FISH FOR DINNER?

The dog has been VERY attentive during the fish feedings. This morning he walked into the water and began pursuing the Koi. These fish are big; between 17 and 26 inches long. This afternoon Shadow was in the water up to his chest and he lunged at a big orange Koi. The fish was much faster and I'm glad. They have been living and growing in the neglected pond for over two years. The property was foreclosed on and was empty until Kathy, Joe and I bought in at the beginning of August.

Now the house is habitable and the grounds are slowly being cleaned up.
We got a riding mower with a small yard trailer and it has been a great help. The dog gets all excited when the tractor is fired up, he knows we're going to the south forty to do something fun.

I was worried about birds of prey trying to take the fish. My fears are probably misplaced. The fish have been living in the pond without my help for years. But I heard that birds don't like gators so I got a few to help guard the pond.

Shadow and the Koi

We have gotten into the habit of beginning the day by feeding the Koi fish in the pond. Shadow is fascinated with the silent ghosts in the water. He stares intently as each fish slides up to the pellets and takes in a mouthful. As the fish turns away he splashes the water and several times Shadow has gotten a spray of water. He may be interested in the food I feed the Koi. The are tiny pellets that have a strong smell. A few times, I've seen him snatch up a few and crunch on them.

We Have a Fountain in the Pond.

As I was playing with Shadow in the front yard this morning, a small red car pulled into our circular driveway. Two guys got out and said that a neighbor had told them that I needed help with the fountain. They told me that they were the workers who installed the fountain and waterfall ten years earlier. There was a piece of luck. As we chatted, they told me details of the system that only someone familiar with it would know.

What sold me on having them take a look was that they got along very well with Shadow out front. They recognized him for the excellent dog that he is. So we went down the slope to the pond, waterfall, gazebo and fountain.

I told them that today's priority was to get the fountain working. Martinez said that we'll prime and test the waterfall first because most likely it would still function. We began by hauling a few buckets of pond water to the pump and poured it down the intake pipe. We had the pump shut off at this point.

Next, we opened the proper valves to allow water to flow through the maze of plumbing to reach the falls. I turned on the pump and right away water poured from a pipe attached underneath the small bridge. The water overflowed the first "catch" pond and then filled the second one. It finally flowed into the pond. After running water into the pond, the Koi fish came over to breathe aerated water. I believe we have 5 orange and 1 white fish. We are applying for a permit to introduce grass carp to eat the vegetation.

The guys made a list of pipe and parts we needed to repair the fountain and off to Lowes we went. We got everything on the list and while they were putting the pipes to the fountain, I was up in the garage drilling different hole patterns into the "screw off" nozzels. I couldn't wait to see the different sprays.

It was a pretty sight to see the water, but the first nozzle didn't give me the pattern I wanted. They rowed back out to the fountain head and tried my second choice. They said they could see me grinning like a loon while they were at the middle of the pond so they knew I was happy with the result.

My initial plan is to run the fountain (and / or) the waterfall daily for four hours until the water begins to clear. This pond is spring fed and will be crystal clear in the near future. The aeration and the grass carp will help a lot, I'm told.

I'll post again with progress reports. Shadow won't be going in the pond until the water is clear and safe.