"Life finds a way" - actor Jeff Goldblum, from the film Jurassic Park.

Early this morning I went out back with the dogs for their morning ritual. Sometimes I have to stay out with them or they'll just turn around and follow me back inside. So as I wandered around the patio, I walked over to my secondary water feature, which we call "the fountain."
I'm sure I've mentioned it before. It's just a 20-gallon circular liner sunk into a triangular-shaped flower bed off the patio. It was my "starter water garden." I added it to see if I could be bothered to take care of a fish pond. Obviously it was a success, since I now have a 240-gal. pond with too many fish!
In the summer of 2007 we had a population explosion and doubled our fish. I had 15 and now there are well over 30! The big white fish we suspected to be the birth mother died earlier this summer and I prayed for no more babies. Fortunately, none arrived, at least I didn't think so ...

Back to this morning ... I looked down into the fountain, frowning over all the leaves that have collected in it over the last couple weeks ... and that's when I saw something move!
I usually expect to see at least one startled frog dive suddenly to the depths, but this was not that! I squinted and looked closer - yes, it was a tiny little white fish, only about 3/4 of an inch in size. And as I looked at it, amazed, another, quite larger black fish swam past (about 2 inches)!
And then there was another and another. Four total that I could see, all darting under the floating hyacinths that still linger in the fountain. Great!
How does this happen, when there are no other fish in the fountain? I'm as amazed as you are, but I think it has to do with the hyacinths. You see, they multiply at a fast rate (and are outlawed in some parks because, if left on their own, they will choke the life out of a water source). Anyway, all summer long I'm constantly throwing them out and I usually move some from the pond to the fountain, to keep it from getting green with algae. The floating plants block the sunlight, which counteracts the growth of the algae. Somewhere during this process, I think, the baby fish/eggs are in the feathery roots that hang from these plants and are thus transferred with the plant to the fountain.
So this weekend as I go about draining the fountain and covering it for the winter (I've found that if I don't, the frogs will choose to winter-over there and will die when the fountain freezes - yes, it's happened, that's why I cover it), I'll have to try to catch these babies in a small net and transfer them to the bigger pond. You'd be surprised how quick they are!
Oh well, such is life.

Here's just a little something that I got from the National Home Gardening for all your water gardening enthusiasts on preparing your aquatic garden for winter.

When frost starts nipping at your garden, it's time to think about winterizing ponds and other water features. The experts at TetraPond offer the following tips:
Cut back lilies and other deep-water plants to 1 inch above the tip. Replace soil and gravel, as needed.
Move plants to deeper water if you live in a climate where ponds freeze.
Cut back all growth on bog plants surrounding your pond and mulch with 6 inches of straw.
Place tender floating plants like water hyacinth in a 3-inch water-filled tray and move them to a frost-free shed or greenhouse. (This is a new one for me, I never thought about saving my hyacinths, maybe I'll give it a try.)
When temperatures drop and fish spend most of their time on the bottom of the pond, stop feeding them.
Clean out leaves and twigs that fall into the pond and remove as much duckweed as possible.
Use a de-icer to keep a small area of the pond ice-free. This helps fish survive by creating a spot for harmful gasses to escape.
Turn off filters, then clean them and store them inside.
Spend the time now to keep your water features happy and healthy—so when spring comes, you'll be ready! Looks like I've got my work cut out for me this weekend ...

Hi everybody, sorry to leave you all hanging for so long, but I've been recuperating from all the cuts I received a week ago, while tying up my ornamental grasses!

Not really, but I did manage to get quite a few cuts, doing this and other weekend chores. You see, I remembered to wear protective gloves while tying up the grasses. However, I did not remember to wear long sleeves! So I must stress to the rest of you, if you're planning to tie up your grasses, rather than cutting them back for the winter, make sure you wear proper protection. The fine blades of the grass can wreak havoc on your skin. And while it doesn't sound that bad, imagine 20-30 little paper cuts all up and down your arms!
Anyway, I choose to tie up my grasses rather than cut them back. Either option will not harm the grasses in any way (it's pretty difficult to kill grass). I like the way they look throughout the fall and into the winter. And as I've stated before, in the spring when I do cut them back, I save the cuttings, tie them together, store them in the shed and viola, come fall I have unique decorations for the front of my house.

As pictured here, they are a economical/ecological way to decorate, instead of buying corn husks.

Over this past weekend, I managed to get a few things on my To Do list done. Like cleaning up the leaves on the patio - this has become a regular chore over the last month. It seems like the dynamics of my patio make for a perfect gathering place for leaves ... so every weekend I go out with my handy-dandy Black & Decker leaf machine and suck them up. With three dogs, I get plenty of leaves inside the house as well, and it all goes into the compost pile with grass clippings from the lawn. The combination of green matter and brown matter makes for a good base for next year's compost. (Of course, I'm still hoping for a good yield of compost, after failing miserably the last two seasons.)
And the leaves don't just end up on the patio ... the pond is full of them too. So Saturday it was time to get the net out! I hate getting the net out, it's my last admission of defeat (that the summer's really over), but it had to be done or the fish wouldn't have any room to swim! Anyway, in preparation for covering the pond, the summer pond plants had to be removed as well. So that means the canna and black taro got taken out to die back from the cold nights, and then placed in the basement to hibernate till next year. The net tends to confuse the frogs too.

Black Taro
And since my neighbors have left for their winter home in Florida and covered their pond already, I have more frogs to tend to. So I can't completely cover my pond, or the frogs wouldn't be able to get in or out. It usually takes a couple of days to figure out exactly where they are comfortable jumping in/out, so I can leave that end a little open. Every now and then over the years, I find a frog early in the morning sitting in the middle of the net, confused, cold and in need of rescue!
Still have to plant the dward rhododendrons my previous neighbors left me when they moved a couple months ago ... time's running out. And I still haven't planted my precious Allium bulbs yet. If you still have any perennials, bulbs or shrubs left to plant, get them in the ground ASAP. Especially since last night we actually had frost.
And most important (because I've been forgetting this one too) WATER! This month's lack of rain has not been kind to our plant life. Especially for any new plantings, get out and water! Just because summer flowering season is over, don't forget your plants still need water ... I can't stress this enough. Water early in the day, if possible, since the temperature has been dipping at night, it's not a good idea to wait until near dusk to water. You wouldn't want to be out there at night all wet ...

What a beautiful weekend it was! Just perfect for working in the garden. However, that's not what I did. Even though I should have gotten up to my elbows in dirt, I decided to sit back by the pond with a couple books and magazines and enjoy the last days of summer.
Yes, aside from mowing the lawn, I ignored all the little chores waiting for me, and just enjoyed the sounds of the waterfall, the warmth of the sun and nature, in general.
And now I'm going to have to pay for it.

This morning started out OK, until I let the dogs out and saw that the waterfall (which looked fine all weekend) was now weakly trickling into the pond. Guess I should have cleaned the filter over the weekend. Of course, I barely leave myself enough time in the morning to get ready and get out the door on time for work, so there was absolutely no time to deal with this!

So I plugged in the bubbler, unplugged the waterfall pump and figured the fish would just have to fend for themselves until later. Yet another thing for my "to do" list. All summer long I was going to get around to buying a piece of pond liner to put underneath the waterfall to catch any backflow of water that might develop if the pump and/or filter got too clogged. Of course, I never got around to it. And every time this happens, I think, why do I keep putting this off?
My latest excuse is, "Well, it's coming to the end of the season and I'll be turning off the waterfall soon, so why bother this year. Let it go until next spring and deal with it then."
I also didn't get around to any fall decorating or planting. But I did manage to get some new bulbs last night. We trekked out to Lowe's before dinner yesterday for some household items and I was pleasantly surprised to find a great selection of bulbs just inside the main entrance.

As you may know, I've been eager to get some Allium bulbs and they had two kinds on hand. I opted for two Gladiator Alliums, at a price of $6.97 each! But hey, they get four feet tall and have 7-inch globe blooms. Then there was a smaller variety where 8 bulbs were offered for the same price. These only get to be about 2-ft. tall with smaller globes. Now, of course, I have to decide where to put them!
Oh well, I guess I have my work cut out for me tonight. And on top of all that, it'll be getting dark right after 7 p.m., so time's limited.
So while we still have a couple hours of light after work, time to think about dividing those perennials. It's the perfect time of year for that. More on this later ...

Well, after spending the weekend knee-deep in the pond, things seem to have gotten back to normal in my underwater kingdom.

All it took was a thorough vacuuming, restructuring of the waterfall, plant rinsing, a multi-gallon water change, adding some new microbes to break down leaves, flushing the hosing from pump to filter and trimming back the waterlillies so I can actually see the fish again.
Sounds like a bit much, huh? Fortunately the weather was warm -- a little too warm on Sunday. August usually wreaks havoc on my pond's eco system, but my being away for two whole weeks was the primary reason for such a sludge build-up. Pond maintenance is usually a lot easier when there's a little done every other day.
Despite all the work, I even had a little leftover time on Sunday to sit by the tinkling waters for some reading and watching the dogs trying to catch the frogs (they never do, the frogs are too fast). So once again, the water is crystal clear, the fish are swimming thru the bubbler with glee and the frogs are sunning themselves on lillypads. Tranquility has been restored in my backyard oasis.

While sitting by the pond, I noticed that the zebra grasses are tufting, a sure sign that fall's around the corner. My zebra grasses are having a great season, most of them are over seven feet tall (without the tufts). The tufts are the closest thing to blooming the grass does. Feather-like fronds protrude from the tall blades standing usually at least a foot taller than the grass. It's a beautiful sight, further signalling the end of my favorite season.
My Ravena grasses have been tufting since about mid-August. Their fronds are different from the zebra's. Long, strong stems emerge from the soft grass and stand anywhere from 3 to 8 feet above the blades, with feathery puffs at the top. My Ravenas are easily over 10-ft. tall this season as you can see here with the lighthouse in the foreground for comparison.

It's a sharp contrast to the fountain grass, which has much softer cattail-like tufts that hover atop the mounds of grass. Now's a good time to buy some grasses for your garden. Many varieties are available at your local nurseries and a lot of them are discounted this late in the season. There's plenty of time to get them in the ground and established before the weather turns cold!

Soon it'll be time to get out those grass trimmings from last spring, which will adorn the front of my house for autumn decoration. I can't bring myself to do it yet, that's the final nail in the coffin of summer and I'm just not ready. Especially with the weather still so nice.Enjoy!
Next up: Fall garden planning

Yes, I finally did it ... those of you who have been reading this blog know that I've been psyching myself up to install a new waterfall on my pond for about 2 months now. Well, I can finally say it's complete.

The waterfall ... I feel as if this should be accompanied by music, scary, horror music, something that might suggest --- Stephen King's The Waterfall! It will frighten you beyond belief!

I guess I can say now that it wasn't that bad ... although the wounds are still fresh. I should start from the beginning.

Yesterday started out with lots of promise (heck, any day I don't have to get up and go to work already has a huge "thumbs up" from me), my dad came up early and we prepared to start the waterfall project. (pictured here is the old waterfall, looking pretty pathetic)


First off, we had to get some new 1-inch piping to go from the pump to the waterfall. We started at Lowe's, but they were all out. So we went off to March Lumber in Limerick, where we've bought supplies before. Along the way on Ridge Pike we came across the new Towne & Country store and my dad remembered a friend telling him that they carried at lot of pond equipment. So we decided to stop there. And I'm glad we did.

They have a large pond set up that's worth the trip. They also had an ample supply of pond plants and equipment. They used to have lots of fish too, but fish-buying season is dwindling and so is their supply. If you're in the area, stop by and check it out!

We got our piping (cheaper than Lowe's by the way) and we were off, fooling ourselves by thinking that dismantling the old waterfall would be the "hardest part" of the job.

While dad read the instructions on the new waterfall, I dismantled the old one ... in about 10 minutes. I couldn't wait to get rid of it and the Bioforce filter that was causing me so much trouble (by trouble I mean having to clean it every other day).

After a little digging, we were ready for the new falls. Leveling a project like this is always fun. Lots of yelling, good thing my neighbors on both sides were throwing parties to drown out the sound, and misunderstood signals from both of us kept the tension mounting. To fully understand this, you have to picture me balancing on a small hillside, facing downward with the waterfalls between my legs, and my father leaning over the retaining wall of the patio trying to guide me into the right spot -- without damaging any of the established plants! I can only imagine what the fish were thinking ...

Next, my sister arrived for some help. "We need sand to level this thing right," my father bellowed. So Kathy was off to Ace to get a bag of sand. "That's it, I need a break!" I screamed and stormed off into the house (air-conditioned, thank God).

Kathy returned (too soon) with the sand, and we were back in business. We got the thing leveled and plugged in the pump to see our beautiful "wall of water." Only we got a trickling back-flow that started pumping all the water out of the pond. @#!!%&* that's not supposed to happen!!!!

So we tried tilting the falls forward -- same result. Great! I waited this long and now it didn't work. Let me back this up 2 months ...

When I bought the waterfall kit at a local pond shop, I specifically asked the pond expert if I needed a stronger pump. Mine's 550 gph (gallons per hour) and I wasn't sure if it had enough power for the waterfall. And let me just tell you, at this particular store, getting advice from the pond expert is not easy. He's only there at specific times and whenever I'm there, he's already got people waiting in line to talk to him. It would be easier getting an audience with the Pope!

Anyway, the pond expert assured me that it would be fine. In fact, the store had a 900 gph pump on sale for $76 (about half price) and I could've purchased it that day ... but the pond expert said, "no, that pump's too big for your pond." (True story)

Well, after many more attempts (including lots of yelling) to get the waterfall to work properly, the only thing I could think of was that we needed more pump power. So off to Lowe's we went ... armed with my $10 coupon for purchases over $50 ... and when we got to the pond area, we found another couple who were having similar problems. We talked it out together and both decided to get the max-flow 1000 gph Tetra waterfall pump. And it was only $74.95 regular price -- way to go Lowe's.

By the time we got home we had already decided that if this didn't work, we'd be taking the whole waterfall kit back to the pond store and telling them where they could put it.

We hooked up the pump, that was half the size of the Titan 550 we had (and supposed to be almost twice as powerful), plugged it in and .... the clouds parted, the sun came out, there was a slight rainbow and ... IT WORKED!!

The wall of water poured out into the pond and it was like heaven. We were all smiles, hugging and congratulating each other, and saying our "thank yous" and "we couldn't have done it without yous" and all the yelling was forgiven. We were a family again and sat sipping iced tea and eating Doritos, toasting our new waterfall!

Oh, and the fish seem to like it too. They swim at the waterfall, like its some kind of jet-propelled exerciser.

We spent the sunset and part of the evening marvelling at our achievement. I added some landscaping and finished planting (I mean it) the few things I had saved for when the waterfall was finished and I think it turned out great. This morning I awoke at 5:30 am and came downstairs and looked outside, hoping everything was all right and the waterfall didn't accidentally pump the pond dry -- it didn't. It was bliss.

And did I mention that per the instructions, the waterfall filter should only need cleaning twice a month ... we'll see.

At least now I can go on vacation this week without saddling my dad with cleaning the old filter daily. Catch you later ...

Last Sunday was the day I was supposed to install the new waterfall. Well, you know how that goes ... life gets in the way when you're busy making plans ... and it didn't get done - again!
There were other pond maintenance tasks to be done first and by the time that was over, I was hot, bothered, semi-wet and didn't feel like getting into the whole waterfall thing. So until next weekend ...
First off, the bottom of the pond was covered with "muck" again. Muck is the term coined to describe the various dirt, plant and fish waste that accumulates on the bottom of a backyard pond. I had successfully vacuumed the bottom of the pond about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and it was definitely time to do it again. Nothing is every an easy fix ... and I guess I'll be vacuuming the pond for the rest of the summer.
The Muck-Vac (www.muckvacdirect.com), however, makes this task is tolerable as possible. It does a great job, I didn't get nearly as soaked this time and even the fish are starting to get used to the plastic stranger in their pondIn order to properly vacuum the bottom, it's best to remove the plants. The bottom of my pond is home to a few waterlillies that are having an excellent blooming season. So I thought I'd take a shot of how the waterlilly plant looks outside its natural habitat. Pretty big huh?
Anyway, it doesn't hurt the plant to remove it temporarily, just don't let it dry out. This is also a great opportunity to trim back the leaves, lest they overtake your pond. The waterlilly pads provide shade, which in turn, lowers the temp in your pond, and is also an excellent place for your fish to hide from any predators (like herrings, for instance). It also provides a place for them to hide from you, so that's why I periodically trim them back. I like to see the fish occasionally, no matter how much they don't like being watched.
Lillypads also help keep algae from overtaking your pond, because they don't let as much sunlight in. If you don't have any waterlillies, you might want to invest. I know I got some of mine at Lowe's for as little as $5. They can winter-over in your pond from year to year and don't require a lot of care.
Another good plant that I use in the pond is the water hyacinth, pictured here. They can be bought at a pond store for as little as 3 for $10. Believe me, ONE is all you'll need. This plant is very invasive, and is actually outlawed in natural ponds in many states. A floating plant that rests on top of the water, if left on its own, will continually reproduce and take over the entire surface of a pond, choking out all plant, as well, as fish life. It does have a beautiful bloom though. A large lavendar bloom composed of many smaller flowers, resembling the bloom of a hyacinth, hence the name. However, the bloom only lasts one day, so enjoy it while you can. Once it blooms, the hyacinth plant can be thrown away, as one bloom is all it gets. Yes, it makes me feel bad to just throw away any plant, but at least every two weeks, I have to toss a bunch of these plants, or the pond would be doomed.
Another great pond plant I love is the Canna. I'm sure you've seen Canna before, they are large tropical and subtropical perennial herbs with a rhizomatous rootstock. The broad, flat, alternate leaves, that are such a feature of this plant, grow out of a stem in a long narrow roll and then unfurl. The leaves are typically solid green but some cultivars have brownish, maroon, or even variegated leaves.
The flowers are typically red, orange, or yellow or any combination of those colours. Although gardeners enjoy these odd flowers, nature really intended them to attract bees and hummingbirds for pollination (Wikipedia also states that they can attract bats, thank goodness I haven't noticed that in my garden).
Canna grow from swollen underground stems, correctly known as rhizomes, which store starch, and this is the main attraction of the plant to agriculture, having the largest starch particles of all plant life. Canna are not zoned for our area, so if you want to keep them as a perennial, they can to be dug up (or in my case removed from the pond) and stored indoors in a cool, dry place (the basement is good) until the following spring.
But check out this bloom ... that makes all the trouble worth it.

Sorry, it's been awhile, but when I last blogged, I said I was going away for a couple days. And you know how that goes ... take a few days off and pay for it when you get back. So it's taken my a couple more days to clear the piles off my desks (yes, I said "desks," I wear more than one hat at work).


But work's not the only thing that I needed to catch up on when I got back. Although my family did a great job of watering the gardens while I was gone, things needed to be tended to when I got back ...


Like the pond: It seems that another vacuuming is in order. Unless you experience it yourself, you'll really never know how much waste 30-odd goldfish can make! And there's eggs hanging onto the roots of the floating water hyacinths! Not sure if they're from the fish or the frogs, but I can only hope that the fish are making a smorgasbord out of them!


At least I came home to find a couple of beautiful waterlilly flowers! Aren't these blooms beautiful? And the water Canna are coming up nicely. They'll be blooming in a couple weeks.


Hopefully (and I know I've said this before) this weekend will be the weekend we FINALLY install that new waterfall (weather permitting, of course). It seems that every time I try to schedule this task, it rains or the temp is way too high to be doing it in the hot sun. I'm thinking Sunday might be better since Saturday's going to be a scorcher!!


The "hill" where the waterfall is going is really getting out of hand, since I really haven't done any gardening and/or weeding there. I figured why plant anything new there, it'll just get ripped out doing the waterfall. So it's getting quite overgrown now.


Weeds are invading the stone path and brick patio. This happens every year, yet it always seems to just appear overnight. I'll have to buy some extra vinegar at the store this weekend.


The petunias are in desperate need of dead-heading. And we're fast approaching July, when in my garden the petunias get leggy and the blooms are few. Every year I vow to figure out exactly how all those wave petunias in the professional beds at the malls and businesses, not to mention in the hanging baskets in downtown Pottstown, stay so full and blooming, maybe this'll be the year it works for me!

And if that's not enough, I'm not in the middle of a HUGE computer issue at home ... I can't open any programs. I can already tell that fixing this will take a pretty big chunk out of my weekend.


Well, it's not all bad ... I was happy to come home to a pretty established pepper on one of my plants, and there are also some cherry tomatoes and a couple of early girls on the stems. My cucumbers are coming along great this year. They're really taking to the twine-vine I stapled to the shed for them.


And the daylillies! What can I say about one of my faves? They are a great plant that needs absolutely no care at all! They don't take a lot of water and when they bloom, it's show-stopping! I'll blog more about these fantastic plants next week. But for now ... take a trip to Manatawny Creek Daylilly Farm in scenic Oley.


This weekend will be a perfect time to see most of the daylillies in bloom. The farm is located at 64 Fisher Mill Road, right across the street from Glick's Greenhouses. Or visit their web site www.manatawnycreekfarm.com for more information. Hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; closed Sunday.


Also next week, I'll be featuring my neighbors fabulous garden ... here's a sneak peak.
Well, it looks like my weekend's all planned, see you Monday.

The weather is going to be perfect this weekend for gardening!
Here's a few things to keep in mind (that I'm having a little trouble remembering myself):
If you have already planted some new perennials, they need to be watered at least every other day, unless we get some rain.
Pond filters need frequent cleaning at this time too, due to sludge build-up over the winter. Don't forget to clean out your pump too. Afterall, it didn't get much attention over the winter.
Check your pond temperature before feeding the fish. Temp should be around 50 degrees, at least. It's still a little early, and if you have plants in your pond, the fish will feed off them.
As for those pond plants, now's a good time to take them out and divide them if needed. Also, scrub off any algae that is starting to grow.
Clean your pond heater before packing it away for the summer. Make sure you get any barnacles off now, it'll only be more work in the fall.
Get the rest of the leaves and old mulch off those flower beds. Put them in the compost pile, along with a fresh helping of grass clippings. Most of you are going to need to mow your lawns this weekend.
Turn the compost pile and see what's going on at the bottom. Chances are, you'll have at least some usable compost to put on those freshly cleaned flower beds.
Now is also a good time to take down your bird feeders and give them a good cleaning. Use warm water and a little dish washing soap. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse, nobody wants to eat soapy birdseed! And make sure they're good and dry before filling with seed or it'll rot.
Clean up your decks and patios. You might even want to get out your furniture and clean it up Saturday.
(I seem to be pretty ambitious this weekend -- I'll let you know Monday what I actually get done.)

And after all your hard work, reward yourself by taking stock of all you have in the garden to look forward to this season. Remember to enjoy those spring bulbs -- daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and, one of my faves, blue bells. They won't be in bloom much longer.
Neither will the forsythias, cherry blossoms and azaleas. So take a walk and enjoy what your local nature has to offer.



Here's my wild forsythia. And in honor of the Pope's visit, see if you can spot the Cardinal! Yes, I know it really needs a trim -- best time for this is right after it blooms. Make sure to routinely trim yours, and it'll keep blooming at its best! I'll let you know how it goes with mine.
Now start making your to-do list and remember, don't think of it as work - gardening should be Fun!

In the Spring of 2004, after spending the winter watching HGTV and saying, "we could do that," I got the bright idea of eliminating our mowing time, by creating a garden path on the inside of the fence of around a quarter of our yard. Every year we've added a new garden area and/or feature.

My water gardening experience started that same year with a 20-gallon insert I bought as a fountain kit at Kmart. I knew nothing, except the sound of running water would create a more peaceful atmosphere in my "outdoor room."

We submerged the tub into a small triagular-shaped garden next to our patio and relaxed to the soothing sounds. I even placed floating plastic, can you believe it, plants in the water! Secretly knowing all along that this was my way of easing my family into what I really wanted -- a pond with real plants and fish.

Since everyone enjoyed the fountain -- especially the dogs, they thought this was their own private drinking fountain -- it wasn't hard to convince them that a small pond wouldn't be much trouble. Aside from digging the whole, it would practically take care of itself.

We got the smallest pond kit available (60 gallons) -- for those of you who "pond", it's the Tobago model -- and settled into pond life. We got four fancy goldfish fish and two plants with the kit. We expanded to eight fish and I bought a few more plants. Soon the pond looked like the photo above.

Everyone was really happy with the new feature. I took care of if, cleaning the filter once a week in the summer, and we even bought a floating heater for the winter to take care of our newest family members.

The following summer I discovered a small fish swimming in the previously mentioned 20-gallon fountain. We figured it got there off one of the floating plants that I routinely took out of the pond and put in the fountain to help keep it clear. We were so excited, figuring we must be doing something right, if the fish were happy enough to breed. Three more babies survived that summer (the other fish tend the eat the babies when they're very small, and since they have them by the hundreds, that's really not a bad thing).

The original fish were growing bigger and bigger (our biggest from nose-to-tail tip is almost a foot long), so we decided in Spring 2006, that we needed a bigger pond. We upgraded to the Trinidad, a 240-gallon preformed pond. And the fish couldn't be happier, and I do mean HAPPIER! Last summer they increased their "school" to over 30 fish!!

We also added a waterfall, more water plants and a whole lot more landscaping around it. Ponding is very addicting, but I couldn't recommend it more. It's great for kids too. They can learn a whole lot about the environment from a backyard pond. Like watching the frogs that show up every year. Where they come from, I don't know, but they always show up. Last year we had tons of tadpoles, but the fish ate most of them. (Thanks fish!) If you do it right, and take proper care, you'll have your own little ecosystem with prime seats right off your patio like we do.

Yes, it takes work, about an hour or so per week, maybe 1 1/2 during August, but it's very rewarding. As the season progresses, I'll get more into caring for the pond and pond life, specific plants, etc. But for now, here's some photos to enjoy, including how it looks right now.