I have two fish ponds. One is a hole in the back yard, lined with an above-ground pool liner. The other is a kid's wading pool, in the front yard.I just bought some swamp cooler pumps on eBay. I cover them with tulle (the fabric from which petticoats are made) and place them in baskets, to keep plants and fish from getting caught in the impellors. I cover the motors with cut-off, upside-down milk cartons, to keep water out and place a rock on top.
My backyard pond is a pure mess. It hasn't been pumped or filtered all winter. Basically, it's pure duck poop and algae, right now. I'll need to drain it, see if any fish are still alive to rescue, wash everything off and start all over.
I plan to use a 55 gal, plastic barrel as my filter out there. I'll submerge a fat comforter-style blanket in the barrel of water. The pump will rest in the pond, with a garden hose running into the barrel. The comforter will filter the cooties out of the water. The water will spill back into the pond. That way, more pond surface is available to the duck.
I'm looking at aquatic plants on eBay right now. I had good luck with the ones I got last year, but they didn't make it through winter. My bad: I should have taken better precautions.
I'll probably float some water hyacinth on top of the barrel. In the front, I have a large, plastic laundry tub for my filter, with submerged bed pillow stuffing in it. I'll put some hyacinth on it, too.
There's a plant called "lizard tail" which gives off an antialgae chemical that's not toxic to fish. I may get some. I'm waiting to see if my duck weed returns. There's SOMETHING floating on top. It's feathery. I see duckweed roots and some bleached-out leaves. It may come back. It's best to COVER the pond with plants, as they retard algae growth and protect my fish.
I have 6 for a dollar comet gold fish. I also have free mosquito fish, which look like, and are related to, guppies. I will return some of those to my rainbarrels, under the eaves of my house. They really do eat all mosquito larvae. Mosquitos are another reason to cover ponds in plants: they can't lay eggs on anything but smooth water surfaces.
I'm mostly looking at easy maintainance, flowering plants. Hyacinth are a noxious weed in wild water: they'll out-compete with native species and destroy ecosystems. But they're perfect when confined to a pond, and very pretty. I'd never put them in the Rio Grande, tho....
I am enjoying the fact that it's finally warm enough to garden again.
The Big Thing that might happen is progressing one step further. Doesn't guarantee a thing yet. The not knowing if and whether is anxiety-provoking, when I consider what a monumental task it would be to make the transition, how much stuff I'll need to unload, the challenge of finding GOOD homes for my chickens, duck, etc... I can't worry about it. Even if this Big Thing happens, I'd still have about a year to sort everything out.
I'm beginning to investigate some options for independent radio production, to subsidize the expenses. And, as I said, two friends have hired me for little, but monthly, jobs. The combined total would be about 1,500 extra, per year. Doesn't seem like much at the monthly level, but the annual earnings sound pretty damned good. It would pay to transport 2 cats and maybe even my goats to the new place... We'll see.
As soon as I start doing indi radio again, I'll warn you to visit my radio blog, ok?
Well, Ma's at the dentist. I have the joint to myself. I think I'll put on gardening clothes and get back out there...
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