Last Updated: 12/5/09

1. On 11/1/09, I squirted off the flosses and the bioballs which were surprisingly dirty for this time of the year. The 1800 gallon was at 58 degrees F and the 153 gallon at 56 degrees F. I'm still feeding the fish off and on but, with the time change, it will now be pitch black when I come home leaving only warm mornings as days when the fish may be fed.

The leaves are adding up so I had to remove some off the net while in the water in order to shake it enough to get the leaves within reach from the side of the pond. With my niece helping to carrying buckets of leaves to dump, we must have dumped a dozen buckets of leaves that I collected off the net and in the immediate area. Next week, I need to rake leaves from around the pond edges and cut back some marginals and bring in the last of the pond dewhickeys (decorations).

2. On 11/8/09, I squirted off the flosses and did the usual but I also did almost three hours of additional work. I got the leaves off the nets. I cut down all the marginals in the 1800 gallon pond except for the water iris. I sunk the golden club to deeper water for the winter. I hand removed a lot more water lettuce but some remains. I raked leaves from the edge of the pond and off the mulched area around the big pond. It was hard work. The 1800 gallon pond was at 47 degrees F and the 153 gallon at 52 degrees F even though the air temperature was 70 degrees F! I brought in almost the last of the pond decorations.

3. On 9/5/09, Val sent these photos of eggs in the water in Ontario, Canada. They may be snail eggs. I am not sure why they are so green in the second photo.
Snail eggs in June
Snail eggs in September

On 7/31/09, Elizabeth sent this photo of some kind of pond eggs. I think they may belong to some kind of insect. Do you know what they are? I have seen similar eggs in a ring like that before. She says, "These were found attached to a ladder in to the lake from a dock, at about 2' depth of water. The longer loop of gel, in the photo, is 2-2.5" long. The lake is in Franklin County, NY foothills of the Adirondacks."
Unknown eggs

4. On 11/15/09, I changed the filter material around the main pump. I also changed the Ammocarb in a filter bag in the big filter. It probably does not do much since I only change it four times a year! The 1800 gallon was at 54 degrees and the 153 gallon at 56 degrees F. The air temperature was 70 degrees. I gave the fish a little food at the end of the chores since it was warm. There were not too many leaves on the net this week as things are winding down. I took out the tropical lily in its 5 gallon pot. I actually found two small tuber nuts so this new variety does make those. I put the nuts in damp reptile sand for the winter and hope they may come back in the spring. I put the small growing tip bareroot in my 50 gallon basement pond because you never know (that method has never worked for me)! I was going to remove the floating island with impatiens but they are still flowering!

5. On 11/22/09, I squirted off the flosses. The 1800 gallon was at 48 degrees F and the 153 gallon at 52 degrees F. I removed the impatiens in the floating island which were still a little bit alive. I took the PondMaster filter and pump out of the 153 gallon pond and replaced them with the Luft air pump for the winter.

6. On 11/29/09, I did not get in to the pond. While the air temperature was 64 degrees F, the 1800 gallon was only at 42 degrees F and the 153 gallon at 45 degrees F. It had gone down to 33 degrees F that morning. At the 153 gallon pond, a male green frog was sunning by the edge of the pond. I cut back two more pots of iris, one in the 153 gallon and one in the 1800 gallon. I raked up a few leaves. I changed the oyster shell in the big filter. I dug out the 153 gallon overflow which was filled in with mud.

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