with strep throat today. Ugh! No fun. Guess I'll have to drive myself to doctor to get RX then to pharmacy. Either one of you willing to come drive me? lol
Will do, when I get home from work! Debra, hope you feel better soon. Wish I could come drive you and see that lovely pond in person.....stuck at my desk, unfortunately....sigh
Debra,the pond looks wonderful...so professional ! I'm with you,lets see a picture of imapegeon's shade sails !
How are you ?
Adina
Hi Adina, I'm fine other than being sick with strep throat. Not feeling too good right now.
Allrighty then, here is a link to my shade sail photos that I took about 5:30 tonight.
Let me know if this link works...I'm still getting the hang of some of this!
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jwenholz@verizon.net/album/576460762403303656
This message was edited Jun 1, 2007 7:52 AM
No, sorry, it didn't work. I've found if I end a sentence with the link and put a period after the link it won't work - it reads the period as a character of the link. Try again and leave off the period - just leave several spaces or go to next line for further info. Can't wait to see your photos.
Try this. Frustrating. It looks like a link, it acts like a link.....but when I submit it, it stops WORKING!
OK, edited again. Paste this into your browser and remove the quotes. I think that will work.
"http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jwenholz@verizon.net/album/576460762403303656"
This message was edited Jun 1, 2007 7:56 AM
Wow, LOVE those shade sails! And your home, garden, and gazebo are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing, I didn't know you could get those from Costco, and they are pretty reasonably priced... great idea!
Brenda
Thanks----sometimes it's more fun for me to look at the pictures than the real thing....when I take pix I don't focus on all the WORK that needs to be done to every single area LOL!!
I don't think the shade sails are available in the Costco stores, but I just checked and they are still available on costco.com. I've bought a few things from them online and been very pleased with quick delivery. But like in the stores, if you are sure you want them, you'd better order them because things I've bought one day are no longer available 2 weeks later!
Anyway, these are the exact ones we have, and they have several shapes, sizes and colors. We like the desert tan with our house, but they have a green and a blue, too.
They've held up well---one of the side ones has a little hole in it where it rubbed on the corner of the roof before we figured out it was doing that, but it's like super-shadecloth, and doesn't run or anything.
(BTW, we can't use the patio heater under the one where it's shown on the side patio, or it would melt the stuff. It's just sitting there.)
Anyway, if you can't tell, I'm a fan. The only negative is that the microclimate over our courtyard has changed so much since we put the shade sail up last spring that I have to redistribute my sun- and heat-loving plants and move in shade-lovers. Leaving it up over the winter, however, probably saved some of my more tender plants (gingers, etc.) from dying in the freeze big freeze we had this winter. I thought they were goners, because they totally died down to the ground but they're all coming back now (YEAH)!
Fantastic shades! I like they way they allow light through but provide shade. Not solid. They certainly fit the style of your home and studio. Hmmmm......looks like an artist lives there???
Hah. I was just posting on the Garden Design forum that my artistic talents are in "other" areas----like I'm laying vinyl tile in my friend's shed today, since I did the floor in the yurt and am now the resident expert in the group. I wish I were an artist, but I'm just a plodder. I consider myself a craftswoman, but sadly I'm NOT an artist! I suffer from serious "talent envy" LOL!
Yes, the shade sails lower the temp a lot, but do not cut out light. Possibly depending on the color----the darker colors might cut out more light. I think you would like one over your seating area outside the dining room window. But don't let me tell you what to do---hahahaha!
Hope you're feeling better?
Later...I'm off----but you probably have already figured that out~~
Hey Debra,just checking ...how are you doing ?
Hugs,
Adina
Hi Adina! I'm doing great now. My internet went out June 2nd and we didn't get it back until yesterday. Also, I had strep throat last week. Ugh! Everything is better now! Boss sure looked handsome in his birthday hat. I love the photos of his birthday party. Our fish are finally learning to come to the surface and eat the fish food. They have about doubled in size since we got them. The koi are tri-colored and very pretty.
Isn't it fantastic seeing how fast they grow?!! I love the fish! Hope you're feeling better...
If they keep growing at this rate......they will be 6 feet long by next summer! LOL!
LOL!
You'll have to build a new pond!~
Debra - this "pond" thing is very addictive !!! Sounds like you've got the "fever".
Your pond is very pretty ! I know you are enjoying it. Glad to hear you are feeling better.
LOL! It is addictive! It's a good thing we have a limited space for a fish pond. If we wanted a larger one outside the courtyard it would require dynamite. It's solid rock out there. That will keep me 'in bounds'!
No no noooooooooo...........that just means that you add above ground ponds...where there's a will , there's a way! ;)
Ugh Oh....Mary....don't be putting ideas in my head!!!
Well, Debra, you did start this thread with "it's exciting to be building our first garden pond"...
:)
This message was edited Jun 10, 2007 5:24 PM
Foreshadowing?????