Messages

1

Pond Chat / Re: Mosquitto control around the pond... New clip on by OFF........

« on: July 04, 2010, 06:21:53 AM »

I'm hearing of good results from an item called a "Thermacell".
It's got a small pad that sits on a tiny grill, and uses a butane cartridge for heat.
Our family in northern Michigan basically live in a swamp where it is tough to be outside in the evening and they swear by this thing.
We got one at the local sporting goods store (Dicks), but they are also available from Cabelas.
The big test for us will be this coming weekend as we are hosting a large party.....stay tuned for further review

2

Pond Chat / Re: What did you name your fish?

« on: July 04, 2010, 06:13:19 AM »

Sorry about your loss, Vickie.


May I suggest some names for those that insist on naming their koi. Here they are: Heron Food 1, Heron Food 2, Heron Food 3, and so on.

That's why ours are named....Sushi, Sticks, Fillet......and we have a Skeletor also

3

Pond Chat / Re: pond with Longwood victoria in it- it is still small

« on: June 25, 2010, 05:47:54 AM »

awesome

4

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: A pic of my climbing hydrangea

« on: June 09, 2010, 02:53:11 PM »

Beautiful plant...we had one at our old house....We named him the "Green Man"
It was on the east side of our porch and seemed very happy with the morning sun

5

Chit Chat / Re: Tribbles with an attitude...

« on: March 25, 2010, 05:13:36 PM »

YEEOUCH Looks like Jumping Chollas to me too......nasty pricks

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Chit Chat / Re: LIve chat

« on: March 23, 2010, 04:47:23 AM »

I'll try to log on then too

7

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: "Dampening off? "

« on: March 18, 2010, 08:47:33 AM »

no fan until you have sprouts, although a fan would give more air circulation if it is too "stuffy" in the greenhouse.

8

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: "Dampening off? "

« on: March 18, 2010, 04:15:07 AM »

I also use a fan on my seedlings. The difference is dramatic in regards to the thickness of the stems from the moving air. and bottom watering is the best way too

9

Pond Chat / Re: Fertilizer question.

« on: March 17, 2010, 02:19:16 PM »

I live in one of the colder zones (5).....I used the composted manure and osmocote formula with great success last year and wouldn't hesitate to use the same method again this year

10

Pond Chat / Re: Hi ~ New Member Pond Pics

« on: March 16, 2010, 05:18:47 PM »

very nice

11

Chit Chat / Re: I loved the oscars...

« on: March 09, 2010, 03:37:05 PM »

The Hurt Locker deserved the win in my opinion, very powerful movie

12

Chit Chat / Re: Pete made another bed

« on: March 04, 2010, 03:59:43 PM »

Very nicely done...looks professional

13

Pond Chat / Re: speaking of worms- red ones?

« on: March 01, 2010, 05:48:22 PM »

tubifex worms???thats the one i used to get for my tropical fish too

14

Terrestrial Gardening / Re: Burpee's new porterhouse Tomatoes ! Look superb!

« on: March 01, 2010, 01:34:38 PM »

put a bit of epson salt in the planting holes....tomatoes like the extra magnesium it provides

15

Chit Chat / Re: ROBIN!!!!!

« on: February 18, 2010, 08:11:54 PM »

Hey Esther,
 Pete is correct, Robins do stay up north all winter. Not all of them and they are very hard to find, but every year they turn up in Christmas bird counts and I've seen them in the dead of winter. I'm pretty sure they switch from worms to berries in the winter and the ones I've seen were in conifers, probably trying to keep warm.

For me, the birds that signify the coming spring are the red-winged Blackbird and the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.
The male blackbirds are setting up their territories and make their "konk-a-ree" call in the early spring. The Grosbeak has a beautiful melodious song that announces spring is finally here as they don't usually appear until April at the earliest.

 Robins are wonderful to see and even though some stay here all winter I do enjoy seeing the first one of the new year welcoming spring to the northern states. The cardinals are also starting to sing their spring song and soon the dark-eyed Juncos will leave their winter grounds and head back up to the far north for the summer season

 OH ....and Rich.........    It is gonna get above freezing tomorrow after a low of around 18 degrees tonite with the next chance of snow on Sunday night or Monday

16

Pond Chat / Re: 'ello purdy queeny!

« on: February 15, 2010, 08:35:24 AM »

nice. ..... is it a named lily?

17

Pond Chat / Re: New water plant for my pond!

« on: February 10, 2010, 10:58:00 AM »

Isn't this the plant JW was looking for?

Happy ponding,

Rich   

yes it is

18

Chit Chat / Re: SNOWMAGEDDON - How much snow did you get?

« on: February 09, 2010, 12:33:37 PM »

Heading out to shovel right now
about 4 inches on the ground and it is not expected to stop snowing until around noon tomorrow

19

Chit Chat / Re: Do you want to see my new....

« on: February 05, 2010, 06:37:57 PM »

We go through about 150 pounds of thistle (niger) seed every year and never had a problem with sprouting seeds. BUT those cheap mixes are a different story as they sprout like weeds. IMHO the best thing to feed the birds is shelled sunflower seeds. There is no waste what-so -ever and it attracts the widest variety of birds, but it is also the most expensive to buy

20

Chit Chat / Re: Do you want to see my new....

« on: February 04, 2010, 02:11:03 PM »

BEWARE
 those finches eat like pigs and then poop like geese. We feed them too and they are fun to watch,  but there is mess involved with any feeding operation.

21

Chit Chat / Re: Calamari anyone?

« on: February 01, 2010, 12:16:59 PM »

overcooked= rubbery
 It is especially tasty when grilled. I like a bit of lemon juice on mine

22

Chit Chat / Re: We have so many members who are silent. Come on in the water is fine!

« on: January 27, 2010, 07:54:38 PM »

I also miss Bullfrog here. He is quite a character and always good for a laugh or two

23

Pond Chat / Re: Can we talk about vacs? Please.....

« on: January 21, 2010, 07:52:46 AM »

The discharge makes a wonderful nutrient rich fertilizer for garden plants. I noticed the areas where I discharged the waste water had perked up the plants in that area.

24

Chit Chat / Re: Frozen tundra

« on: January 07, 2010, 06:57:12 AM »

It has been colder than normal here too. Right now it is snowing and the forecast says at times the snowfall will be an inch per hour and not stop until almost noon on Friday. All the area schools are closed today. Oh yeah and after the snow stops it is supposed to get very windy and those of you that live out in the open countryside know what that means...even with snowplows working, the roads get covered back up at an alarming rate and that makes travel difficult at best.
                                                                Stay warm and safe

25

Chit Chat / Re: What did everyone get for Christmas?

« on: December 28, 2009, 10:12:23 AM »

At age 48 I got my very own Bible

26

Chit Chat / Re: Hey Jerry, you need to pick up Sean and go ice fishing...

« on: December 17, 2009, 06:03:06 PM »

I think this one is more apt to get Jerry to go ice fishing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHZqCXZHfdU

27

Chit Chat / Re: Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

« on: December 11, 2009, 09:17:35 AM »

It's a "balmy" 10 degrees here, Going out in the yard to fill the birdfeeders was invigorating. The dogs don't seem to care and were running around like it was 70, although when I called to come in the house they both ran like the wind to get back inside. We are supposed to get up in the twenties this weekend, a proverbial heatwave.
 Stay warm my mid-western friends winter is just beginning

28

Chit Chat / Re: Huntington Garden Orchid Show

« on: November 12, 2009, 03:33:43 PM »

fabulous flowers

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Chit Chat / Re: Daydream...

« on: October 23, 2009, 08:14:14 PM »

I could supply the nosy neighbors

30

Chit Chat / Re: Heyyyy where's

« on: October 19, 2009, 05:26:06 PM »

I miss the book reading also
It was a nice break from the other chit-chat and pond related stuff here