…but left without fishies. We got two more very tiny koi we hope will make it fine. And we got some measly plants that we hope will multiply fast. Temperatures are getting into the 70’s for the first time, and our pond now has two rings, the 6′ shade ring and a 3′ plant ring, which is why the eagle left frustrated, I think.
Jane is feeling about as well as you can feel with a blood count of 24 out of 40. But on this one day between the last test and the prep for the other test, we’re going to pre-assemble the bridge, drilling the holes, etc. Then we will disassemble it, and once the pond edge is leveled, we will and lug it piecemeal out to the pond to reassemble, because the thing weighs more than we can carry. We will deck it and crawl out on the decking as we build it, until we can reach middle and install the center brace, then just keep going toward the other end. This is the sort of thing you do if you are not two 300 pound guys who could build this thing in the garage and carry it into position. Fin-esse, eh?
I have not been able to work at all since Jane fell ill—I’ve just been too done in, and I haven’t trusted my creative sense to do anything useful. So this is us getting a little bit active, and should be fun. We have clamps, we have a good drill, and we have carpentry skillz. So we’re looking forward to this.
Hi CJ and Jane, I wish you lots of fun ! But please don’t start something too strenous…
As for the eagle, great news of him leaving empty handed.
Congrats on foiling the eagle. One less bit of stress for you both. Good luck to Her Janeness, am sending positive vibrations to the both of you and wishes for best health. Finally, good luck with your pond project. (Paidhi Construction Company, building bridges with great success since 1994.) But please don’t overstress yourselves.
I think that a heron might snap up an unwary fish even with the extra cover. Perhaps you could run seine line overhead of the pond about 24″ apart with plastic foil streamers. On the other hand, you would need fixed objects to anchor them to. If practical, it could certainly help to persuade the larger birds that the deli is closed.
The pond is between the house and the garage: if Jane and I were both well, we could string wire about 2′ apart and put streamers on it. Right now, we haven’t even got it in us to drill holes to get the bridge up.
I am glad the eagle went home empty handed.
I have a tank of fresh water Tin Foil Barbs. They’re quite big and have a rather long life, but, I am afraid that a tank is not a very good substitute for the natural environment. I have one fish that I have had for 4-5 years, but when I moved it and the other of the pair from a 26 gallon tank to my current 50 gal, one of them got a disease and I had to euthanize him, so he wouldn’t harm the new fish in the bigger tank, (though I think they gave it to him.)
It made me sad until my adult daughter reminded me that I have a school of fish, not individual fish. As one fish dies, I replace it and the school goes on. I have had much better luck in the 18 months or so with the bigger tank and the larger school.
It’s sad to lose a named fish, but the school concept helps.
How is the koi pond oriented with regard to your house — east of, west of, etc. If it is in the east or south east quadrant of your lot, it is excellent feng shui, and even better if you always have one all black koi.
Could you have a “bridge raising” party? (like a barn raising) People bring food, and pitch in to help with the heavy lifting, and once the bridge is up, you picnic on the food everybody brough.
south, with a waterfall in the south east, flowing toward the house. We have one of about everything, from one tea-colored koi to a black one with white-edged fins, and a black with a gold head.
Well, let’s hope Jane is on the mend by next week and then we should be able to get it: she had a brilliant idea to use 2 12 foot 2×4’s to skid the pre-built (in the garage) bridge across the pond and into place.
Tie a rope around the far end, so that whoever’s on the far side can guide and realign it as it skids.