The Fish Pond

The past two summers I have really struggled to keep the pond water clear. The problem began right after I enlarged the pond by a couple of feet in the spring of 07. I've always had crystal clear water before, so looking at this pea green soup was extremely frustrating. The water was so murky, the fish could only be seen when they came up to eat. I finally gave in a few weeks ago and made a larger, above ground filter. I also added some water lettuce to help shade the water from the sun. In addition, I have begun using a chemical product that kills the algae but is safe for fish and plants.

This is what my pond looks like today.

The plants have been beaten by hail three times, so they are looking a bit rough. The fish are all doing well, despite the stressful water conditions. But I have not had a single frog this year. I removed about a dozen small frogs last fall, taking them to a nearby lake, as they will not survive the winter in my pond. This spring I watched and waited for the frogs to return, but they never came. I miss them.

An Overdue Update

This evening I went out to the flower beds to take photos of my bloomers. Not those kinda bloomers!

White daylily.

Pink and yellow asiatic lily.

The pink phlox survived the nasty bug infestation.

Another mystery flower. Anyone know what this is?

Moonbeam coreopsis.

Kiwi vine.

Grape daylilies.

Gooseneck Loosestrife. A rare plant I think.

A flock of geese!

Gooseneck up close.

Goldenrod. Which always blooms in June for me.

Gloriosa daisy in all it's glory.

Balloon flower.

Went Junking Yesterday

Yesterday was a good day to go to the antique malls as it was rainy and not fit to work out in the yard, or take the dogs for a walk. I found lots of things I wanted to bring home, but limited myself to the two rusty finds shown below.

Rusty barn lantern.

An old chicken waterer, before.

The old waterer planted with Million Bells and hens/chicks.

The gloriosa daisy is in full bloom.

End Of Week Update

Several things have begun blooming over the past few days. Here are my favorites.

Yellow Coneflower.

Evening Primrose.

Coreopsis.

Butterfly weed.

Achillea.

Birds and Blooms

When I took the dogs out after lunch today I spotted one of the Mourning Dove fledglings roosting on the old clothes line post. The hen was sitting beside it, but when I came back out with the camera, the hen had flown away. I wonder where the second fledgling was at.

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I went out after the hail storm yesterday evening to check for plant damage. Suprisingly, there wasn't much harm done. But I found this robin resting in my honeysuckle, he seemed to be a bit disoriented.

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The gloriosa daisy has opened up more.


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I can't recall the name of this flower. I'm sure I have the tag for it somewhere, I'm just to lazy to look for it. If you know what this perennial is, please let me know.


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Summer Blooms

The flowers are all doing well as we have had good temps and sufficient rain of late. This morning the dogs and I went out to enjoy the clean, cool air. They played while I walked around and took photos of things in bloom.

Two buckets with Vinca.

The Sedum bowl is nearly full.

Sunny yellow Rose Moss.

Old-fashioned Honeysuckle. I wish you could smell it.

Daylily - 'stella de oro'

Gloriosa Daisy is nearly open.

(Not the best photo) of a wren with insect.

(Not the best photo), of a Giant Swallowtail butterfly and its host plant, Rue.

The old dog kennel is finally gone. I now have a 10'x30' area to play with. I'm thinking of building a 10'x20' pergola, planted with vines, on this end. A new privacy fence panel replaces the chainlink fence in the back.

Mourning Doves

I went out this afternoon to take down the dog kennel which is no longer being used and is an eyesore. The first three panels came down without a fight. But when I began cutting out the honeysuckle vine, which has become entangled in the kennel wire, I discovered a bird's nest containing two chicks. Under closer inspection and giving the hen time to return to the nest, I have learned they are mourning dove chicks.

Photo of mourning dove hen and chicks taken from allaboutbirds.org

The following photos were taken of the hen and chicks in my backyard.

The kennel has been sold to a young couple living across the alley, but they will have to wait another week or two before I let them take it as I am not willing to remove the nest and risk the hen abandoning the chicks.