You Capture - Get Down Low

Beth's You Capture challenge this week was to Get Down Low.  I like this challenge because it reminds me of how different everything looks from that 'way down low' perspective.

I started with one of this year's best hanging baskets.  (I got it for Mother's Day from Beth.)  Anyway, you'd never believe from this perspective that the most spectacular part of this basket is the red geraniums on top.

Next I explored how tall this bird house (that I got from my granddaughter) looks from 'way down low'.

 

And then I took a look across the water garden from ground level.

And while I was there I shot these birds.  They're so much cuter at eye level than they are when I'm looking down on them.

I went to the other side of the pond to see how it looked from ground level and here's what I saw.

And when I looked directly at the rocks surrounding the pond, I almost felt like I was back at the Garden of the Gods.

 
Finally I got down low to capture these rain chimes (a gift from my oldest daughter) and realized that it's much easier to look right up at the sun from such a low perspective.
 
So I put the sun behind me and it looked entirely different.


 For more 'down low' shots, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry

From Mess to (Almost) Best in 54 Days

It doesn't seem possible, but we started preliminary work on our pond renovation way back in April.

There were many reasons for the delay in finishing including weather (that was a big one), lack of knowledge, (I pretty much knew what we needed to do just not how to do it), and lack of time.

Our old pond really didn't look bad but it had some problems. There were areas where the dirt surrounding the pond and the landscaping were actually higher than the edge of the pond liner. Therefore when it stormed or whenever it felt like it, dirt and debris went into the pond. Also, a couple of years ago I asked for and received from my daughters a pond skimmer. This is an apparatus that causes floating debris to flow into a box and then be captured there instead of sinking to the bottom of the pond and becoming rotting waste. Another problem we needed to tackle was the box filter/waterfall. It stuck up out of the edge of the pond like a sore thumb. I never once liked it from the time we got it but a waterfall is important not just for its aesthetic aspect but also to help aerate the water. And the biggest serious problem with the old pond was that it wasn't level on all sides so in order to hide the unattractive liner, I would pile rocks along the edge starting somewhere underwater. Unfortunately it was impossible to hide that liner everywhere and also impossible to keep those rocks from constantly tumbling to the bottom of the pond. So you see, we were up against it - a lot!

Here's how it looked last year.

I'm laughing pretty hard in a crying sort of way as I write this because it actually looks kind of beautiful in a way doesn't it? But that's only because we worked so hard to hide the flaws right? And of course it's an advantage to have the plants all mature and everything but with the renovation the plants are kind of starting over. And lets don't forget, this was right after it was cleaned too.

I'll go take pictures tonight even though they probably won't do it justice but I did promise. Before I do that, though, let me describe the changes.

We took EVERYTHING out of the pond. Those irises had to go because they multiplied and grew like weeds. And they collected pond waste because they are filtering plants but they smelled bad. And they were taking over. So they're gone.

When we built the pond nobody that I remember talked about an underlayment but now that's all you hear. So we left the old liner in as underlayment and laid a cheap liner over it. Now when it comes time to freshen it in the Spring and Fall, we'll just throw this one away and put in a new one.

We used landscaping rocks all they way around the perimeter some two deep and some one deep to level all the edges. The theory is that with everything level, we can fill the pond right to the top edge and won't have to conceal bare liner with rocks.

We figured out how to and then installed the skimmer. Wow! That was a biggie and it held us up for awhile but thanks to online help sites, we were able to do it ourselves. Two years ago a guy was going to come out and install it for $100 but he never showed up. I wish he had so we could have used it for those two years but I'm also glad that we figured it out.

We lowered that box filter/waterfall. The waterfall itself isn't as spectacular but the box isn't as ugly or intrusive either and that's what I wanted.

Finally we got done at least with the pond itself. All the landscaping and rock moving still isn't finished. Anyway, we filled it and put the very relieved and happy fish back in. Here's how it looked on the 17th.

And here's how we got there:

Never mind. I was going to go into the steps we took to build it, why it looks like it does in this picture, and how it actually looks quite a bit different now; but, I just can't seem to get this post finished. So I'll chronicle some of the construction steps in a post next week sometime, including the drama that had us draining the whole thing on Saturday just before the big storms.

I Was Starting To Think It Wasn't Going To Happen For Me

We started digging our first water garden in 2001 after a family get together when Beth looked out the patio window and said, let's start your pond. We'd talked about it and procrastinated about it for years and we didn't make a move until Beth moved us. She said, "Let's go lay out the shape with a garden house". After that we never looked back. Our first liner was a tarp we bought at Lowes and it served us well for a long time.

Our first fish were goldfish we got from my sister and a couple of koi that we bought. I was anxious to have baby koi but since we didn't, I blamed the goldfish and declared that they'd all have to go so that our koi could reproduce. But they didn't.

We finally had a nice group of koi but I knew we needed one larger individual to start the reproduction process. We bought about a 20" beauty from a reputable garden center that specialized in water gardens and shortly after we introduced him to our pond, we realized he was really, really sick. He died but not before he infected all the rest of the fish. All of them got sick, and only 3 survived. It was heartbreaking.

So we started restocking. I realized that I'd rather have a few nice quality koi as brood stock than 20 poorer quality. We spent $200 on a gorgeous sanke and $80 on a mate for her who was almost as beautiful as she was. In total we had about 15 very nice koi. Then there was a terrible thunderstorm and our koi pond was between where the lightening struck about 150 yards away and the porch light on the back of our house that it traveled to. My granddaughter took pictures of the heavy rain and you could clearly see the fish swimming about. After the lightening strike, they were all dead.

If I was heartbroken the first time, I was broken the second time. It happened in August and I couldn't even think of restocking. The koi pond became an unsightly mess that we tried to avoid looking at. We didn't protect it over winter and didn't clean it in the Spring. Then our son told us that he and his family were coming to visit and that they were stopping at the Kloubec Koi Farm in Iowa to bring us koi for our pond.

Mr. Right and I went out and started cleaning feverishly and had the old pond presentable before the new koi arrived. That was two years ago. Last year we added a larger koi that we also purchased at Kloubec Koi Farm.

And last Friday night we started seeing signs of a potential spawning event. And Saturday morning at 5:20 I watched the frenzy that was the spawning I'd been dreaming of. Thank God that my granddaughter and her husband were here to help me collect the eggs. (If you don't collect them, the koi promptly eat them.)

We put some in the aquarium and some in two tubs behind the house not far from the koi ponds.

And tonight we have lots of little pairs of eyes dragging around a tail. And we're bursting with pride and joy. If I had anybody to give them to, I'd pass out cigars.

And now, all we have to do is keep them alive.

You Capture - Summer

Summer may be the best time of the year but it's not easy to capture the flavor and feeling of it. I would have fared better with a baby in a onesie outside in the summer shade but the baby visiting me this week, Super Baby, is enjoying the air conditioning and watching an educational show on TV right now. So I looked about for the things I love most about summer. Several years ago, when we started taking an interest in landscaping, my goal was to have something blooming all the time. So far, it works! I love to look around and see what's blooming. Today one of the water iris appeared and some of the oriental and tiger lilies on the East side of the house made their appearance. Here are the bloomers that I just referenced:

Then there's the yarrow that I stuck in a pot a couple of years ago. I love the idea of putting perennials in pots. They come back every year and I feel like it's a brand new planter that's really versatile because I can move it wherever it's needed:
And my favorite thing about summer (not counting the magical times when the kids and grandkids visit) is my koi pond. You might be getting tired of looking at it, but I can't talk about summer without talking about my pond. It's definitely my THING!


For some really fabulous summer shots, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry and for the most fun, join in.

You Capture - Emotions (Or Do Fish Have Them?)

Last weekend Mr. Right and I worked hard to spring clean and revamp our large koi pond/water garden. This project involved carefully moving all 13 special and much-loved koi to the small pond while we worked on the much needed cleaning and re-working of their larger space. Below you'll see what I perceive as excitement and happiness as they dash about exploring their nice new, CLEAN space:

And then here's what I perceive as curiosity or interest while they try to figure out if that frog is real or not and if it was there before:

And lastly, I think my adorable koi even show evidence of the emotion, greed. Somehow they never think there's going to be enough food for everybody:


So you tell me. Do koi have and show emotion. I think they do but not everybody loves koi like I do.

For more and better emotion pictures or to join in the fun, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.