Messages

301

Pond Chat / Re: Pink Ribbons...

« on: May 06, 2010, 03:29:04 PM »

You said it - GORGEOUS!!!

302

Pond Chat / Re: A puzzle

« on: May 06, 2010, 01:42:04 PM »

I spent much of today outside by the pond.  I still do not see the second yellow koi, so I'm figuring it must be gone?  I also haven't seen one of the small feeder fish that I had handpicked (I picked them all really) because it was all white with a red tail - very different looking.  It probably was one that my husband removed from the skimmer. :'(


BUT... I DID see a second small black fish today!  YEA!   Can't wait til they start changing colors - adds more fun to the pond!

303

Chit Chat / Re: credit car fraud!!!

« on: May 06, 2010, 01:38:46 PM »

I called the store and asked for the store manager. I got a woman who said she was operations control - okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay... I told her what happened and she of course said there wasn't anything they could do for us. NO STUPID - I am telling you to check out your machines!!! Something is amiss there! DUH! (of course I didn't say it outloud like that, but I wanted to! )

She rushed me off the phone saying she speak to "someone". Yeah... right!

Thank goodness American Express has our backs! 

304

Chit Chat / credit car fraud!!!

« on: May 06, 2010, 09:35:32 AM »

We just received yet ANOTHER phone call from American Express asking about a particular purchase that was attempted. NOOOOOOOO we had NOT made that purchase! Someone compromised my husband's card at a Home Depot using one of their "self check-out" machines!!!

This really upsets me because... that means that someone has installed somekind of spyware on that machine in Home Depot. How else would someone get his card number if he did this check-out all by himself? It was the only place he used the card yesterday. This morning, the person who stole the info attempted to make a purchase at another Home Depot in Orlando, Florida! My husband joked to me, that no, he had not gone to Florida for breakfast and then returned to work in NY this morning!

This is really upsetting me because it's the second time in just a few months that this has happened to our cards. Mine was compromised before, and attempted to be used in a WalMart in Canada! These thieves are more and more prevalent these days - thank goodness American Express has been on their toes for us!

Please be VERY vigilant when using your cards. The American Express representative suggested that we scrutinize all our other credit card bills - I am passing that suggestion on to all of you! 

305

Photo Album / Re: Pictures of my pond

« on: May 06, 2010, 07:37:27 AM »

VERY nice!

306

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Recommend a "landscape" plant

« on: May 06, 2010, 07:35:37 AM »

My first reaction was butterfly bush as well.  I have been growing them for years - even have lots of baby plants from them and have shared numerous babies with friends and family.  That said... I've not seen one like miguynmkoi posted either.

They prefer to be cut back in late February/early March - down to 12-18 inches, and will fill out beautifully when it warms up, and reward you with loads of pretty, scented blooms, which attract lots of pretty butterflies as well.

307

Pond Chat / Re: A puzzle

« on: May 06, 2010, 07:17:10 AM »

Darn Lynn!  Bears and snakes too??  This California kid had no idea New York was so wild.  Of course, I've only been to NYC and Long Island.  Still, it seems pretty wild and woolly for one of the original states.  I learn things here all the time and not just about ponds.   

Funny Jonna!  I've come to calling our property a Wildlife Refuge.  Not only have we had bears and snakes, but also loads of deer, racoons, possums, woodchucks, feral cats, a few pretty red foxes, HERON of course now! , 5 different kinds of woodpeckers including the pileated - the one that is huge and looks like Woody Woodpecker!

Occassionally we get packs of wild dogs and coyotes running through the back too - their howls in the middle of the night send chills up and down the spine!!!

Oh, and here was a shocker to me several years ago - apparently there is a large rattlesnake population in the foothills just a few blocks from our house.  Their dens are protected by NY state, and any building there cannot be where the they are located!  I know someone who found a rattlesnake in her garage one morning - I would have fainted on the spot!Who ever thought there'd be rattlesnakes here in NY???

308

Pond Chat / Re: My pond

« on: May 06, 2010, 07:00:53 AM »

Looks GREAT! 

Feeding my fish is a highlight of my day, so I know just how you feel!

309

Pond Chat / Re: Pond coming alive...

« on: May 06, 2010, 06:56:03 AM »

Looks VERY good!!!

What is the plant on the lower right side in the first picture - looks like a vine?

310

Pond Chat / Re: A puzzle

« on: May 05, 2010, 05:59:02 PM »

Ya know... I was a bit concerned about babies surviving because I foolishly bought 12 more feeders about a month ago.  But... not to worry.  This evening, when I was telling my husband that I haven't seen 1 of the 2 yellow small koi I got recently, he said "oh yeah... the other day there were a couple of dead small goldfish in the waterfall skimmer basket."

UH, thanks for telling me!!! NOT!   I've also been wondering why I have been only seeing about 6 of the 12 small fish the past several days!


Oh... and tonight when he cleaned out the filters, there was a small dead garden snake in it!  Wonder how that got in there - I've never seen a snake in the pond, but will be looking out for them from now on!

311

Pond Chat / Re: A puzzle

« on: May 05, 2010, 02:53:49 PM »

Thanks Bryan!  I was beginning to think no one would answer here. :'(

I was away all day, but did notice this morning when the sun was shining on the pond, that the "black" fish did have an ever-so-slight orange sheen to it, so I was thinking it's a goldfish as well.  Time will tell I guess.  Odd that it would be the only baby in the entire pond, but it's all fun!

312

Pond Chat / A puzzle

« on: May 04, 2010, 03:43:29 PM »

This is the 3rd year we've had our pond up and running.  Last spring I got about 50 free fathead minnows from the county - they provide them to try and cut down on the mosquito population.  I never saw a single one all last year - not coming up for food, not swimming on the surface going after mosquito eggs and/or larvae like they are supposed to, not while I was in the pond and the water was very clear.

Fastforward to today.  I just fed my fish - I have 8 six inch goldfish from last summer, and 12 small feeder fish that I bought about a month ago, plus 2 small yellow koi.  But...

There is a black fish eating with them now.  It is the size of the smaller feeder fish that I have, looks mostly black with a lighter colored underside.  I'm thinking it is one of the minnows rather than a baby goldfish?  Or is it a baby that hasn't changed colors yet?  It's hard to get a very good look because we still have some algae going right now.  And the fact that I bought 12 more feeders will make it difficult to know if this fish eventually changes color... unless I keep seeing a dark fish.

What do you all think???

313

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Ajuga

« on: May 03, 2010, 07:25:28 AM »

I thought I'd update here with new pictures of my ajuga taken yesterday.  This is 2 weeks after my last pictures above - it just keep getting prettier and prettier!  So full and bright this year - I am loving it!

left side of waterfall


right side of waterfall




close-up of flowers

314

Pond Chat / Re: visitors to my pond Hansel and Gretel

« on: May 03, 2010, 07:00:36 AM »

Wonderful pictures, frogman!!!

315

Pond Chat / Re: First hardy lily blooms of the season

« on: May 02, 2010, 12:00:03 PM »

So VERY VERY pretty!  And your fish aren't bad either - which type are they - they all have such nice tails?

316

Pond Chat / Re: A visitor this morning!

« on: May 01, 2010, 04:30:24 PM »

Here is the video that my husband took both at 5a.m. when he first saw the bear in the backyard, and then again at night when it was on our second story deck trying to eat the sunflower seeds from my birdfeeder. I actually left it out there to see if it would return so we could get a closer look, and it surely worked!  But no more birdseed out there until the bear is hibernating again next winter. 

I had to upload the video on YouTube because it's too large for photobucket or to send in emails. This is my page there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rE8BmVcB2k

317

Pond Chat / Re: A visitor this morning!

« on: April 30, 2010, 06:49:05 AM »

As far as we know, he didn't come back yesterday.  My husband was home all day and spent most of the day in a room overlooking the deck and backyard.

The interesting thing is... when I posted the picture of the bent birdfeeder pole the other day (another one coming from yesterday just as soon as I download it), I noticed that the date was last year, May 4, so we are assuming this is the same bear who remembered the seeds.  I can't believe it was the same exact week.  And here I've been surprised at how my hummingbirds always return the same week every year for 10 years now!  I will have to mark my calendar so we are prepared next year for the bear!!!

318

Pond Chat / Re: A visitor this morning!

« on: April 29, 2010, 06:29:46 AM »

He simply walked up and down the steep deck stairs - as if it was the most natural thing for him to be doing!

Yes, I do have a 3,000 gallon pond with 22 fish in it - some goldfish are about 6 inches and would make a tasty snack for him I'm sure!  I just hope he doesn't go after them, now that there won't be any more seeds out.  I'm pretty sad about that, as it was getting very colorful out there, what with the goldfinches yellowing up beautifully, the bright red cardinals, 5 different kinds of woodpeckers, and all the other little "tweety birds".

319

Pond Chat / Re: A visitor this morning!

« on: April 28, 2010, 07:57:51 PM »

Soooooooooooo here I was... finally sitting down to a late lunch of a leftover 1/2 sandwich at 4p.m., and wanting to catch up on the computer when after 2 bites there was a POUNDING POUNDING POUNDING on my front door! What the???

I jumped up, looked out the window up here, didn't see any cars outside, but there below me on the front walk was a man all dressed in plain black. I opened the window and asked "can I help you?" I didn't know if someone had died or what?!?!?!? 

He said rather energetically..."I just wanted to let you know that you have a black bear in your backyard!" To which I replied... "AGAIN?!?"  I asked how he knew, and he said a neighbor called it in. "And WHO are you?" I asked! "OH - sorry, I forgot - here's my badge" as he pulled his shield out of his black jacket. "oh, ok"

I told him about this morning and he said to meet him outside on my deck in the back. I grabbed the camera and he was already on the deck.

[OMG - as I was typing this, my husband yelled up that the bear was back and on the deck! He had already pulled the birdfeeder down on the heavy metal pole and was laying on the deck floor licking at the seeds!!! Not more than 6-7 feet away from the glass sliding doors in the kitchen and familyroom!!! WOW! We tried to get pictures, but even with all our spotlights on out there it wasn't enough light. I knocked on the glass door and he GROWLED a little bit at me - YIKES!  When he ate all the seeds he could get out, he ambled off the deck down to the ground and then we couldn't see him anymore.]

I will not be able to put the birdfeeders out anymore now. Even though I don't mind having the bear around, having him so close is not safe, and I am concerned for the kids and pets in the neighborhood. But I'm glad we got to see him up close and personal!

To finish up the story of this afternoon - about 6 police cars arrived with sirens going to scare the bear off - it looked like a sting operation - he didn't even flinch. It had worked this morning with only 1 car and 1 siren. Guess he knew better the second time. The police all jumped over the rock wall and ran after the bear, chasing him through my backyard neighbor's yard and down several streets towards where the foothills are - they had guns you see, and weren't scared - stupid! Then they lost track of him. But we know better - he ended up right back where he knew those seeds are!

Anyone wanna bet if he returns tomorrow looking for more seeds?!?

320

Pond Chat / A visitor this morning!

« on: April 28, 2010, 06:03:03 AM »

My husband woke me at 5a.m. on his way out to work to tell me "something" had gotten into my galvanized can that holds my bird seed on our second story deck.  He thought it was a black bear and ran upstairs to get his camera and to tell me.

Yep - he was right!






While bears are not a common sighting around here, they have been coming down from the Appalachian Mountains nearby more often the past few years.  We have had a bear on our deck twice before - didn't see it, but it bent my birdfeeder down to the floor both times!


I called the "non-emergent" police this morning because the neighborhood kids would be walking to their buses soon.  There is nothing they will do about the bears unless they are up in a tree, or harming someone or something, but a cop did come out and blast his horn and siren which chased the bear further behind our house.

I actually didn't mind seeing him - my husband and I met while we were both living in Alaska and were used to these things, but again... I was concerned for the kids and pets outside.

321

Pond Chat / Re: Just for fun Lotus

« on: April 25, 2010, 06:13:02 PM »

I had my first taste of lotus on Friday.  We were eating in a restaurant in NYC and my son ordered tuna steak which was served on a bed of seaweed with very very thin, small slices of lotus root mixed in.  I couldn't tell if it had a flavor to it because the seaweed was in an extremely strong ginger sauce.  It was crunchy like water chestnuts as someone mentioned above.

322

Pond Chat / Re: "You" asked about Jobe's Tomato Spikes. Ask and ye shall receive.

« on: April 22, 2010, 06:20:21 AM »

Has anyone used the tomato spikes on other water plants?  I'm wondering if it makes a difference on plants such as lizard's tail, cannas, etc?

323

Pond Chat / Re: Picture!!

« on: April 21, 2010, 06:53:17 PM »

Gorgeous - it's all so lush!

324

Pond Chat / Re: Oh Happy Day!

« on: April 20, 2010, 07:38:11 AM »

You're reminding me - I didn't repot last year, but can't avoid it again this year.    

Can I borrow your DH?    

Sure you can, but I don't know how long he'll be good for - last summer he got 2 herniated discs in his back from all the yard work he constantly does, and was out of commission for about 2 months.  So now we are taking turns and I am the one with back issues.  Hmmmmm - wonder if this pond is doing us in?!?   But we do love it!

325

Pond Chat / Re: pond pics if they work

« on: April 20, 2010, 07:32:57 AM »

Do you put mosquito dunks in your ponds?  I have a friend who is going to do a half barrel with a water lily in it and she's very concerned about mosquitoes.

326

Pond Chat / Re: dividing papyrus

« on: April 20, 2010, 07:25:11 AM »

Wonderful pictures of a job well done!
Your pond is so very pretty!!!

327

Pond Chat / Re: visitors to my pond Hansel and Gretel

« on: April 19, 2010, 07:34:46 PM »

Great pictures!  We had 5 mallards in our pond 2 summers ago - they stayed for about 3 days before I chased them off.  There were 4 males and one female and there was much fighting going on between all the males.  I didn't want their deposits around the pond, though I did enjoy their brief visit.

328

Pond Chat / Re: First Pictures of 2010!

« on: April 19, 2010, 04:07:17 PM »

Very nice indeed - and the entire area is so clean - WOW!

329

Pond Chat / Re: Oh Happy Day!

« on: April 19, 2010, 10:27:29 AM »

My DH is from Rockland Co.  Spring Valley to be exact.

Spring Valley is 2 villages over from us - 10 minutes at most.

Pondjoy - too funny!   Though husbands can be monsters too sometimes!

330

Pond Chat / Re: Oh Happy Day!

« on: April 19, 2010, 08:53:58 AM »

We're not really upstate - we are actually right on the northern NJ border.

All our trees have flowered early this year as well, but the lily buds just amaze me!