Gonna Build a Little Pond

[Amarok]

Wow. Didn't expect that much elevation, the outflow waterfall is gonna be sweet.

I've been out playing with the outflow stream, increasing turbulence/aeration, making a little protected birdbath in one spot, covering one section over, just screwing around and watching the results(and enjoying myself immensely). I wanted to avoid adding an air pump if I could and I think having a couple foot drop will accomplish that.

My neighbor and I both agreed we need at least another day before we get more rocks, but I should be able to finish the stream/waterfall at that point.

Clarity is surprisingly good already. I did dump one bucket of creek water in to kickstart the aquatic life-cycle and I'll add a few more. No idea how long it will take before the bugs and microscopic stuff get established but I figure the more "live" water the quicker that will happen.

 

[Psychobilly]

Hehehe, wait until you have filtration and so on, and can put a Catfish in there Once a Catfish learns your behavior, it'll come up and see you when it's feeding time

I know you can't actually store a Catfish outside.... I'm just pointing out how much you'd love it LOL.

 

[Hugh Jass]

 

[Psychobilly]

View attachment 168187

LOL! Bro they do look like they smile sometimes:




So cute

 

[Amarok]

Bluejays need to go. Fuckers think they own MY yard and can chase my friends away?

Scruff the crow came for the first visit in a while. He had a feed and a drink and left. Then when I was out puttering he came back and a bluejay tried to chase him. I treed the jay and like the squirrels lasts year, he thinks he's safe up there. Missed his head with a rock by a couple inches and he still just flew one branch up.

BB pistol is by the door. Pellet pistol is standing by. Air rifle will be deployed if required.

 

[Amarok]

Just watched Scruff try a raid on the bluejay nest. He worked his way into and up a big lodgepole pine with two jays attacking the whole way but he didn't quite make it. He took one hit too many and withdrew to come up with a better plan.

Meanwhile, I got out the extendable tree trimmer and started opening up shooting lanes.


I dumped a bucket of nasty, stinky swamp water into the pond yesterday. I saw a couple of diving beetles swimming around, and there is plant matter that I'm resisting the urge to scoop out because I don't want to mess with any micro-critters or plant bits that may not be dead.

I've got at least 2/3rds of the liner edge buried and am continuing to plug away. Three of four sides will slope away from the pond to minimize the amount of runoff and debris entering. Obviously the berm side will run-off into the pond(unless I wanted to rig up some kind of gutter. I don't ).

I laid down a bunch of wildflower seeds to start holding the berm together. The first 4 haskaps are doing great, growing well and finishing flowering. I should actually get a few berries in late June/early July. The saskatoon is starting to take off as is the strawberry. The raspberry is slow to get going.

The smoke is really bad today. Supposed to get a bunch of rain starting Monday and I can't wait.

Edit: I planted some sunflower seeds along the deck and in the back corner of the yard and there are close to 40 seedlings up. Should be happy birds this fall.

 

[Bullfrog]

Pond looks great so far, really nice work. Took an idea and turned it into something real, no better feeling.

Blue Jays are nasty mean birds for sure but most all birds will chase crows and ravens, and for good reason. Love that your having a blast with your new pond and all it brings. Thanks so much for sharing with those of us who can't have such things.

We just got some much needed rain, hoping for the same for you!

 

[Amarok]

Pond looks great so far, really nice work. Took an idea and turned it into something real, no better feeling.

Thank you very much. Some time in March I started thinking, then researching, and in April I started digging and buying stuff. Now, as you say, it exists and I love it.

Blue Jays are nasty mean birds for sure but most all birds will chase crows

I posted last year about the family of crows that hung out with me. I started feeding the parents and they built a nest a short distance from my deck. Their two babies grew up hopping around my yard and bathing in tubs of water I put out for them. They learned to find their own food here(that I put out) though they would still squawk for Mom and Dad to feed them. It was a wonderful experience.
I know crows can be rough on other birds, but I don't care. They are my buds and I am Team Crow.

Therefore the bluejays are now on my shit list.

 

[Bullfrog]

Thank you very much. Some time in March I started thinking, then researching, and in April I started digging and buying stuff. Now, as you say, it exists and I love it.

I posted last year about the family of crows that hung out with me. I started feeding the parents and they built a nest a short distance from my deck. Their two babies grew up hopping around my yard and bathing in tubs of water I put out for them. They learned to find their own food here(that I put out) though they would still squawk for Mom and Dad to feed them. It was a wonderful experience.
I know crows can be rough on other birds, but I don't care. They are my buds and I am Team Crow.

Therefore the bluejays are now on my shit list.

I'm with ya, crows are cool birds. So damn smart. And they can make some funny noises too. Blue Jays are loud obnoxious bully birds. One time when I was a young'n I was out hunting with my dad, we were sitting watching a trail and this crow or raven, not sure which came around and started making noises. It was making a dripping water sound, sounded just like a dripping faucet. I couldn't stop snickering, dad got mad cause there was no way any deer was going to come around with that bird and me, trying not to laugh.

 

[Amarok]

I'm with ya, crows are cool birds. So damn smart.

The more I learn, the more amazed I am.

Crows could be the smartest animal other than primates

Crows have long been considered cunning. But their intelligence may be far more advanced than we ever thought possible.

www.bbc.com

 

[Amarok]

Here's a pic from last year.
One of the parents is on a perch I made and the two little ones are on a branch woven into the fence. I'm maybe 8 feet or so from them.

 

[Bullfrog]

That's cool they sit on your perch. They trust you, that's even cooler.

 

[Psychobilly]

Wife and I were in the woods like a week ago, and watched a bunch of Crows chase off and dive bomb a raptor of some sort (Couldn't tell if it was a Hawk or...) but they chased after it and started kicking it's ass.

 

[Amarok]

Took this Friday afternoon.


I am very impressed with how quickly the pond has cleared up. May be tough to see with the reflections, but the bottom of the deepest section is now visible, over three feet down. Just took this a couple minutes ago.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Took this Friday afternoon.
View attachment 168544

I am very impressed with how quickly the pond has cleared up. May be tough to see with the reflections, but the bottom of the deepest section is now visible, over three feet down. Just took this a couple minutes ago.

View attachment 168545

I read a long article yesterday about the 90+ wildfires y'all have going up there in AB.
They were calling it, "Canadian Armageddon," which seems a tad hyperbolized for the webz.
Sending all the good vibes I can muster up your way - my rain dance did bring me some rain.... bah!
When you're shooting pond pics with your phone, or anything really,
shoot through a lens on your polarized sunglasses - no reflections.

 

[Amarok]

Sending all the good vibes I can muster up your way

Thanks man. It can't hurt.

-----
So having never heard of, bought, seen, or planted dormant, mail-order shrubs before, I was a little dubious.

The supplier has a 'see growth in 30 days guarantee' and other reading I did said 4-6 weeks to come out of dormancy.
That hasn't stopped me from regularly checking the dead little sticks even though it's only been 4 days, though I wasn't expecting to see anything.

Tundra 1

Tundra 2:



Both Berry Blue are also showing the first signs of leafing out, but not the Honey Bees or Gojis yet.

Happy would be an understatement.

 

[Amarok]

All the haskaps are greening up.

Also made a little bit of progress on the pond. Still figuring out exactly what I want to do(i changed stuff again 10 minutes after the pic), as well as learning to understand the physics of a skimmer, but slowly coming along.

 

[DopeDaniel]

Physics is great I loved it for 5 of my 7 college years lol, still love it today, with a BA lol.

Aeration can be achieved by disturbing the surface. This is why I ended up running one of these in the res at some point for hydro.
SUN Microsystems Jvp Series Submersible Circulation Powerhead Pump, 800 GPH, 2Piece https://a.co/d/afHZlub
More efficient than a bubbler.

 

[Amarok]

Physics is great

I am not highly educated, but I love physics. I could forget my own name and still rattle off Newton's three Laws of Motion. They are so beautiful in their simplicity and conciseness.

Aeration can be achieved by disturbing the surface.

I have a 450 gph pump pushing water through that barrel/biofilter, with lots of turbulence, drops, etc. in the return stream for just that purpose. The water being returned to the pond is highly oxygenated. The skimmer also creates surface tension, but I still need to design and build a permanent one.


I also either need to add some fish or some mosquito dunks soon. I could see adult mosquitos landing on the water, presumably laying eggs or whatever they do. I think I'll grab a couple feeder goldfish this week and see what that does.

------

Saw some cool birds waiting around the perimeter for me to bugger off. They were colourful and crested. I tried to get a photo when one landed by the pond but quality was shit.

Getting back to routine with the crows. They eat and drink in the yard several times a day and are ever more comfortable with me. There may be a new one that joined "my" pair, as one sits on the next lawn over, not quite ready to accept me.

I also at least grazed one of the jays with a BB. He flew away, but feathers drifted down in his wake. Learn or die, those are their choices.
-----------

I really want a camera and a feed from the pond to my living room. I'm so curious to see what shows up when I'm not around, and at night.

 

[DopeDaniel]

I am not highly educated

BA = Bachelors of Arts
BS = Bachelors of Science
Which is physics?
Year after I graduated program I was in got accreditation as a BS program. Guennie pig, story of my life.