(Left to right) here's Cheech (or Chong), Mr. Lister, Thor (or Frill), and a bit of Big Red:
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(Left to right) here's Cheech (or Chong), Mr. Lister, Thor (or Frill), and a bit of Big Red:
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~~~Teelbee
maintenance...
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill
2003 start weight: 176 / goal: 137-134 / reached goal in Aug. 03
2010 start weight: 158 / goal: 137-134 / now: 145
Shelley, what a cute little nut-stealer! We seldom see squirrels around our place, although it's pine and oak forest - every now and then one wanders by but nothing at all to count on.
Teel, dang that makes me want a koi pond! I'm afraid the raccoons around here would eat 'em up as fast as I put them in there though.
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!
Here are some cute pet pix I got in an e-mail.....I'll post more later!
(BTW-pretty fish! My cat would run them crazy chasing them!)
~Maxibee![]()
It's so good to be home!
Char, an egret actually wiped out most of my fancy goldfish (not koi, just fancy goldfish) last winter. I came home from a hike and found him in my patio garden:Teel, dang that makes me want a koi pond! I'm afraid the raccoons around here would eat 'em up as fast as I put them in there though.
He'd eaten all but 3 of the fish, but I didn't know that yet when I took the picture. I was so thrilled with the breathless beauty of the bird that I never considered the peril to the fish.
I discovered the fish missing about an hour after the pic. Even later, I noticed what looked like crumpled paper under the japanese maple. When I went to pick it up, I saw it was Big Red (about 8" long and 2 inches fat). I guess he was too big for the egret to swallow, so he spit him out. To make a long story short, Big Red miraculously survived that extended time out of water - so now I often call him Suuuupperrr Red!
There are ways to keep pond fish safe from predators (racoons and birds). One is to make a bigger, deeper pond. There are also net covers, decoys, and motion detect alarm/sprinklers. As egrets are territorial and unlikely to infringe on another's territory, I now have a cheesy egret decoy (CED) made from resin.
The gals in the veterans' forum came up with a name for him: Sir CEDrick Stilton:
Actually, all kinds of birds love the pond and enjoy bathing in the little waterfall.
~~~Teelbee
maintenance...
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill
2003 start weight: 176 / goal: 137-134 / reached goal in Aug. 03
2010 start weight: 158 / goal: 137-134 / now: 145
Teel, how big is your pond? Deep??
I'm gonna talk to DH about doing something like that when we landscape the yard. Our biggest problem is we try to avoid hard surfaces as much as possible because they are such wonderful golf-ball deflectors - usually right back into a window! The sound of tinkling glass is NOT fun!
Char
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!
My pond is on the small side for safey from predators - picture inverted pyramid that's about 4' wide x 5' long x 3.5 deep. Although it's small, it invites an amazing variety of wildlife for a small patio garden. There are a few rare Santa Cruz Mt. brown spotted salamanders that hangout near the pond; and they are surprisingly charming when I happen upon them.
My pond is rimmed with stone, but I don't see why one couldn't cover the edge with plantings (probably in containers) instead. Sunset (of course!) has a good pond design book.
Have you been to Jean de Luz antiques in Carmel Valley Village? (God, I love that place!). He has some nice water gardens in old fountains and raised stone planters. There's a restaurant nearby that has a waist-high raised pond in it's patio dining area. When we had lunch there, the koi swam up to watch us eating. It made me wonder about who was entertaining whom!
Here are some pics of today's pond visitor (must have taken 50 photos - these are my favorites):
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I like this one for the butterfly shaped reflection just below the dragon fly.
And, coincidentally, the shadow from the tree on the right echoed the look of the dragonfly wing.
another view
~~~Teelbee
maintenance...
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill
2003 start weight: 176 / goal: 137-134 / reached goal in Aug. 03
2010 start weight: 158 / goal: 137-134 / now: 145
Beautiful pictures, Terry! Oh, how I miss dragonflies. We see one only once in a blue moon here.
BC
[font=Comic Sans MS][size=2]LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Oh Teel, great shots! More, More!!
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!
Breathtaking!
Nita
QueenMama
Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today!
I may have posted this before, but this is a pic of our beloved Fu-kitty and Danny-dog, both of which are no longer with us, but they sure gave us lots of love and wonderful memories
Fu-kitty would reach out and *touch* Dan on the nose, and she would leave her paw on his nose for several minutes. She didn't swat or box him, just a little furry love pat. LOL
Shelley
Visit Kassie's Korner
"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery
I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
GO SOONERS!
I be ready for some football!
One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!
Terry,
I meant to say, the dragonfly is spectacular. I don't think I 've ever seen a red one. Most of ours are cobalt blue and an occasional silvery gray. The dragonflies don't stand a chance when the Martins are here...they are the main course for the little baby martins!
Shelley
Shelley
Visit Kassie's Korner
"A goal without a plan is just a wish."
--Antoine de Saint Exupery
I’m SOONER born,
And SOONER bred,
And when I die,
I’ll be SOONER dead!
GO SOONERS!
I be ready for some football!
One little walker-runner Dude for every 10 miles!
Aw...what a cool pic of Danny the Dog and Fu-kitty - it's nice to have remembrances, isn't it?
Char
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!
Well, the same DragonFly came back and hung out again on the horsetail reed for a long, long time. I guess that makes her a real pet, LOL. If it's a she, I hope she is laying eggs here.
We had some cobalt blue damselflies visit last summer. They look like dragonflies in flight, but fold their wings when they alight.
This is a pic with the new camera, which I'm still figuring outl but you can see the better detail already.
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~~~Teelbee
maintenance...
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." Winston Churchill
2003 start weight: 176 / goal: 137-134 / reached goal in Aug. 03
2010 start weight: 158 / goal: 137-134 / now: 145
Boy Teel that's beautiful!
We get a lot of damselflies here. I don't think I've seen any dragonflies in this yard though. It may not be warm enough for them here, dunno for sure.
What kind of camera are you using?
Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.
Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!