Here are a few pics I was able to get! A bit puggy tho, LOL
What lives in or near your Pond (volume 2)
Another:
Whoa, that bunny looks big!
A bashful little garter snake. We call him slim. He hangs around the stream probably eating some of the little toads/frogs. Each summer, we have thousands of tadpoles in our stream and ponds.
HollyAnnS, I've just gone through the previous thread and noticed your small square Deck Pond. What a super design! I'm showing it to my DH! Hopefully he can include it when he puts in the new deck! Thanks for posting it!
Oh, we have just finished moving it and doing some rehab work on it.
Take this link for some updated pictures and info on the pond.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/867314/
That's beautiful, HollyAnn!
I love your watercan Waterfall! Is that a lotus in the Deck Pond? Thanks for the link.
Thanks for the nice comments
Yes that is a Lotus. I have two of them in that pond and one or two in my other pond. This is my first year for Lotus so I'm not quite sure what to expect. For some reason I thought they liked still water and I was planing in putting them in different water feature but it isn't finished yet so this is where they ended up.
Here is what is usually hanging around my pond. Talk about predators... She has killed 5 birds since I started up my pond. The last one she left floating in the waterfall pool. Luckily most of them have been the pesty grackles that come in flocks to the pond but she did get a robin and a meadowlark. My husband calls the pond the killing fields:(
Evesta LOL, Yes I know your pain. We have all kinds of bird feeders and cats too. Sometimes I feel like I'm louring in the poor birds. Luckily my cats are pretty old and slow. Every once in a while they will catch sometime but their hearts really aren't in it anymore.
Tootsie, Nice pictures, In the past we have had an occasional deer at our pond but not recently. Love that fat little Bunny hope she stays away from your plants.
Parrotma, Very nice shot of your snake.
Evesta--she sure is a pretty kitty!!!
An interesting BBC article about frogs, fungus and sun. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7464437.stm
Just noticed a 2nd batch of eggs in my pond. Am I correct in saying they are frog eggs rather than toad eggs? Frogs are laid in hexagonal gell masses and toad's eggs are 'stringy????
I noticed a little frog yesterday dashing out of the sun to find shade under my shrubs. It was about 1/4 the size of the mommy, so I'm presuming the tadpoles are now 2" frogs. Odd that I did not see any of the little frogs swimming in the pond at all.
I bought some under water plants recently to try to protect the new little goldfish from the ever hungry heron. From 4 dozen, a couple of weeks ago, I noticed not one came out to eat the fish food this morning. Alas, probably all gone! Lots of under water plants now, and no goldfish to hide in them! Sigh!
Hey bedouin, Maybe if you quit feeding that darn heron for a while he'll go somewhere else......
Well, Here is a shot of my new fish. Nothing special just medium feeder goldfish $2.50 a dozen. I needed a few new fish since we got the box pond up and running.
Here is another shot of one of the frogs so far they seem to be staying here so there must be enough of something for them all to eat. That's my Justicia americana (American Water Willow) blooming in the foreground.
Mork, not a chance! Well, I'm not giving up! Umpteen water plants will now, hopefully, shelter another 4 dozen baby goldfish. The pond was vacant of all fish for quite a few months. Still the pesky heron visited. Drank water from our pool ...despite its chlorine content..... So we will see who wins this round!! 1 for the heron/0 for the pondowner.
I drip water into the birdbath which then then runs into the pond. Oreoles, mockingbirds, catfish, doves, grackles and blue jays visit regularly. Its awfully hot right now, so the doves literally sit right in the centre of the birdbath till they are scooted out by other birds wanting to cool off!
Nice birdbath! I would love to see our Orioles doing that! They bathe in a little trickle water pond we have, but it's in a position where we can't see the big birds anymore (plants have grown up) - and those guys are skittish. The little birds go on top, so we get to see them more. I'm with you - just keep buying those fish! Maybe you should set up a breeder tank and grow your own. :-)
Beautiful bird shot. I can't get the Orioles to stay around I usually see them a couple of times a year but only for a day and then they are gone. I've even tried giving them grape jelly.
Mommy Frog sat still while I took quite a few shots of her. Hopefully, she wont lay any more eggs! My DH told me he heard frogs croaking 4 houses away where there is another pond.
There is a tiny lake about a mile to the west. A couple of years ago we thought we'd drive by just for the enjoyment, on our way home. What a surprise we had............. Apparently once a year there is a 'Frog Fest'. And I dont mean a few dozen frogs, hopping across the road, through the lawns, down pathways, squashed on the road, jumping into the pond.......I'm talking of HUNDREDS! Their croaking was so loud we had to raise our voices it was so head. Croaking in all sorts of keys and noise levels! It was a super Halloween evening in the middle of summer! Just unbelievable! I jumped out of the car to take a close up look, holding a torch. Followed a frog up a driveway and the owner came out to see what I was doing. He said its an annual ocurrance! We had to practically shout to hear each other!
This message was edited Jun 26, 2008 3:28 PM
Mommy frog............a froggie would a-wooing to, ahem, ahem................]
Just want to ask a very important question........this is not a Buffo Toad, is it? I did check with google photos and the buffo toad seems horribly 'warty', so I dont thik mine is Buffo. Someone told me they were in our area, so it does worry me a bit. However, even buffo toads catch thousands of insects and mosquitoes, so they are not all bad.
Also, from what I've read, frog eggs are encased in a hexagonal gelantenous material. Toads eggs are 'string'. Just want to check this info with you as well. Mommy Frogs eggs are certainly not 'stringy'.
This message was edited Jun 26, 2008 1:17 AM
I've got a green frog that has moved into my stream (I have a pondless feature with a stream that has a few "deep" pools).
Here's a picture of her: http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/viewentry/199261/
And I also get chipmunks -- they love to sit on the rocks of the waterfall and keep an eye out, and sometimes clean themselves. The rocks are dry stacked, and I know they (and the voles) have tunnels in there they use for protection.
Evie, I also get chipmunks. Although I think there is only one of them, it is very sneaky, and the only way to see it is by looking out the window from time to time.
I've enjoyed everyone's pics.
Got this cute pic last night of one of the little creatures that lives in my pond.
LOL, he looks like posing for a family portrait.
That's what I thought too.
And thank goodness she was patient and I was able to go get my camera. : )
Great shot, you couldn't have posed it better.
Been quiet at my pond. Lou has not be heard from in a few days. He had a spell of croaking ..croaking ..croaking and now he is gone. I hope he met a nice girl and they went to visit her folks..
I was out by the pond just now with a large camping flash light. Having given up that all the frogs have moved on..I set the flashlight
down on the patio but forgot to turn it off. At the end of the beam of light was a Frog! His /her body was only about 2" . I picked it up and held it for a while. Sure wish I had my camera... but it jumped off my hand to places unknown. Did not hear it land or splash..
Shook myself off before going back into the house..just in case he was trying to hitch a ride... I am hoping he invites his freinds over..
In the meanwhile this guy will have to fill in..
sunny ..great shot of your frog.
bedouin.. your mommy frog is so cute.
My fish enjoying their breakfast...
BeaHive, your fish are magnificantly coloured!
SunnyAz, what a marvelous photo composition! The little visitor certainly looks quite at home!
My new batch of goldfish. Hope they last a little longer than the last batch! Lots of greenery this time for them to hide under!
Bedouin, I've heard that you can put tripping lines up. Just put a couple of rows of short stakes around your pond and wrap some fishing line around it. Something you can easily step over not too high. Wading birds don't like to get their legs tangled up.
Cheeky, cheeky heron!
Beahive, your fish always look so happy and friendly.
We had another freak thunderstorm with 80 mile an hour winds. A big slab of styrafome from someones yard blew into the pond last night. This morning the fish were terrified. Everytime I start to get them tame something happens to frighten them and we start over. I ordered a koi castle so they have more of a hiding spot.
I got some bird visitors yesterday. Here are two bluejays...the one on the left is bathing so you may have to look for it.
And here's a male cardinal in the pondless pond.
Bedouin, I have one of those drippers, never set it up. Could you post a picture father way to show more of your set up so it overflows into the pond. I need Ideas.
Caught this froggie with his eyes on a firefly sitting on the top of the tall weed, that I was going to pull yesterday. (froggie did not catch bug. )
ladygardener1, I'm presuming your dripper comes with fhe following: concrete base with brass insert for the copper dripper; tubing for water to feed dripper; a hose attachment at the end of the water tubing. Mine did not come with an on/off switch, so I bought fittings to make one at Home Depot. Mister Landscaper - plumbing Dept, Home Depot - now has one which will be compatible with 1/4" tubing.
I attached a hose pipe to the end of my tubing and regulated the water speed to minimal. Then I fine tuned the water flow speed with the on/off switch which I placed about 12" from the concrete base. The top of the birdbath is slightly tilted towards the pond so the water runs down the birdbath pedestal, with the front bearing the moisture flow. The pedestal base is placed on a small stepping stone, which I have again tilted ever so slightly towards the pond to ensure the water drips directly into the pond from the tipof its base. Its a case of fine tuning both the birdbath and the pedestal slants to ensure the water does not end up in the garden instead of the pond, but also at a safe angle so it does not topple over into the pond. Its worked perfectly for me for many years. Of course there are times when I use the hose pipe to top the pond off when the water level drops a bit. With the heat here in summer, its about every 2 weeks. So you can imagine that more than an occasional drop from the dripper is used to ensure the flow works for me.
This message was edited Jun 28, 2008 2:53 PM
Bird bath dripper. I added an on/off switch. All the components were bought at Home Depot, Plumbing Department. The tube is 1/4",....I think. I have used 2 size tubes, but the Mister Landscaper tubing is 1/4" and its better than the thinner size. Its also much more flexible and withstands the UV rays better I've found. Our sun is extremely hot (in the shade its 93 degrees right now) and will harden the tubing which is is made from a thinner, somewhat inflexible plastic.
You can buy an on/off switch now made by Mister Landscaper.
I'll post the components for making a bird bath dripper should anyone be interested in making one. I'll do this via Picase2's site as a 'collage' and if anyone's interested to see individual photos, let me know and I'll post them individually.
By the way, Picase2 is a free programme!
great shot of the frog, ladygardener1!