Worn out......................

[Indiana Karen]

Well, today was the day for my big fall clean out of the pond.  It really should have been done a couple weeks ago before the leaves started falling.  I am now showered and done for the day.  It's times like this that I feel old and I don't like feeling old.  :'( This was the first year I have done it with a bum knee, the waders seemed soooooo heavy and cumbersome, but the cold water would have been worse.   The pond looks so bare now, but at least the leaves can find the skimmers.  So...................is everyone ready for winter?

Karen

[Kittyzee]

Heck no, I'm not ready at all...the leaves are floating cuz DH doesn't remember where he put the net....   I've looked but can't find it so I've been netting them.  I need to shut down my bio-filter and sink those plants to the bottom of the pond.   AND I don't like feeling old either!   

[marla]

Monday I was going to cut off all the pads in the lily pond, but just couldn't bring myself to do it....still some nice pads and a few blooms and some surface buds....and the poor little frogs that were sitting on them trying to stay out of the cold water.  Well maybe this weekend.  I did get all the pads off in the main pond, and most of the marginals cut back...but boy the wind this week has blown in lots of new leaves, even though there are nets on.  Hate this time of year.

[Kris]

Next year I am definitely getting a large net to cover my pond & stream!  We had a "big" wind storm last week & my pond was just covered in leaves!     I spent 4 1/2 hours yesterday getting as many of them out as I could between netting & vacuuming!  Not fun!

[Esther]

What's the rush? I'm waiting until all the leaves fall off the trees from here to Indiana and all blow in my pond. Right now, only half of them are there. Or maybe I'll wait until I have to thaw the ice with a blow torch to get the leaves out.  Joking a bit but we do need to get at it this week.

[Marie Fisher]

To me, this is the time of year that ponding becomes work!!!  In the spring, everything
is getting green. Want to hurry up and get everything situated. That's fun, not like
the fall when it is work.  Agree wholeheartedly with Marla, hate closing up pond and
winter. And I'm tired too. Tis backbreaking work!!!  I still have at least 45 or so pots
of tropical lilies not pulled tubers from.  Got to get that done.

Marie

[tweetybaby2005]

Sigh... yes, winter is coming, or feel like it anyway.  Vacuumed the pond, cleaned the filters in the skimmer, and composted 95% of the water hyacinths then netted the pond 2 weeks ago.  I just need to take the plants out of the skippy filter then vacuum it this weekend and we will be all done.  I'll let the waterfall going until first freeze then shut it off.  I have decided to leave the Pondmaster mag drive waterfall pump in the skimmer this yr instead of taking it into the garage to over-winter.  Hopefully the pump will do well in the skimmer underwater.  It always takes me a while to get use to not hearing the waterfall once it is turned off.

Kuan

[jax]

I was wore out on Saturday.  I cut everything back, cleaned up the filters and pump and netted all the leaves from the water.  Then I wrestled with the netting and got that finally in place and anchored down all around the edges.  I looked like a pig pen by the time I was done, back was broke, fingers cold as ice and just sad to see it all gone for the season.  I put a sheeting board over the pond so the fish have a place to hide.  I'll take the pump and UV light out once it get's really cold.  There was ice on the net where it comes off the water falls today.  24 here this morning.  I'm glad I got it done.  It's just not fun to do in the Fall like it is in Spring.

[Indiana Karen]

We still have our pumps running to pull the leaves into the skimmer nets.  The leaves are all down except for the oaks.  We will run the pumps until it gets really cold and yes Kuan, it is so quiet when the pumps get turned off........eerily quiet.  I still need to pull plants out of the creek before the frogs get bedded down for the winter.

[Esther]

Oh yes. All worn out!!! It is backbreaking and smelly and cold for sure. What a pain. So sad. No more flowers for a long time and say good night to the fishies.

 
 
 
 
 

DH did it all. I'm getting so spoiled with him being retired....THANK YOU PETE!!!

[perplexed ponder]

I really know what you mean about it being so quiet with the pumps shut off. I must say I am pretty proud of the amount of work we have gotten done in the past few weeks!  All the equipment here has been dug out and the fishies moved to my Mom's. The pond is drained, so it's a big ugly dried algae filled hole in the ground getting filled with fallen leaves. The area around it isn't much better as I have been digging out everything I can before freeze, and moving it to Mom's. (Her yard is looking pretty nice though! LOL!) We visited the fishies at Mom's yesterday. They are getting slower the colder the watger gets. Seem to be doing well, but I think looking for places to hide. Right now it's just a hole with a liner and a bubbler to overwinter them.  So... I sketch and dream this winter of what will be come spring.

[karen J]

You guys have all done so much! We were so lazy this season that we barely touched the pond, so there is much to do before winter. I cleaned the skimmer Friday for the first time since spring. It wasn't really that dirty, but I discovered the seals on the pump are starting to fail.
I hope to keep the frogs out of the skimmer this winter, as they all go in there and die by spring.

[Mikey]

is everyone ready for winter?

Not quite....  The hardies are resting but the tropicals haven't yet decided it's time to take a nap.