Last Updated: 12/30/21

1. At 1:52 pm on 12/5/21, the air temperature was 48 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 47 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 45 degrees F. We haven't had much or an early winter so far but it is going to be cold in a few days just for a day or two, maybe even some snow! So, I did all the winterizing that I had yet to do since it has been so warm. I put out the lighted Rudolph by the pond outlet. I removed the net from the 153 gallon pond and pulled the net on the 1800 gallon pond off of the waterfall. I tried to collect leaves but there are so many leaves and so little time! In my prime, I would have rather died than remove the leaf nets when there were so many leaves in proximity of the pond but I'm now too old and decrepit to care. Yes, I feel guilty but I simply can't do it. It's easier to get leaves out of the water after the fact at this point in the year. I put de-icers in both ponds. I changed the Ammocarb and oyster shell in the main biofilter.

2. On 12/12/21, it was 46 degrees F at 1:20 pm. The day before, it got to 70 degrees F but with horrible winds. It was that same front that caused one of the largest devastations caused by tornados in the Mid-West in history. One tornado went through six states, and, as of today, the best guess is at least 80 dead. As an empath, I can feel the pain of those suffering. I am so afraid of high winds and storms and worry about power outages. Luckily, the storms were not dangerous by the time they came to us. By Sunday, it was still a little windy but bareable outside.

The 1800 gallon pond was at 48 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 46 degrees F. I did not get in the big pond. I collected leaves out of the ponds and from around the ponds, I put in additives, and I added water.

3. At 3:01 pm on 12/19/21, the air temperature was 40 degrees F! I put on longjohns. The 1800 gallon pond was at 48 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 46 degrees F. I got in the big pond using hip waders and long pond gloves. I took out the filter floss around the pump and squirted it off. I removed a dead ~3" green frog that was on the liner by the pump basket. I added water and additives to the ponds.

4. The great blue heron started to show up Christmas week from 12/22/21 to 12/27/21 so far. Luckily, the pond is mostly netted. I am not positive that the heron has not gone in the deep end. All the goldfish and orfe are hiding but the four koi are too big to fit in any of the hiding places.

Great blue heron on 12/23/21.

5. On 12/26/21, the air temperature was a nice 56 degrees F at 2:30 pm. The 1800 gallon pond was at 56 degrees F while the 153 gallon pond was only at 46 degrees F. I squirted off the main filter floss and the bioballs since it was nice out. There were at least 6 pickerel and green frogs in the biofilter, and I left them on the bottom. I lifted up the two hiding areas to find them full of goldfish and orfe that have been hiding from the heron. Until I did that, only the four koi were visible so the pond looked otherwise devoid of fish. I added water and additives to the ponds.

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