Last Updated: 8/3/20

1. At 9:30 am on 7/5/20, it was already 80 degrees F and not comfortable. The 1800 gallon pond was at 80 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 75 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials. I put in additives and water. I was in the pond straightening up the mesh cage around one of the waterlilies in the big pond when my brother and niece showed up. I spent the rest of the day with them and neglected my poor ponds and other responsibilities.

2. Sadly, I think the tropical waterlily that I put in the 20 gallon tub pond on the pool deck died in short order. The leaves fell off, and then it did nothing. I put some duckweed, anacharis, and java moss in there as well as a hydropically grown catnip plant from my Aerogarden inside (which wilted out even in water). There are lots of gray treefrog tadpoles enjoying the pond regardless of the pond having lost the waterlily that was the very reason for its existance.

3. On 7/12/20, my brother looked out the window and saw wild turkeys! It was a hen and poult maybe three months old. It has been eight years since I saw any!

3. I did pond work on 7/12/20. At 12:40 pm, it was already 86 degrees F! The 1800 gallon pond was at 82 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 76 degrees F. I squirted all the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off all of the ponds.

4. It was set to be a scorcher on 7/19/20 so I started pond chores at 8:35 am when it was at 78 degrees F and 100% humidity. I finished at 10 am when it was 87 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 80 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 76 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials including the Matala in the Biosteps filter. I changed the PondMaster filters. I fertilized the two surviving waterlilies in the big pond and fixed their protective netting. I removed two five gallon pots from the big pond because those lilies died last year. This gave the fish another 10 gallons of swimming space in their main swimming area. One of the waterlilies, Comanche, has a bloom on it. I may get my first flower in years but, of course, I will never see it open because I will be at work and miss it! Argg! The tropical waterlily in the 20 gallon tub pond that I set up just for it never recovered, and it is gone too. The gray treefrog tadpoles are enjoying that pond though which is covered in duckweed.

5. It was another day in the mid-90's on 7/26/20. At 9:45 am, it was at 84 degrees F and 100% humidity. It was horrible for someone like me who doesn't tolerate heat well. The 1800 gallon pond was at 80 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 78 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials and the bioballs. I topped off the ponds and put in additives. I was done with the pond by 11:19 am. Then, I went to work on the chicken pen. It was too hot.

6. It was eerily quiet when I went to the pond the morning of 7/31/20. The Biosteps filter was not running. I determined that the pump wasn't working but I had to go to work. When I got home, I got out my spare and got the filter running again. I took the pump apart that wasn't working, and, just like the last time this happened in 2016, the impellor cover lost its plastic tines so that the impeller wasn't held in place, and water wasn't been moved. I have found a few of the cover parts so I will see if that fixes the two pumps with busted covers.

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