Yes, I do prefer to practice my aerial photography while my brother hones his piloting skills!
In the foreground are morning glories and other climbing vines, which I let climb up and cover latticework on one side of my deck. I have to try moonflowers again this year. In pots and around are Elephant ears, sweet potato vines.........I don't remember everything. The purple bucket and the smaller 'tub' at lower left are for water plants. Between them and the 'big' pond, I've got water lillies, cattails, pickerel rush, and I can't remember the water plant with the leaves that look like arrowheads - is that Taro? I am usually overrun with water hyacinths by the end of May, because I get them off eBay in April. Despite the heavy cover, I found I was losing fish 'mysteriously'. It started about four years ago - every spring I'd bring the pond up to find my biggest couple of koi gone. Then last year, it started happening during the summer. In fact, when I drained it down to get my tropicals out (I breed mollies, swords, and platies all summer, and they keep the algae at bay) my two plecos were gone, and one was about 7". With no tracks and nothing left behind, I betting heron, one who found a good thing and keeps coming back. I did see one fly over one day. The owner of the LFS just on the other side of the river told me his dad loses thousands of $$ worth of koi (he breeds them for the store) every year to herons. I also started the summer with about six good-sized bullfrogs, and they disappeared mid-summer too. They had been overwintering at the bottom of the water for at least three years.
In the smaller tub, tree frogs and toads have always laid eggs. This year, very few made it past tadpole stage. I have seen an increase in the # of snakes - I had one garter that I named 'Sneaky' because I'd be out there working and turn around, and there he was (and I'd jump every time). I found Sneaky dead this year - my dogs didn't get him, but he might have strayed into the yard next door, been injured by their greyhounds, then crawled back over to die. His (or her) offspring are alive and well, as well as some baby black rat snakes. I don't mind that they keep they vole count down, but they stalk birds sitting on nests (mama black snake does, anyway).
The tree at left is an Ornamental pear - not a Bradford, but similar - an Aristocrat. I could shoot myself for not thinking ahead -it drops all its ornamental fruit in the water and all over the deck. It's either going to go or be chopped to look extremely lopsided this year.
As for stock - I was down to four goldfish/koi when I did my last cleanout, so I finally got a net, staked it down, and bought a few more fish before the season was over. Last I checked, before freezing over (I do have a trough heater to keep a hole open) everyone was present and accounted for. So we'll see what I have when spring comes.
Sorry, that was longwinded, but you HAD to ask!!
all for now
judy
