R.I.P. Dreamcicle

I was very sad to find my beloved Koi, Dreamcicle, floating in the pond this morning. I've had him for 9 years and he survived 4 years with the previous owners. He was originally installed by the owners before that and I don't know what age he was when initially brought here, but he was at least 13+ years old. Koi can live up to 65 years when they are treated as we treat our dogs and cats, i.e. annual vet visits, special grooming, food and other things.

I think his demise was caused by multiple factors, not the least of which was the heron. I saw that heron go in after the Koi once, feet first. I had seen what could be claw marks on Dreamcicle's scales. I immediately replenished his slime coat and tried to be ultra vigilant, but there's only so much a person can do. I was sad to bury him. I have one more Koi left, Hoosier. He has cow-like markings of black and white. I really thought he'd pass away first since he has scoliosis. He is almost an "S" shape at this point.

I have decided after Mr. Hoosier passes, no more Koi. Goldfish are just as colorful and not quite as dynamic. Besides, I haven't got another 60+ years left in me and my son would never want to inherit that! In Japan, Koi are kept in the family, passing from one generation to the next. They really love their Koi and get them to do tricks and come when they're called just like we do with our dogs. I just couldn't devote that kind of time to them.

Well, that makes the 12th pet buried on MarshLand property. It marks the 18th pet death in the 9 years since I've been living here. Even though each pet was pretty old, it does seem like a lot of death. I'm getting very good at digging graves. I guess that's just what happens as we age. We see more and more death until every person, relative and pet we've known is gone - that is if we are the one to outlive them. My grandmother used to talk about it, how everything and everyone she'd known well was gone. I understand that so much better the older I get. As friends and family and even pets pass away I am reminded how fragile and precious this life it.

Rest in Peace poor little fish, you will be missed.

Cold Night Prep in Florida

It's only going to reach 55 degrees today, about 20 degrees lower than it has been. Tonight we might get below the freezing mark, which is not a common thing - Thank Goodness!!

I will be bringing several potted plants into the house possibly for the next two nights. The hardest part is getting every"one" indoors and making sure to get them back outdoors. Also, several newer transplants will need to be covered with sheets overnight. I will also get some cuttings from the various coleus plants to have new plants if the outdoor ones die.

There is also a heavy wind expected which can really dry out the plants and make them more vulnerable to the cold. I will water everything deeply at the height of the heat today. I also need to make sure all the ponds are at capacity. The cold air speeds the evaporation and both my ponds as well as a couple I work with, are about 2 inches down.

A quick note, do not feed fish in the cold. Eating in the cold stresses their systems and can make them sick. I have a plec in a tank on the veranda as well as my worm condo. Both need some additional heat and wind protection. The plecostomus is a tropical fish that prefers water temps around 70. This morning the water temp was 62. Not too bad considering the air temp went down into the upper 40's last night. But there is a huge difference between 48 and 31! I have another tank heater (somewhere!) and I'll find it and get it into the tank as well.

The way I deal with the worms is to wrap the condo in large, rubber backed rugs. Remember to leave the air holes clear. I may also warm some wet newsprint and lay it in on top just before I retire. And then I cross my fingers.

MySpace link:

http://www.myspace.com/pool2pond

I Hate Grass!!

As Certified Master Gardener and Florida Master Naturalist, the Florida ecosystem is my love.

The quality of our water is paramount as far as I can see. As we all continue to cry over the price of gasoline, (yet fail to lower our consumption) I cry over the death of our Floridan Aquifer. This Aquifer provides a huge percentage of all the fresh water used in the world, and we've drained it to grow sugar and water lawns. We contaminate it daily with chemicals to green up non-native grass that provides no nectar or habitat.
I am doing my small part to save our water. I have turned off the wasteful 7-zone sprinkler system, planted native, drought-tolerant plants and habitat friendly plants at multiple height levels. MarshLand is a Certified Backyard Habitat by the Natural Wildlife Fund. So besides saving water, my yard has become a haven for butterflies, birds and pollinators of all kinds. Later I'll post more about pollinators and the decline of the honey bee, which is just as devastating to the eco-system as the loss of habitat and the pollution of water.
The requirements are simple: Food, water, nesting places, shelter and "Space" (basically space to do whatever the critter needs to do, feed, mate, play, hide from predators, etc.)
Marshland is a safe place for many critters, from dragon flies to bullfrogs to possum and hawk. Regular visitors include the Red Shouldered Hawk, Barred Owl, Great Heron, two Cardinal families, Ibis, and Robins. Some come through seasonally during their migrations, others live here year-round. All are welcome. Even the raccoons, whose playfulness leaves many potted pond plants turned over! The main thing is that even though I have encroached upon their habitat, I'm working to co-exist instead of killing everything in site.
Consider taking up some of that nasty St. Augustine and replacing it with a couple beds of native plants. Just a little bit at a time. I know most people cannot totally give up some grass lawn area, and that's fine. Just let's consider our water purity in all our choices. I for one want to have water to drink for the rest of my life.

Amazing wildlife!

Right here in my backyard! How great is it to be able to walk out my door for a break from the computer only to find a great heron standing by my pool! He/she was wonderful! He flaps his wings to get to the center in an attempt to get a fish (I guess! Could have been a frog too!).


Speaking of frogs, there are some huge bullfrogs sitting around the pool deck any time there is a light sprinkle! They look like they are garden decorations, they sit so still. I think they just enjoy the rain! There are young ones starting to crawl out of the pond!


I'll never forget the red-shouldered hawk taking a bath in the pond. Amazing thing to watch.


The water quality is so good that I think I could drink it. I'm going to take it into the county to be tested soon. I know I could swim in it. It's warm for about 3-4 inches depth, then it gets very cold. The lilies are really doing a great job of insulating. The Marsh hibiscus has had 10 blooms on it for this its second season! Last year, first year in the pond, it had 3 flowers.

I'm working on getting some streaming video working as well as some cameras focused on the pond to catch some of the critter antics! My website: http://www.marshland.us will be updated by the end of July. I'm back in school learning how to create a good website! Please visit it and see what Marshland is trying to accomplish. It's all about education and saving our resources, water, electric, air, land and even cash!!

Water or Auto Fuel?

Water is Precious

Gas Prices are the Least of Our Problems!

I can live without auto fuel, but I cannot live without water! Everywhere we look these days people are abusing water. Over 65% of Florida's potable water is used to water lawns! Lawns of grass that are a habitat for nothing other than the very things people want to kill in their lawns! This leads to the addition of masses of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers which run off into our sewers and drain down into our lakes and rivers. My experiment of turning a chlorinated pool into a balanced pond has shown how well nature can clean water. If only we would stop dumping chemicals into it!

This is an example of water kept crystal clear quite naturally by using biological balances. I look forward to the day when sterile grass lawns are no longer the preferred aesthetic.

And now that I'm finished ranting on and on, here is the link to my mySpace page!

Scenes from the Pond