Retraction of the Pond Pump Retraction

The new seal for the pond pump arrived on Monday.  I had already taken the pump apart so was ready to remove the faulty seal and replace with the new one.

The repair took about 45 minutes and was pretty easy to do.  I have the pump back in the pump pit and it's been pumping away for about 24 hours now and so far it's dry in the pit.

I certainly hope this isn't an ongoing saga...

Whoohoo!

Grow'n Faster Than Weeds!

They are grow'n fast. In an effort to show you how fast I took another picture of the gourd trellis from about the same spot as I took last Friday. Keep in mind that Friday was a mere 4 days ago... so much has changed in four days.

This is the picture I posted previously and was taken just last Friday... a mere 4 days ago!

This picture was taken this morning from the same spot as the one above.  Can this be the same trellis? Wowzer!!!

Some of the gourds seem to have taken on their own personality. A few examples below... if you have some names that might be appropriate then leave them in the comments section.

The milky skin of the Albino.

The hour glass figure of the sexy siren.

The wart like bump of the toad gourd.

This one has lots of options. For the blog,
however, I'll just call it the Buddah gourd.

This one has a small head and normal body. I'll
call it the politician gourd.

There you have the latest installment on the fast changing gourd trellis.

Whoohoo!!

Ding Dong - Gourd Bells

I just love my gourd trellis. It is one of the coolest things we've done this year and I'm sure we will do it again next year too.

The gourds are starting to grow like crazy. Everyday there are new ones dropping in. I swear that some days they are growing so fast you can almost see them getting bigger.  As the gourd trellis matures we are treated to various shapes and sizes of gourds and the trellis is filling out nicely.

Here are some pictures I took on Friday:

This is the biggest gourd we have so far. It's over a foot long.

One of the most interesting things, to me anyway, are the tendrils the wrap themselves around just
about anything they come in contact with. The look like organic springs.

Every now and then a baby gourd will start to grow and then die off. Haven't figured out why that
is but once they get about 3 or 4 inches long they continue to mature.

Whoohoo!

Pond Pump Project Retraction

I was feeling energized because the pond pump project went so well. The pump pumped and the water flowed nicely AND there were no leaks. There are currently no leaks as I had to remove the pump from the pump hole to keep it from filling the pump hole with water.  The damn thing leaked.

On the morning of the 5th day I went outside and looked into the pump hole (hmmm, maybe it should be called pump pit...) and there was a small area of wetness under the pump. A couple of hours later water was running out the bottom of the pump and the whole bottom of the hole/pit was wet.  I shut the pump off.

I talked to the guys at Performance Pro Pumps... a nice lot they are too. They said that 99 times out of 100 the leaks were caused by a failue in a seal (click here for bad seal joke xx).  They gave me a couple of options:

1. Return the pump and they would repair it and return it to me for no charge.
2. Take the pump to a local pump repair facility and they would pay for repairs.
3. They would send me a repair kit with instructions on how to put in a seal.

I selected option 3 as I've replaced axle seals on cars and figure the seal in a pump can't be that difficult. In addition, the factory guy, Eric, said it was pretty simple and he would be available for questions anytime... even gave me his personal cell phone number.

So the new seal is on it's way. The pump is sitting on my work bench. The algae is happy as a clam with all the calm warm water.

Boohoo...

Pond Pump Project Update

It's done! 

Since my last post about the "Pond Pump Project" I received my pump and then immediately moved on to plan "B."  Plan "B" was to extend the width of the pump hole. It's funny how things look when you envision them versus the reality of the finished product.

How the pump area looked before the new pump.

I found the pump fit in the hole OK but once in there I just didn't have enough room to get everything connected.  I knocked out the bricks on one end and got out my trusty orange shovel and with one more wheel barrow trip up the hill I have excavated another 8 or 9 inches of the hole.  This allowed me to slide the pump farther away from the skimmer and return pipe.

As you can see there isn't a lot of difference in the before and after.  It's kind of  disheartening to work so hard on an improvement and not have much to show for it

How the pump area looked after the new pump. 

The difference will be realized, I hope, next year when the string algae finds it harder live in my pond.

With almost all the work done (just a few nits to take care of) here is the detail of what is now living under my fake rock.

It must be one of Murphy's Laws that a large space becomes very small once you put something in it. None the less, the pump fits, the fake rock covers and protects the contents of the   

Pump Hole and there are no leaks. Let's hope the no leak statement doesn't have to be retracted. Inside this hole we have the Performance Pro High Flow 3/4 HP pump, the sprinkler controller that is used to insure the pond filler can't go crazy and flood the pond, the sprinkler valve and last but by no means least, is the hose that leads to Hector the spitter.

It's all compact and neat.  I'm like'n the way it turned out.

Of course if there are any problems or issues arising I'll be posting those little tid-bits of information on this very blog.

Whoohoo!!

Squash Bug Invasion

And all this time I thought a squash bug was any 'ol bug that you had stepped on. I was educated this past week when I saw fluid dripping from one of my gourd vines.

Stuff dripping from your plants are never a good sign and usually indicates something is about to die. It would be either the plant or the critter causing the plant such distress.

The first thing we saw were the eggs under some of the leaves.  These little "footballs" will hatch into baby squash bugs that will, in turn, eat. What they eat is the gourd plant or more precisely the gourd plant juice.

Any bug mess'n with my gourds is risking it's life.

There are all kinds of things to do for squash bugs and I found that most of the recommendations don't work.  I sprayed with Sevin.  Sprayed again and still the place looked like a union meeting of Squash Bug Local 86.

So these little gourd suckers were causing big problems with my gourd plants and I wasn't having much luck sending them to SBH (Squash Bug Heaven).

After 2 bottles of Sevin I had to admit they were getting the best of me so we reached out for some help. Ginger went to the nursery and asked their resident, "how does she know all this stuff," cops wife and all around nice lady, Mona.

Of course Mona knew what to do. She said we should take an hour and look at each leaf, paying special attention to the underside.  Also look on the vines. If we found eggs or hatchling's we should take some duct tape and press it to the eggs or hatchling's. The gourd leaves and vines/stalks have little "hairs" on them so things can't stick very well and when applying the duct tape they are easily removed and permanently stuck to the tape.

Now, if you come across an adult you do just like the name implies... you squash it, splat it, mash it, stomp on it, squish it and if you want you can duct tape it... just don't let any of them out alive.

That's what we did and it was amazing the number of eggs we found as well as hatchling's. Since the duct tape roundup I haven't found a single egg or squash bug anywhere. 

I'll keep my duct tape handy and will inspect regularly.  It's a pretty easy fix once you know what your supposed to do about the critters.

I love a story with a sad ending... for squash bugs.

Whoohoo.

Pond Pump Project

Could there ever be a year that I don't have something exciting to do in the pond maintenance arena? I guess I just have to wait till it's hot enough to fry green tomatoes on the raised garden bricks and then start a project.

As faithful frog-blog followers your aware that this year the string algae has attempted a coup to overthrow the balance between an attractive, peaceful pond with lily's and fish versus a green slimy swamp! To this end I have to admit the string algae has held the upper hand.  That, my friends, is going to stop real soon.

In my ever so humble opinion the string algae began the take over when I last replaced my pond pump. The replacement pump has been working diligently day after day, season after season however the water flow just isn't there to keep the string algae at bay.  I need faster flowing water and to attain that goal I can either make the pond volume less or increase the amount of water I pump from the skimmer pond up to the bio-falls. I'm going to pump more water.

The new pump is supposed to arrive via UPS on Tuesday.  I'm so excited.  So in preparation of the event I have dug a hole.

Yes my friends it took many wheelbarrow trips from my backyard, up the hill to the undeveloped land to dump the dirt I extracted from what will be my new pumps home.  It could only have been harder if the trip had been uphill BOTH WAY'S as it was when I used to walk to school.

This new pump is an external pump. That means it isn't submerged in the skimmer but lives outside the pond on dry land... in this case stuck in a hole next to the skimmer.

So without further ado I present to you the before and after pictures of my soon to be installed Artesian2 3/4 horsepower - high flow pump house or cave or hole.

This is the before picture. The reality of what really lived under
the fake rock.

The new and improved space under the fake rock.

The pump will sit cross-wise or from corner to corner.  The space without
the brick is what I'm calling the "future sump pump."  The sprinkler controller
is movable as it is on a bracket that hangs over the edge of the brick wall.

So there you have it folks.  I'll be updating the blog once the pump is installed... God willing and the hole doesn't fill up with water.

Whoohoo!!

Gourd Teaser

We're not even close to having much to show with the gourd trellis.  I thought it would be a nice gesture to share a few pictures of the, someday it will be exciting, gourd trellis.  To that end I present a picture of a baby gourd.

Here's one of Gourd Daddies little babies:

These little gals are two-toned.  When they are really small (new) they are upside down
compared to how you are accustomed to seeing them. Did you know there are male flowers
and female flowers?  The males contribute pollen, bees and similar creatures transport the
pollen to the female flower and then that magic thing happens and babies are created. Without
all three participants there will be no gourds.

OK, I got carried away and had to show you two pictures.  What can I say... I'm just another proud Gourd Daddy.

This little guy is about 10 days older than her little sister above.  As the temperatures
rise the gourds grow faster.  It's going to be an exciting fall at our gourd trellis.

Are you excited about gourds yet???   Well, maybe when they get bigger and hang down like bells from the trellis.  Come on over and take a look with your own eyes. Yea, that's when you won't be able to contain yourself.  I don't think I can wait that long.....

Whoohoo!!

Dragon Fly Phenom

Once again it was time to clean the skimmer of the pond. When I lifted the lid to expose the basket I was greeted by 4 dragon flies. They were reddish in color and in different stages of joining the dry world of flight, bug catching and mating.

I called for my wife and sister (visiting) to come and see these miraculous creatures. As I waited for them I watched one fly off. The first flight of it's life and it just knew how to do it... that alone is pretty amazing to this blog writer.

So wife and sister showed up and were as impressed as I thought they would be. My sister ran back inside the house to get her camera. I thought that was a grand idea so I went in for my camera too... I didn't run.

The life cycle of a dragon fly begins when the female lays eggs in a body of water. They prefer slow moving water that would be found in most ponds and swampy areas. The eggs hatch into what is termed a "nymph." The nymph is a fairly ugly look'n character that starts life eating small organisms and as the nymph grows it eats larger and larger things. Depending on the species of dragon fly, the nymph may eat small fish and tadpoles not to mention mosquito larvae. Also depending on the species and weather conditions in the water, the nymph might live in the water for 4 or 5 years.

These dragon fly nymph's will not emerge from their watery home until the weather is appropriate for them to be out and about... that is to say, they aren't going to come out in the late fall or winter when they would freeze their little abdomens off.

When they mature and the weather permits they will emerge from the water and attach themselves to a vertical surface. That's when the magic becomes visible to us mere humans. The dragon fly, like a butterfly emerges and begins to pump blood to it's wings and abdomen. It is quite vulnerable during this period as it can't fly until the wings dry. When it's ready it just flys away in search of food and a mate.

These mature dragon flies will only live a few weeks. During that time they will mate and lay eggs starting the cycle anew.

Here are some of the pictures. The first 3 are from the Internet (plagiarized).

A dragon fly emerging from the nymph shell (for lack of a better word).

After emerging from the nymph shell the dragon fly will usually just hang on to the shell and start with making it's wings
functional by pumping blood into them and letting them dry.

The wings start to unfurl not unlike the solar panels on a satellite.

You can see the dried body of the nymph on the left. Note the hole in it's back, this is where the dragon fly on the upper
right crawled out of the nymph. The light colored dragon fly is holding onto the nymph shell that it grew in.  It sure seems like
a lot of dragon fly to emerge from a relatively small nymph. When they emerge, like the light colored one, they are soft and pliable.  Some of the nymphs that are mature will look swollen and have colored abdomens on the underside. You can double
click the picture to open it and zoom in for a better look.

That's the amazing short story of the dragon fly from my pond.

Whoohoo!

String Algae Collection Device

I'm calling this version 1.2 of my home made "String Algae Collection Device."

This thing is pretty simple which is what makes it work so well.  Not to say there are not improvements to be made... I'm already working on version 1.3.

The "big gee-whiz" of this thing is the round handle which makes it easy to spin the tool and the algae collection end is splayed out to hook the string algae.

Insert tool in the pond and let it rest on the algae. Spin the tool and the algae wraps around the PVC pipe. Remove the tool from the pond and slide the algae off the end of the pipe... sorry, you have to use your hand.

All I can tell you is it works pretty well as a first pass to remove the large masses of algae.  Chemicals are needed for the cleanup and if I owned one a pond vacuum would be nice.

When you own a pond algae will always be present.  One of the key's to having an attractive pond is clear water, some plants, waterfalls and no algae.  It's the "no algae" part that is unattainable but algae can be managed.

To manage algae all you need is lots of time, a few coins, lots of time, patience, lots of time, more patience, chemicals, patience, additonal patience.....

It's too bad Billy Mays isn't with us anymore as I would have him selling these by the thousands! Sure...

Dontchaloveit?

Whoohoo!

Polly-Wolly-Doodle Not Today

My apology to my Frog Blog Fan for letting things lapse in the update arena for just shy of 20 days.  I have a plethora of excuses and even could come up with some plausible lies for the inattention to this here blog. I won't bore you with platitudes and cliches although that might be fun.

The pond is doing OK.  Just OK.  There are 2 goldfish living in the skimmer pond.  They have been there for quite a while.  I've tried to capture them but they just have too much room to out maneuver me... Ginger and the granddaughter. They will have to swim into the skimmer or will have to call this pond their new home.

In the toadlet arena there is only one report... that is fat goldfish. I was looking for any pollywog's or toadpole, any submarine and came up with zero.  It is inconceivable to me that there aren't a couple of survivors somewhere but if they're there they are well hidden.

The woodhouses toads continue to croak their serenade to the lady toads but even if more eggs were to be laid the goldfish would certainly eat the wogs.

I'm still going to keep my eyes open as I've been fooled before... no fool like an old fool they say.

Stop by tomorrow where I will reveal my string algae eradication tool.

Whoohoo 2 ya...

Fat Goldfish

My granddaughter was over today and of course we were out back checking on all the creatures.  She noticed that there were not any tadpoles in the bridge pond and very few to be seen in any of the other ponds.  I wasn't particularly concerned as in previous years the toadpoles had spread throughout the pond (see this link for example). 

Then I got to thinking about it.  Even dispersed there were a lot more toadlets in previous years.  I've been trying to figure out what was different.

At first I was thinking there was residue of the anti-algae chemical that I put in the pond earlier this year.  You know how it is with me... I always worry about these little guys and am the first to blame myself if anything goes wrong.  But honestly I couldn't see that as the cause.

The answer came from a comment my granddaughter made... she said the black gold fish sure was fat.  And then it dawned on me... this is the first year we have had fish in the pond during the toad procreation period.  Do ya think that's it?  I thought tadpoles had a bad taste so fish didn't particularly like to eat them.

Wrong thinking apparently!  Flawed research a few years ago I guess.  From what I've been able to find by researching on the internet (and of course everything your read about on the internet is true) goldfish as well as koi enjoy snacking on the little submarines.

That would certainly explain not finding many pollywog's cruising the waters of the, of late, porn pond.  With all the rock and algae plus the ease in which the toad spawn go over the waterfall I would think there is a pretty good chance of some survivors growing up to be next years visitors.  I will, of course, have to withdraw my statement about being up to my knees in toads this year.

What a dilemma for a toad daddy.  I had no problem with Joe eating birds but feel bad that the goldfish are eating tadpoles.  That doesn't make a lot of sense as Ma Nature is going to do her thing and some will survive versus letting the country side be overrun with toads like Australia was overrun with rabbits.

So I'll sit back and let 'Ol Ma N handle this issue.  I'll watch the algae grow... it grows faster than corn I can tell ya.

Two steps forward and one step back....

Whoohoo!

UPDATE to: Bullitoad #2011-4 & A Whoohoo!

I stand corrected... It DOES get better than a cubit plus 1 or a quad-fam... I'm calling it a penta-fam.  That's right folks.. penta as in 5... count 'em 5 set's of eggs and 5 pairs of toads.  This is unheard of.  Things are changing so fast I'm almost afraid to go outside.  Wow...  some toad must have put a sign up in the men's room or something to get all these lovers in the same pond almost at the same time.

WAIT!!!!!

This just in... would you believe there are 3 couples of Woodhouse's toad mating in the pond as I write this.  Ginger just came in with this startling news.  I find is apropos that the word origin for six is sex and in sextuplets. 

This whole thing today is so unbelievable.  I'm sure there will be some additional comments soon. Stay tuned for the latest and greatest at this very blog site. 

Whoohoo!!!!!

Bullitoad #2011-4 & A Whoohoo!

I just can't sit still.  Wait until you hear this!

I walked out to the pond this morning and there, there in the lily pads no less, was Clinton and Monica but their actions were much farther along than what was reported in the news years ago.

This means, since amphibians don't have recreational sex, that we are in for a cubit plus 1 or a quad-fam. There are going to be so many tadpoles, toadpoles, toadlets, toad minnows, pollywogs and submarines this place will look like a zoo... or maybe that should be a swamp.  Whatever... we are moving at warp speed into a new era of being a Toad Daddy (I need a logo).

So we have each bird house full and I hear little peeps from their homes.  We have a black bird nest in the trellis on the side of the house.  We have an unknown owner of a bird nest in the tree out front.  New salamanders and I saw a snake in the yard last week.  No new goldfish tho... wonder what their problem is...

Folks... It don't get much better than this!

Whoohoo!

Bullitoad #2011-3

There are more toadlets on the way!

Yesterday, a pair of Woodhouse's toads were doing their thing and left a really long string of eggs.  This is the first year we have had 3 Toad mating's... I'm a Toad Daddy cubed. 

Then, in the dark of night, I hear the male calling for another mate.  I think I'll name this toad Clinton.

These eggs should hatch much faster than the previous eggs as the water is warmer now.

Glad I didn't add more algae kill juice.

Whoohoo!!

Bullitoad #2011-2

My pond is green... and it ain't "with envy" that is for sure.  On the other hand the new tadpoles that were able to hatch are alive and well.  I'll not post pictures again as once you see a tadpole they all pretty much look alike. So here is a link to previous pictures that I've taken: LINK.

My estimation of the number of toadpoles is about 500.  Not as many as in previous years but it's good they are represented in the pond.

In other pond news:

• The string algae is alive and well and we have a bumper crop... best year ever I'm sorry to say.
• Leo the Leopard Frog is still hang'n around.  No mate and Leo seems to have given up on croak'n for a lady friend... sorry Leo.
• The horrendous winds we had over the Memorial Weekend were amazing to see.  Waterfalls were blown backward.  Lily pads were twisted around each other.  Huge amounts of tree leaves and twigs were netted and picked from the pond.

That's the latest.

Whoohoo.

Oliental Lily

This is the coming out of our "Oliental Lily's."  These are more of the seasonal blooms that take place in the spring.  I just wanted to share :)

Whoohoo!!

Bullitoad #2011-1

I've been watching the area in the pond where the eggs were laid.  As I stated in my previous post some did not hatch and I was thinking most were doomed.  It has been cold and rainy and that clearly has had an impact on the speed of the eggs maturing into toadpoles.

Every here and there I would see the wiggle of a tail on these little eighth-inch long creatures.  This was nothing like we saw in previous years.

While awaiting the outcome of these newly procreated (or is that procreants) toad minnows the algae has been growing like there is not tomorrow.  Maybe the algae didn't get the memo that the world was NOT going to end on Saturday, May 21.  Regardless of the reason the algae is way out of control and the pond is getting kind of green. 

I was counting on the pollywog's to emerge en masse and start eating the algae.  So I decided I needed to decide what I was going to do.  I figured I had two choices; 1. Let the pond go as is and hope the little creatures get with the program and start eating or 2. Administer the magic chemicals to the water and clear up the algae but possibly kill any toadlets that have hatched.

I'm here to tell you the toadlets won.  No chemicals... at least not yet.  I took my net and stirred up the water in the area where the eggs had been laid.  I was quite surprised to see lots of future toads swimming in the eddies I created. 

It was a warm day today so maybe we're past the "I'm too cold to move" stage and we can get on with growing up... and eating algae.

So that's the news from Red Tail Ridge today. 

More bullitoads as these guys get on with the program.

Think LIFE!  Yea!!!

Whoohoo!!!

Doad Taddy

That title doesn't say Toad Daddy... This is a good news bad news story.

Last week I wrote about procreation and becoming a toad daddy... lots of whoohoo's and yee-haw's.  It would appear, however, the first batch of eggs are not going to hatch.  The eggs are still there but I see no movement inside.  I inspected a few eggs up close on Saturday and believe there is no life there.  The eggs were limp and black with very little substance to them.

On a positive note, I have seen movement coming from the batch of eggs of the second pairing that closely resembles the flipping of a toadpole's tail.  So a lot of Whoo and a little Boo. 

This has been the coldest May since I've lived in Grand Junction and the temperature has a definite correlation to the length of time it takes between the laying of the eggs and hatching.  It also affects the growth of the pollywogs... warmer is faster.

In regard to the batch of "dead" eggs; I'm thinking there are but two possibilities that may have caused this apparent non-event.
1.  The first male frog has taken advantage of Obama Care on a trial basis and was sterilized because he is way too ugly and thus shouldn't mate, plus... he doesn't vote.
or
2.  The chemicals I used to knock down the algae are affecting the egg maturation.  The warnings on the AlgaeFix container stated it did not hurt plants or fish.  I realize toads and toad eggs are neither of these but I thought it safe to use.

One last thought to keep in mind.  In review of my comments in the past two years about the toad eggs and toadlets it appears to this Toad Daddy that I'm pretty dog-gone pessisimistic in consideration of the toughness of toad eggs and the resulting wogpoles.  Mama Nature has been at this a lot longer than I've been watching so I should leave her to do her business.  On the other hand... do you think she has heard of AlgaeFix?

Stay tuned for bullitoads (bulletins/toads).

Bhoohoo

Iris

The Iris is a glorious flower.

I am warm
from your touch:

Flower ~ Eye
Body ~ Body
Creature ~ God

We are all Warm.

by: Charles Paisley


Spring!  The awakening!  Feel it! Sing IT!  BE IT!!!

Whoohoo!!!

Columbine

This year is the first year we have planted the Colorado state flower.  Our first flower has made it's entrance and a beauty she is. 

Colorado state flower: The Columbine

Hopefully this is only the first of many dainty columbine flowers.  I guess I'm kind of goofy as there is something about the first flower that's new to us... it's just a little extra special. 

Whoohoo!!

Step 3 1/2 of Procreate ~ Toads

Just when you thought it safe to let the kids play outside we find 2 more toads who have heard about the procreate song and dance.  Thus this post is labeled: Step 3 1/2.  I'll not bore you with additional details mostly because I don't have any more information to give you.  I'll show you the picture's so you can rest assured these are new contributors and thus a little mix'n it up in the gene pool... or pond.

These toads clearly have different markings than the pair in the previous post.

Some of you may wonder just how is it I can recognize one pair of toads from another.  I have to confess I cheat... I look at their name tags :)

Whoohoo...

Step 3 of Procreate ~ Toads

Step one was the male wooing the female to the area he claimed in the pond.
Step two was the sweet talk and latching onto the female.
Step three is the actual laying and fertilizing of egg strings.

Once again I am posting pictures of step 3 for all you voyeurs out there and also for those that just don't know how big toads make little toads.  An added bonus is seeing a toad egg string.

With the male firmly attached to the female she starts to expel strings of eggs.  The males job is to fertilize them as they exit the female.  This is a pretty subtle thing and is done over the course of hours.  The pictures below were taken during the fourth hour of toad mating bliss.  Can you tell how excited they are?  I can't either! As I write this we are well into our fifth hour and things are looking just the same as it did during the fourth hour except they have moved.

She at least has her eyes open.  He, on the other hand, looks like the effort is beginning to take its toll.

The female is definitely in the drivers seat.  If she decides to dive she dives and he had best be holding his breath.  The male
letting go doesn't seem to be an option.

The difference between toad eggs and frog eggs is the toad eggs appear to be a string of eggs as seen in these pictures.  Frog eggs are more of a gelatinous mass.  Hopefully Leo the Leopard Frog will finally attract a mate and we will have something to compare.

While we wait for Leo to catch-up these toad eggs are already on their way to maturity.  It will be Monday or Tuesday when we will see the tiny polliwogs (tadpoles, toadpoles, toadlets) moving and hatching from their individual egg.  They will eat algae for the most part. Once the egg laying is complete the toads will have nothing more to do with the eggs or toadpoles.  We may, however, see this same couple back in a few weeks... hope they don't lose their name tags so I'll be able to ID them.

This is the first year we've had fish in the pond and it will be interesting to see if they munch on toadlets.  I've read where many creatures won't eat them because they taste bad but I have no idea if goldfish have read the same article.  Even if the goldfish eat toadlets there will be plenty that survive as they will go over the water falls and be distributed throughout the pond as they have done in past years.  Let not your heart be troubled... we aren't in charge, this is Ma Nature's deal.

I have covered much of the toad mating and toadlet growing in previous blog posts.  You can, of course, navigate to previous posts and if you do so you will then know all I know about toads and toadlets.

I'll update this very blog as the events materialize.  This is so exciting!!!!

Whoohoo!!

Precursor to Become a Toad Daddy!

For the past couple of years I've had the honor of becoming a "Toad Daddy." That is to say, the big toad creatures lay eggs, these become toadpoles (or something like that) and toadpoles become baby toads that magically disappear. We know not where they go but we certainly know where they came from.

Apparently all that "noise" that the Woodhouse's Toad makes is but sweet nothings to the ear of the female toad.

He hangs on tight and there is not a chance he will be leaving his post until the intense drive is satisfied and they have done their best to further the species.

No eggs have yet been deposited on the rocks.  Maybe he has to talk her into it.  What a way he must have to be able to screech and carry on for hour after hour during the night and then to start a new day, still alert and hold in his arms his true love of the hour.
Now some may look upon this couple and just arbitrarily name them ugly and icky (not necessarily in that order), but I submit for your careful consideration the tried and true statement, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," and he clearly be hold'n her.

Next week we will probably have the little black heads with tiny tails stick out and they will, hopefully, grow from toadlets to toads. 

Being a Toad Daddy isn't my mission in life but I'm still proud to support these screamers in their annual push to further toad kind.

And let us not forget that Leo the Leopard Frog is still faithfully singing his song both day and night in hopes of following in the footsteps of the Woodies.

Stay tuned.

Whoohoo!!

Procreate... Sing IT!

It's that time of year again when the frogs and toads want to procreate.  There is no getting around this procreation business as it's one of the most basic of Mother Nature's Laws. 

I got to thinking that my fan out there might just enjoy a listen to the sounds of spring for those lucky enough to have toads and frogs this time of year. 

Click the arrow below to hear what Leo the Leopard Frog sounds like as he advertises his presence and credentials for a mate.







Click the arrow below to hear what the Woodhouse's Toads sound like as they advertise for a mate and stake out territory in the pond.








For most, this "noise" is just irritating and intrusive but for a true amphibian lover this is music to their ears.  I lay awake at night listening to the frogs and toads sing their songs of spring... their songs of love.  Why you may ask...

Of course your awake at night... Could you sleep with all this racket going on... I mean... really!

Whoohoo!

Truant Fish

This morning we had 5 fish in the Bridge Pond.  This afternoon we only had 4 fish in the Bridge Pond.  The largest and most orange fish escaped!  Escaped over Humpty Dumpty Falls... escaped from the school!

Earlier in the day I saw they were swimming just like they had when mating earlier (story here).  They were swimming in shallow areas and skootching across rocks.  I guess this truant fish just kinda skootched onto Humpty Dumpty Falls and was washed over into Joe's Pond and then washed into the skimmer pond.  Wish I could have seen that happening.

For those of you who are not aware of what pond is what or where the water falls, you can see that information by clicking on this magic word... POOFIT.

With the vagabond fish doing solo laps in the skimmer pond I felt it was my responsibility to "rescue" the creature and return her to the Bridge Pond and her compatriots. 

So just how does one go about capturing a fish in a 2000 gallon water filled hole you might ask.  I certainly did and no one had a very good answer.  "Get a net," said one lady.  "Leave it be," said a gent.  "Drain the pond and I'll grab her," said an interloper that looked strangely like a blue heron.  Catching fish by committee wasn't going to work... everyone had an idea but no one had ever actually done it before... it was all just theory.

My first idea (theory?) was to use a very large flower pot... one of those big plastic things about 2 feet high and 18 inches across the top... it even has holes in the bottom.  I found the fish was not interested in just swimming into the pot.  So I attached a long stick to the pot using screws thinking I might hold it on the bottom of the pond and when the fish swam over the pot just lift it with the fish trapped inside.  That turned out to be a pretty dopey idea. 

I decided the lady was right and I needed a net... a big net.  As odd as this may sound, I wasn't in the mood for shopping and decided to just let the creature hang out in the skimmer pond until I got around to purchasing an appropriate capture device.

I went into the house and took a nap.  You see, today is our 28th wedding anniversary and I needed my strength for tonight... We were going out (yep, it's true).  I was expected to stay awake after dinner and also drive home!  I would need a lot of rest during the day to pull that off.  So I took a nap.

I got my 40 winks and untold Z's.  When I awoke I was wondering how the truant was doing in it's new world.  I looked in the Skimmer Pond and saw water, algae, pipes, a pump, rocks and bubbles but no fish.  I considered for about a nano-second if the fish could have gone up the waterfall... not a chance.  That left the skimmer or the large flower pot that was floating in the pond.  Not a chance it was in the pot so I took the lid off the skimmer. 

Pinned to the bottom of the skimmer by the water flow was this orange fish about 8 inches long.  Whoohoo!  I no longer needed to figure out how I was going to capture the truant fish... it had trapped itself.  I took a bucket and filled it with water, removed the skimmer and just dumped the fish into the bucket.  In a mere minute the fish was found, transferred and replaced in the Bridge Pond.

I just love it when a plan comes together... OK, so it wasn't in the plan but it could have been!

Whoohoo!!

Toed Toad

I was working in the yard this afternoon over where the tiger salamander was discovered.  I turned toward my wheelbarrow and felt something on my shoe.  I looked down and there was this dusty, marked with dried dirt, toad.

The little guy somehow wound up on my tennis shoe.  There are no pictures as I felt I just needed to stand there and after a short time he moved on.

Kinda cool.

Whoohoo...

Baby Goldfish

Remember the story about the goldfish mating (here)?  Thought I would report that I still haven't seen any little goldfish.  Not say'n they aren't in there somewhere but you would think I'da found a few by now.

Your ever diligent observer is on the job and I'll report here at the first sign of gold!

Part 2 of "What'n Hell is THAT ?!?!"

Are you sitting in front of your computer all smug and aglow because you know what kind of creature we discovered in our yard on Thursday?  Do you even know the name? I hope so because in all my years I've see lots of creatures but never one like that and in the flesh, so to speak, too.  A good challenge don't you think?

That creature is a tiger salamander.  Some might call it a barred tiger salamander and others might just call it an icky lizard.  I have found there are a lot of folks that know about the tiger salamander.

For starters it is the state amphibian for the 34th state... as in Kansas.  Now if that doesn't impress you here is a bit more information about the tiger salamander:

The tiger salamander is the largest land-dwelling salamander in the world! The (barred) tiger salamander typically grows to 6 - 8 1/2 inches but has been measured as long as 14 inches. They are also long-lived with estimates that they may live for 20 years.  What's not so obvious is that they have only four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet.

It is hard to see in this picture which is why I
posted it.  Who would think yellow and black is
hard to see?

These large salamanders make a nice meal for many animals such as snakes, turtles, herons and fish. They, in turn, make a meal of insects, earthworms, small mice and even other amphibians.  Tiger salamanders best avoid predators by a nocturnal and secretive lifestyle. They are active under the cover of darkness and spend most of their time in underground burrows or in thick vegetation near water. This salamander may take cover in mammal burrows or, if the soil is soft enough, they will dig out their own shelter.

Tiger salamanders have a fascinating and adaptable life process. Typically, tiger salamander larvae feed and grow during the spring and early summer and metamorphose two to five months after hatching. However, some populations never metamorphose. If the water system where they live is permanent and the environment surrounding this water system is dry and inhospitable, they may retain gills and a wide tail fin, crucial larval characteristics that allow them to live underwater. These salamanders mature in the water and even are able to mate and reproduce, although they maintain the body of an immature salamander. This process is called neoteny. Other tiger salamanders, in response to the seasonal drying out of their aquatic habitat, must be able to metamorphose on demand. They even may metamorphose if they are removed from water and handled temporarily.

Those tiger salamanders that are lucky enough to breed, either as terrestrial or aquatic salamanders, usually do so in late winter, but breeding may take place whenever there is enough moisture. Once the female has attached her egg masses to underwater debris in temporary pools, she has nothing more to do with them. They hatch three to five weeks later, depending on water temperature.

The tiger salamander ranges from central Nebraska to northeastern Mexico. They are distributed throughout Texas except for the eastern quarter.

You are really a trooper if you've managed to stay with me after all the "facts" about this "new to me" amphibian. 

Now the rest of the story... what we found in the pipe on Friday morning:
Nothing!  Apparently in the dark of night the tiger salamander decided it was better to beat a hasty retreat and fight another day than to stay with a decimated den.  That guy is no where to be found.

Wow, that was an exciting find.

Whoohoo!!

Thanks to Wikipedia and Google in getting the info on the tiger salamander

What'n Hell is THAT ?!?!

It's not a wonder it takes me so long to get things done.  Just a couple of days ago I went out to adjust the door to the skimmer.  It was a little low and as a result wasn't skimming the water surface properly.

I took the lid off the skimmer and adjusted the door.  I noted the skimmer basket needed to be cleaned so removed it for that purpose.  Once I removed the basket the water level in the skimmer rose a few inches and water started to pour into the overflow.  After about 15 or 20 seconds the water flow stopped... obviously the overflow pipe was clogged somewhere.

I cleaned the basket and returned it to the skimmer.  Then I selected tools to remove rocks and such so I could trace the skimmer overflow pipe.  I felt I needed to fix the cloged pipe.  I found the pipe and the clog and immediately deduced the need for a larger overflow pipe as the one there was reduced from 2 inches to 3/4's of an inch thus the reason for getting clogged up.

I decided to extend the 2 inch pipe to our french drain which is a 4 inch pipe.  My thinking is a 4 inch pipe would surely take care of anything a lowly overflow might send it's way.  So I started to search for the french drain.

The french drain is on the right, the PVC fitting is white.

I found the french drain.  I also found the 4 inch french drain pipe terminated into a PVC fitting that split the pipe into three 2 inch pipes that, in turn, ran into the wood retaining wall that separates my property from the detention area on the east side of our property.  I wasn't particularly impressed with the design and considering the PVC pipe connections were done with duct tape I was even less impressed with the whole mess.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do.  If I were to run the overflow into the french drain then I would have to seriously alter the split into three 2 inch pipes.  I also ran some water into the french drain to see how it was draining into the detention area.  I found it finally did drain but only after leaking like a sieve as the duct tape had deteriorated and some of the connections had separated.

I decided to pull the whole mess out and just re-pipe it.  I was going to remove all the splits and 2 inch pipe, connect a fitting to allow the overflow to drain into the french drain and also allow me to extend the four inch french drain to the detention area.

Armed with my reciprocating saw I deftly cut the french drain at the precise location determined by measurements, luck, eye-balling, a hope and a prayer, a special pencil mark and the shadow of a nearby shrub.

We're getting to the good part of the story now!

With the french drain cut I started to remove the plumbing from the cut to the retaining wall.

As I pulled the first 2 inch pipe out that's when I saw it!  Ginger was standing near and I looked where the pipe had been and there, in living black and yellow, was the creature pictured below:

I pointed to the creature and said, "What'n Hell is THAT?"

The creature looked stunned and wasn't moving.  I didn't see any wounds but I thought I might have dealt the creature a fatal blow when removing the 2 inch pipe.  Once I got my wits about me I ran for my camera.  I started taking pictures about the time the creature recovered from it's sudden exposure to the afternoon sun.  It slowly crawled to the shade of the now upended pipe I had just pulled from the ground.

The creature was on the far side of the pipe in this picture.  It crawled to the base of the pipe and then crawled into the pipe.

We decided to leave the little guy alone and let it regain it's senses. After all, one can only endure so much trauma per day.

So I'll close this chapter of the story with the creature holed up in a 2 inch PVC pipe after being abruptly and violently ousted from it's moist and protected niche under the leaking terminus of our french drain.

What kind of creature is this?  What will happen to it?  Stay tuned for the rest of the story...

Whoohoo!!!