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About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Friday, July 5, 2013

Our Little Goldfish Pond

Good morning,

We have a small permanent gold fish pond in our back yard.  It was here when we moved in 34 years ago, but filled in with cracked pottery and soil. 
All those years ago we dug out the pond and found a perfectly sealed concrete pond that holds water without any repairs needed.  We added an electric line to the pond to supply power for a small pump and light.  In the winter, we put a pond deicer in there to keep it from freezing. 
The pond is self-sustaining and the fish live there happily all year round.  These two pretties have been in there for the past five or six years. 
What a pretty setting for some garden ornaments, too.  Our little bunny needs a little more cleaning.
 It took two days to drain and clean the pond.  I had most of it drained when a thunder storm arrived so the water lilies had to live beside the pond and the fish were in a bucket in the garage overnight.  I had a hard time sleeping that night, worried that the fish wouldn't be happy in that bucket  all night.
 In the morning, I was happy to find that all was well.  I finished cleaning out the bottom of the pond (a very dirty job!), refilled it with fresh water, ran the new pump fountain for a couple of hours, then returned the fish to their clean home.

The water lily roots will float for awhile when returned to the pond, will then slowly settle into place on their own.   In the winter the leaves die back and the roots settle to the bottom of the pond and remain dormant until Spring.

It takes a little work about twice a year, but it's worth it.  We love our little gold fish pond.

All the best,
 Lois

15 comments:

Hootin Anni said...

This is so cool!! I would love to be able to hear the water fountain.

Hope your 4th of July was a happy one.

MarkD60 said...

Very nice! My grandfather had one, and my friend in Virginia has one too.

Pamela Gordon said...

Your goldfish pond is really pretty. A lovely spot to sit next to and enjoy the fish on a summer day. I'm glad you found it and restored it. Such a shame to have it buried but perhaps it was too much work for the former owners. Enjoy the weekend.

Kathy said...

What a peaceful feature. Hopefully the fish thought they were on a vacation adventure and weren't harmed by having to stay overnight in a lowly bucket!

TexWisGirl said...

oh, that is neat! even better that it was already there and fully concreted! i've always wanted one, but the herons and egrets here would have a field day - not to mention the dogs.

Lois Evensen said...

TexWis, we do see the possums and raccoons out there trying to catch the fish, but the way the pond is designed, they usually just get wet. ;)

Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments.

Anonymous said...

Love the goldfish pond and excellent macro shots! Happy Weekend to you ~ and thanks for visiting.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Very cool. You must take care of it pretty well for your fish to have lived in it for so long.

My wife has cousin in western Oklahoma. They have a devil of a time keeping hawks from running off with their fish. They have put a net over the pond.

James said...

Very nice! I like the look of the water coming from the fountain. It reminds me of glass being blown.

DeniseinVA said...

Those little fish have a very lovely home Lois.
Denise
An English Girl Rambles

EG CameraGirl said...

Very pretty little pond, Lois!

Jack said...

I thought goldfish ponds were no maintenance things. This description will prevent me from putting one in. These days, I am distinctly a no-maintenance or low-maintenance guy.

I read the Wall Street Journal's story today about people living on luxury cruise ships and thought of you.

Bob Bushell said...

A nice little pond, I know that you keep very well.

Jori said...

What a lovely pond!

Six said...

Lovely Lois. Lu and I have contemplated something similar but with this awful, dry heat in the Summer we're concerned with fish survivability. Maybe something with a netting cover...