Birds Eye View of Pond

Here are some Shots taken today of the Pond--I love to take shots from all over the place--I fell from different angles it feels different. anyway enjoy-I notice alot of these Pond Shots make Great Great Wallpaper. I use it at work now--just click the photo will enlarge it to its own page--then right click and hold and set as wallpaper. Anyway I love my coffee and paper out at the pond in the morning, makes going to work tough...

Pond Blogging

Have to say that I am really amazed at the amount of Pond'ers out there! In just under a week somewhere over 1800 people have already passed through to visit my blog-to those I say thanks for stopping in and come back to watch as the pond grows.

But It so nice to see so many others interested in something that I spend so much time and get so much enjoyment with. As most of you ponders know, something about being out there working with your pond (sometimes knee deep or higher in water and muck), tinkering here or there, always making adjustments that add to the ponds growth and beauty! When I first thought to build a pond in my new backyard, everyone thought I was crazy-my wife espescially, but after it was built everyone was like wow, and now as it has grown in people just cant believe its there! "Its like a Oasis" "Its so beautiful" "So tranquil" are things I always here from those visiting and I just love it. I love to hear and see others enjoy something I help create! I call this the "Pond God" feelling, I gave this little ecosystem life and to watch it grow is amazing! It makes you feel like the a God, and then of course your Koi become friends, Turtles family, frogs new neighbors and you have totaly lost it. lol

Watching as my young daughter skips rocks across the water, and talks to the fish and turtles, the pond has become just priceless! I believe it is one of the greatest lessons on nature you can give a child all in your backyard.

And now to let so many other in on that joy makes it even better! I Hope you all enjoy the blog and its growth, Im sure just like my pond I will tinker with it -so check back and again Thanks! Happy Ponding!

Minnows Spawn and Spawn

Well I just cant believe the numbers tha the minnows are spawning into too! AMazingly there must be over 500 minnows now and seems like growing by the day! More and More babies being born, and the older ones are now starting to get bigger! Anyone know how often or how many times minnows will spawn? I know they do it when the water gets warmer, and it is the perfect time for that, Im just wondering now if I shouldl start giving away some minnows! Anyone with a pond in the LA area that wants some Free Minnows please email me! Otherwise the pons growth is amazing me, everyday lately it seems like something new is going on! Anyway here are a few more shots taken this morning of the minnows--the entire pond is covered like this!

Minnows Spawned Again

Well I got home from work and noticed about 500 minnows in the pond! Seems my minnows spawned yet again. Just when the turtles had gotten the population back down to a ok size, I now have simply hundreds upon hundreds of minnows. Well Im sure my Frog and Turtles will now be well feed for the next few weeks!

Dragonflies pay Pond a Visit

They Come most every morning! Sometimes one sometimes a half dozen! Orange, Purple, Blue, the colors are so cool. I remember dragon flies from growing up on a lake in NJ, some grow to the size of a small bird! So great that my pond is attracting such animals, really shows how you can build your own backyard ecosystem!

Turtle MIA

Well it happened again! My big Red Eared Slider turtle has gone missing! Seems as I said the other day, he decides to take a walk around the yard at least twice weekly. I am always finding him among my vegetable garden, and the shrubs and bushes along the pond, he usually digs himself down into the dirt around a 1"! Anyway I know turtles sometimes hibernate in the winter when the water is cold, and they in a normal enviroment would hibernate in the mudd and muck at bottom of lakes, somethings he cant do in my pond! but is this normal in the summer? could he, or maybe I should say She be pregnant? Interesting, I usually find him/her and put her back in pond. Well Im going to go look for the turtle now but maybe this time I just remember where he dug himself or herself in and let her bi a while! I know the turtle knows where the pond is as a few times I have discovered him I took him out and let him find his own way back! lol anyway I hope the younger turtles dont learn from this old man! Otherwise I will have turtles walking all over my backyard! lol Anyone with info on my Turtles strange habits--please feel free to comment! I have seen on other pond sites ideas about screening or fencing the turtles into your pond, but who wants the ugly eyesore of a fence around your pond?

July 05 Pond-koi, Minnows

here are some moe shots from this morning, a beautiful day it my so called pond life. A Few shots of the Koi feeding and another attempt at showing all the minnows

Pond Frogs

Here are the Frogs that hatched from Tadpoles in the last week! Not sure what type of frog they are? or if they will stick around? As I posted yesterday in "Survival of the Fitest"--one of them already met his maker in a unknown homicide the other day! Anyone with info or a idea what type of frogs these are please comment! i think they are bull frogs!

More Turtles-Painter and Baby Red Eared Slider

Here are a few more shots taken this morning 7/26, of my painter and the baby Red Eared slider! Seems they have become friends!~lol

Turtles-Red Eyed Slider & Painter

Here are my guys (or girls) not to sure on that one~lol I just love the turtles! The one Big one refuses to stay in the pond! I find him in my vegetable garden or shrubs at least twice a week! lmao The other shot is tough to see but its of the baby minnows that were spawned the last few weeks! There were a few hundred but something, IE the turtles have been feasting, and there are just maybe 100 left!

Koi and Turtles

here are some shots of my koi and Turtles-I have 3 Red Eyed Sliders and one Painter Turtle

Summer 05 Pond (Cont)

here are a few more shots--I love taking pictures of the pond from different angles

Summer 05 Pond

here are some recent shots of the pond in full bloom-the water lettuce and water hycintha have gone berserk, I have had to split a few of my bog plants, since they outgrow their containers already! I add some more shots now too

Survival of the Fitest I guess

Well after I got my coffee this am and went to feed the fish and turtles their breakfast, I noticed a ton of flies over on one of the rocks near the bog. Well when I look closer there was one of the tails of my tadpoles, and some inners of what I am assuming used to be one of my frogs! I kept seeing two yesterday, one fully formed and another bigger one that still had part of its tadpole tail. Well I dont see him anymore and I have to say the remains make me think either a bird or maybe a local cat got em! Sad day for the pond, and now I have to worry that something knows there is a snack shop near bye! Could have been the Hawk I saw the other day, the bog was in total disaray with plants almost knocked over!

Summer 05 of Pond

Well my So Called pond life took some exciting turns in the last few weeks.

First my Minnows Spawned--I witnessed two of them in a mating dance a few weeks back and now to my amazement there has got to be 150 to 300 baby minnows! The numbers decrease by the day as the turtles and Im sure some local birds are in their glory!

Then my Tadpoles, who I have been watching as their back legs then front legs grow, finally became frogs! Well at least 3 of the 5 so far! So Cool to see and now the frogs on the lillies pad and water lettuce etc is really awesome! With the Turtles, koi, and now Frogs aI feel I really do have my own little backyard ecosystem going.

Finally I was sitting under my big Willow Tree and enjoying the fruits of my labor, IE the Pond, when all the local birds etc went flying for cover! Just then a So Cal Red Tailed Hawk came swooping down into the tree. He stayed for a few minutes to take in the pond from above in the tree. I ran in got the wife and when we came back out we scared him away! he flew to a nearbye Palm, and after a while I saw him leave and circle my house and neighborhood from above! Amazing to see such a wild bird coming to a built pond and I guess and Im hoping not a Food Source! lol

Other then that we still get tons of Dragonflies, beautiful colors of Orange, Blue, and Purples. Next up I want to get salamanders! :-)

As soon as I get my digital camera fixed Ill take some new pcitures, dropped it! Ugh! but the pond has grown in so so much! Summer has made things just go berserk! I have already had to start splitting plants that have outgrown containers. And my Water Lettuce and Water Hycinth have just gone berserk! Pictures to come hopefully in next couple days! Later

The Real Cost

The Cost of building my pond-well lets just say it wasnt cheap--and I reused alot of recycled materials to build it! anyway I thought it Might help some to see some of the costs incurred in building a pond! You could always do it cheaper, there are so many says to build a pond, from a Pond Kit with everything you need for a small pond, to prefab ponds at local Home Supplies Stores, there are more ways to build a pond then you can imagine! anyway here is a breakdown of my est costs

Materials

Liner---50ft by 12ft $300
Pump -1500GpH--$160
Pump Hose 25ft--$10
Skimpy Filter-pvc/filter material/silcone/etc--$125
Waterfall Foam--3 cans---$35
different chemicals--$40
Gravel-River Rock-15-20bags--$90
Rocks-$50 **Note I used broken concrete from a patio I took out--you can spend up anywhere from $200-$600 on rock to line the edges-depending on what you use
Water Lillies--4--$150
Other Water plants--$100
Koi--5--$50
Turtles--4--$40
Minnows--$20
Tadpole--$5
Fish Turtle Food--Around $30 every 2 months
Landscape Plants-_Cactus, Succulents, etc--$400
Labor--Free--me and a few days with the brother in law to lay liner

Total--$1605.00 and counting dailly--LOL :-)

Im sure there are a few things I missed--but thats all I can think of at the moment! Hope that doesnt scare anyone because IMHO its all been more then worth it

Some of my Resident Turltes

I have 3 red Eyed Sliders--ranging in size from a baby to one around a foot in round
They have one friend who is a Painter Turtle...

more pictures of all my pond pets to come--Koi, Minnows, Frogs, Tadpoles, and of course the Sun loving Turtles