Messages

1651

Pond Chat / Re: Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 16, 2006, 07:00:32 PM »

Joyce, if it is still alive next spring, consider it yours!

1652

Chit Chat / Re: Very sad news.

« on: October 16, 2006, 06:56:19 PM »

I'm sorry. What a terrible and tragic thing to happen to such a marvelous person.

1653

Pond Chat / Re: Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 16, 2006, 05:29:47 PM »

Thanks, everyone, for your nice comments.

1654

Pond Chat / Re: Lost some fish

« on: October 16, 2006, 05:27:54 PM »

Cath, I'm sorry too that you lost fish. I know exactly how you feel. Exactly. 

I'm lucky that we now live with well water. My hubby left the hose on again last week, for about 17 hours. Thank goodness it was about the same temp as the air.

1655

Pond Chat / Re: Green Frogs and winterizing pond

« on: October 15, 2006, 08:56:26 PM »

When you say "Southern NY", does that mean that you are still "upstate"?

I was born & raised in NY, but it was LI- which is a completely different climate than that of anything north of NYC.

I now live in Northern Illinois, which is a similar climate to the North NY. Maybe not as much snow. 

The thing with Green frogs is that they are fragile. They like a lot of oxygen, and the lack of it in the winter can kill them easily. I've seen terrible frog kills in my pond- sometimes 25 frogs or more. Usually, the frogs are found completely unresponsive (dead) and belly-up. Sometimes they are found with disgusting, white "stuff" in the mouth area. Warming up the suspect frog to room-temp will confirm the 'diagnosis' of death. That is a dangerous process, because if the frog is fine then you now have a pet frog that you are responsible for, for the entire winter.
Keeping a hole in the ice (with a deicer) is the logical thing to do, but it does not always confer survival. A dome/greenhouse usually helps tremendously, but nothing is guaranteed.

Is there a large body of water nearby where you can bring the frogs? That is no gaurantee either, but at least the frogs aren't rotting in your pond.

1656

Pond Chat / Re: Craig's lilies are tops!

« on: October 15, 2006, 08:45:57 PM »

Koi Boi, we need to learn more about you- that is obvious. When did you get hornswaggled into this fascinating world and how? 

Cool Beans.

1657

Pond Chat / Re: I grew it from seed!

« on: October 15, 2006, 08:43:30 PM »

Koi Boi, it looks wonderful. Congrats to you for getting the little sucker to thrive and bloom! It looks happy. 

Very cool. 

Does it have a scent? If so, is it a nice scent?

1658

Pond Chat / Re: Halloween at the pond

« on: October 15, 2006, 08:39:31 PM »

Awww, Jerry, you gave it away too quick! I was going to suggest it was Edgar Allan Poe's "Raven". "Hence the Raven , nevermore".

 

1659

Chit Chat / Re: Grandpa's little Koi Boi

« on: October 15, 2006, 04:06:07 PM »

Yes indeed- frame that photo! I love it.

What a lil cutie!

1660

Chit Chat / Re: Garden Railroad

« on: October 14, 2006, 07:48:46 PM »

We loved it. All of us. One question- how do you do your filter maintenence without stepping on the track and damaging it?

Very nice.

1661

Chit Chat / Re: Hand Feeding Hummingbirds

« on: October 14, 2006, 07:43:00 PM »

Wow. That is very cool! 

1662

Chit Chat / Re: Saw Dad today . . . .

« on: October 14, 2006, 07:39:44 PM »

"Dad's accepted what's going on and doesn't seem too keen on doing much to fight it at this point, and that's his decision to make"

My Dad felt exactly the same way. Gotta respect that, hard as it is. Just enjoy every moment of time that you get to spend with him. You will remember and cherish those moments.

1663

Pond Chat / Re: Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 13, 2006, 12:19:06 PM »

Thanks Joann & Monica.
Rocmon, Oh! Now I got ya. I thought Ca in general was almost like another country. Great place to live, though. Boulder is another great place- I wouldn't mind living there, either.

I did get to finish a great little book by the fire yesterday- The Covenant of The Wild (by Stephen Budiansky).

I guess I've given up on warm weather. Time to embrace the Fall.

1664

Chit Chat / Re: "Beauty and the Beast" National Tour

« on: October 13, 2006, 08:51:15 AM »

That is something I have always wondered, Reedman: How much time do you get to practice before you have to perform?

So, you essentially have one week to learn the music? Do you have full practice sessions with other bandmates before the shows? When I learn a new piano piece it takes weeks or months to get it down- I'd stress out big time if I only had one week. 

Anyway, have fun!

1665

Pond Chat / Re: Cold Hardy Palms

« on: October 13, 2006, 08:38:38 AM »

That was very educational- thanks for posting it.

I was shocked to learn this:    

"Chamaerops humilis:  A green to silver-green fan leafed, suckering palm that gets to about 15 feet.  It tolerates dry, arid conditions and temperatures to about 5 degrees.  Common name is Mediterranean Fan Palm."
   
If I were only in a slightly warmer zone, I could actually grow it. 

I wonder if I could winter it over in my garage? 

1666

Chit Chat / Re: latest color tour picture

« on: October 12, 2006, 09:01:20 PM »

Same here. The only snow that hasn't melted is the stuff in the really shady areas. It'll all be gone by tomorrow.

1667

Pond Chat / Re: Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 12, 2006, 08:53:39 PM »

Thanks! 

I hope this does not prophetize a bad winter! 
It was so much fun today, watching my Mini Man play in the snow. I have to tell you that he is a very industrious young Mini Man. At 4 years old, he put on ALL his snow clothes all by himself. Snow pants, boots, gloves, coat, hat. Definitely a developmental milestone!  I can't even begin to say how happy I was with that.
We played in the snow until it started melting.



Rocmon, what "minor islands" are you on? You are more than welcome to visit here- we have some pretty good sledding hills. However, I'm sure that if you are going to bother making the trip, the Colorado Rockies might be more suited to you. 
"Looks like a great day for a fire in the woodstove, and a good book..."- you got that right! 'Tis the season for great books!

1668

Pond Chat / Re: How to check water quality or for parasites.....

« on: October 12, 2006, 08:40:08 PM »

The first thing to do is get a water test kit. Yes, the fish could have parasites if they are jumping out of the water- but they could also do that if there is something wrong with the water (pH crash, etc). Like a person trying to escape from a burning building. Do you have Petco, PetSmart, or similar by you? Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a good test kit, as does Tetra. Should be under 25.00. Don't bother with an expensive test kit unless you have expensive fish.
The test should include pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate. There are other tests that may or may not come with these kits, like GH (general hardness), KH (Carbonate hardness), salt levels, etc. Once you get the water tested, it may tell a lot about your fishes quality of water.

That is the first thing to do. Detecting parasites is a wee bit harder, as you'd have to be able to spot larger parasites (fish louse, anchor worm) or have a microscope available to detect the smaller ones. Parasites are always present, there's nothing you can do about it really (unless you regularly nuke your water with chemicals), but they will attack fish whenever the opportune moment strikes- water quality bad, fish stressed from cold, poor immune system, or crummy diet.

If you have too many fish in the pond, Nature will off them. Do you have any filtration that takes the dirtiest water from the pond bottom? Is there any muck or junk on the pond bottom? Parasites reside in that muck.

First, test the water. You'll be glad you did!

1669

Pond Chat / Re: I think these 2 shots are my most favorite I took this year.

« on: October 12, 2006, 06:56:48 PM »

I love that. Nice contrast between the Azolla and the flower.

1670

Chit Chat / Re: 11th Hour

« on: October 12, 2006, 05:18:33 PM »

Sean is so right.

Put on your best poker face and tell the buyer "I'm having second thoughts. This business has been so fantastic, I feel that I may not be ready to sell it".

1671

Chit Chat / Re: latest color tour picture

« on: October 12, 2006, 11:39:34 AM »

What a pretty picture. Did you get much snow after that?

1672

Pond Chat / Re: Been gone a while sorry

« on: October 12, 2006, 11:35:38 AM »

Gander, your photos are beautiful! I love the one of the swans in the stream.  And all your "old standards" are just as beautiful as ever.

1673

Pond Chat / Re: Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 12, 2006, 09:55:20 AM »

Thanks.

I liked the one of the lotus, but it's so bright I can barely look at it. I wonder if there's something I can do to tone it down a little?

I think Tina and Dauben will be OK, I gotta get them inside too, though!

Matthew had a blast playing in the snow. By the time Laura gets home from school, it will probably all be melted.

1674

Pond Chat / Pond & flower pics today, 10/12

« on: October 12, 2006, 09:33:31 AM »

Umbrella palm. This started as a tiny little sprig from Home Depot back in May.



Dauben



Helvola



Lotus



Mares Tail



Tina



Pond




And finally-



I'm so glad I got all the tropicals inside. See all that white outside?
First time I've ever seen snow as early as Oct 12.

1675

Chit Chat / Re: Love the new features Sean!!!

« on: October 12, 2006, 07:26:45 AM »

That is cool! I like the little voice.

It took me forever to figure out that the "My Messages" icon would blink when a message was recieved- mostly due to poor eyesight. I solved that problem by changing the preferences to send me an email when I got a message. It works great for me, but I'd imagine it might be a pain for someone who gets lots of messages.

Nice job. 

1676

Chit Chat / Re: My family needs a prayer (updated Oct 11)

« on: October 11, 2006, 09:48:32 PM »

Ky Kim, I'm so sorry all this is going on. I can't believe the nerve of some of those people. I really hope the little guy heals up good, and that the Big Brother stops harassing your family.
You have my prayers.

I had an incident when my daughter was 9 months old, she was miserable so we took her to the hospital (had just moved here and didn't have a Pediatrician yet). They put her through h*ll: X-rays, exams by several Docs, took her away for a bit, the third degree (Spanish Inquisition- like), they asked us every detail of her entire life, the whole shebang. Their final determination was that she had a cold! I'm disgusted (still) that they subjected her to all that radiation and traumatization- all for a "cold". Meanwhile, people are torturing their own kids and killing them and it is not being caught.  :'( What gives?
I feel very guilty that I didn't catch that myself and save the thousand dollars plus the added humiliation. But I guess when you have a little baby, it's always worry, worry, worry.
My son, on the other hand, should have been born with FULL BODY ARMOUR.  Plus a titanium helmet.  He is fearless, and it shows. I'm very thankful that my Pediatrician acknowledges that.  Get it on record if your Great Nephew turns out to be a little daredevil.

80% of deaths in the US occur in a hospital. No wonder!

1677

Pond Chat / Re: It's all about the water temperature

« on: October 11, 2006, 10:21:24 AM »

Bart, this may sound frivolous, but it's not. You seem to get so much enjoyment out of your garden & water lilies. Why don't you bite the bullet (big loan or something) and build a large 4 season greenhouse?
Sounds crazy- but you'd have an indoor garden all year round. It would be an awesome refuge from daily life, and possibly may even extend your lifespan.

Steve, what a great little greenhouse! I sense a project coming on. I'm going to  show this to Kevin tonight. I will watch him as the mechanical engineering hat suddenly appears on his head, and the light bulbs start going haywire. 
I wonder if we could make one 22'x15'???
Looks like the size you posted would be absolutely perfect for lotus pots.

1678

Pond Chat / Re: Winterizing tub planter

« on: October 10, 2006, 06:50:13 PM »

Bring them in the garage! Look at it this way- you have nothing to lose. You have a pretty nice garage.

I even had tropical tubers survive my garage. Amazing!

1679

Pond Chat / Re: Some pictures

« on: October 10, 2006, 06:47:35 PM »

Tammie, We're expecting temps in the 30*s in the next couple days. I'm bringing in plants left & right.
But I've got rocks for you. I've been meaning to ask you what type of rocks are your favorite? Big? Small? Plain? Precious? Historically important? 

1680

Chit Chat / Re: The Eagle has Landed

« on: October 09, 2006, 05:51:26 PM »

Wow, look at how tall she is! Is that your wife standing beside Molly? If so, she also looks rather tall- meaning the bird is even taller than we think.

Nice.