hi i would like to share our pond photos with you all

Very nice. I like the vegetation especially. Are they all goldfish? How many gallons and how old is the pond?

hi thankyou for your question, they are all goldfish about 15 pretty large ones, plus a few baby goldfish and lots of water plants, and 2 water lilys. there lots of water snails, but sadly no newts we get dragonflys frogs and of course frogspawn every spring,on side flagged easy for birds and wildlife to enter the other sides and walled
there a nice laurel by the waterfall birds like to nest in that, the wall around the pond is sand stone and we got small rockery in each section cyclamens and alpines mostly
we had 3 different sized ponds over 20 years the 1st was very little for frogs, 2nd had a lovely bridge over it, we have a second walled pond at the end of the garden for 30 years as well but we shut that one down 2years when we extended this pond, we bought a hot tub (arthritis)
my husband says it 10foot by 8foot, about 5,litres of water and nearly 4foot deep by the wall edge this one about 15years
put in some photos walled side which starts right by house veranda

Seems with those dimensions that you would have way more than 5 litres of water. My pond is about 15 x 19 and has a small falls and holds about 2800-2900 gallons (about 11,000 litres - sheesh, that sounds like a lot). 5 litres is 1.4 gallons.

I also have gold fish and one koi. And as fish are wont to do, I get babies each year. Mostly the fish eat the babies so very few make it to adulthood. And as I have a very prolific black looking gold fish, they are quite often black, very difficult to see in my pond until they get at least 6" long.

Soon we will be shutting the pond down for the winter. Just put in some deicers, run a pump to circulate water from the deep end to the shallow end, and hope for the best. Spring is always full of surprises when I see one or two fish come out of dormancy from the cave they overwinter in. Pretty soon all 20 came out this spring - and amazingly a bit larger than the previous fall. Quite amazing that they grow, even in dormancy. What is your weather like. I see 'uk' so assuming you are in Britain-Scotland- Ireland somewhere?

hi mary stella sorry its 5,ooo litres you were right, i typed it wrong
i live in a town called wallasey, at the top of a peninsula 15miles long and 9 miles wide, in the north west england , our house is a mile from the sea.
At the top of the peninsula there the irish sea, thats were we are, on right side is the river mersey, the city of liverpool is opposite, and on the other side peninsula is the river dee, we are between liverpool and north wales
there are only 2 towns rest is large villages by the sea or rivers, some are very pretty get lots of visitors
we have our own climate, gets cold in winter but hardly any frost or snow last snow was 5 years ago, but we dont get away that easy very damp and rain, stormy and windy. last year wet for 4 months, sometimes all day
we dont close the pond up, we have a very big upside down bucket they use as a cave, it sometimes freezes over but not often the uv water pump runs 24hrs a day We stop feeding when the water gets too low, usually late nov/early dec
we got lots of black fish as well as goldfish and white ones , we had some babies they are black difficult to find
do you live is it by the sea or in land, how cold does it get? perhaps you got some photos ive enclosed some photos of the garden and the cat ellie bye janet

Oh what a lovely yard and plants. Love your cat. I only have a little dog as my DH is allergic to cats. I live in the coast I supposed. By the Port of Anchorage. I can look down the Aleutian Chain on a clear day and see up the mountain chain all the way to Mount McKinley. Chugach mountains to the south. I lived in the interior for 37 years and the summers were hot and dry while here in Anchorage it is over cast a lot and I feel rather damp. But the winters are very mild. Almost like being 'outside' which is what we call the 'lower 48' states. lol.

I made it to Ireland in 2012. Flew into Dublin, then took a bus to a little village further in to attend a five day Irish Crochet Workshop, then flew right back home. I felt rather proud that I didn't get lost as my family insisted I would. lol

I will post a few pics of my pond and garden tomorrow. I worked at the botanical garden all day and then was rear-ended in my car on the way home so I am tucked up with a glass of wine and my dog and blanket for now. Not much harm to my car (Subaru SUV) but the little Subaru that hit me had a lot of damage to the bonnet (engine lid) and bumper. I assume she was on her phone or texting that she didn't see me slow down.

Thanks for the description of where you live. It is always interesting to visualize where other gardeners live. I have read many books and stories that talk about the rivers, villages, and towns you mentioned. Sounds silly but it is hard to imagine they are real places with real people living there. Course the Beatles were from Liverpool.

h i im so sorry you were in a car crash hope your are feeling better soon, glass wine might help hope so
what a wonderful view you must have to see the mountains like that and a mild winter as well.
you must have a nice job working at the botanical gardens that would have suited me, i spent most of my working life as a nursing assistant bedbathing, looked after all my patients in my care for 20years then after my dad died i gave it up and left, worked in a pharmacy enjoyed talking to new mums and chatting to the very elderly had time for people then
yesterday my son was told he had diabetes oh dear that not good he's not even 40! seeing specialist soon trying to get right food and asda today you call it wallmart i think. yes the beatles came from liverpool played in the cavern, you can see everything, they got statues and a museum as well and lots of roads named after them
mind you i dont bother going there much stay on the wirral lots of open spaces and green field and farms
my husband brian from yorshire the city of hull, and i am from kendal in south lakes its a rural town surrounded by fields and 8 miles from lake windermere thats the biggest lake in england. I retired 5 years ago and love gardening, knitting and collecting costume jewellary, necklaces, clip on earings and bracelets. in winter my friend and i go to see plays and of course garden club once a month bye for now tea ready janet

I retired in 2009; I was an accountant. I am actually a volunteer at the botanical garden. Usually about three mornings a week, then I also do some computerwork, building plant signs, at home. I took up knitting a few years after retiring and loved it but this spring when my back gave out and I was more limited on what I could do I put it aside to make time for stuff that was more important. It was taking up so much time. And I crochet (though not in a few years), do counted cross stitch and read bunches. Love history and biographies.

Well, the laundry is calling as well as a kitchen that needs cleaning. I am cooking for my daughter's birthday tomorrow (she will be 42) and she has requested her favorite home made chocolate cake with fudge frosting. We will have a fish stew then play board games. Lots of fun. I like her boyfriend Eric. he is leaving for the Antarctic in a week to spend a year down there at the South Station. We will miss him but it is a great opportunity and he has done it before.

I am sorry about your son and the diabetes. It is no easy thing to deal with and he must follow the rules on food and such to stay healthy. Will he have to do injections or can he just modify his diet.

We are a bit off topic. lol. That's okay

I LOVE your photos!
I have white goldfish in my little pond too, I really like them. I like cats, but allergic, yours looks nice and healthy!
You have really put alot of work in your place, looks smashing!

thanks. It takes more work each year. But that is gardening (and ponding). It is never finished

hi autumn is now well and truely with us in uk, very cold this morning just got back from snowdon mountain range last break of the year, rain rain!!i noticed fish are slowing down eating already, the garden looks like it needs a good overhaul, but my biggest problem is 100 odd bulbs to get in quickly before the weather really gets worse, could do with some help, is it going cold with you

Was really nice for a week or so, above 40f but now down to 27F. Got the moose fence in but no bulbs. Will try to get them in this week but it is doubtful. I am willing to bet we see snow any day. What a mess the back yard is. I had to devote all my time to the new bed out front and redoing the one next to it. So the back gardens will just have to endure over winter. Still need to shut down the pond.

hi nearly finished the winter bedding and silly me got the bulbs in and bought more of them
the fish going down to the bottom only eating every 3 days, we had lots of rainand temp down to 8c
wow a moose fence have you got pictures and would be really nice to see any moose looking over it
dahlias are still in flower and the roses in full bloom, we went out yesterday on the motorbike look to see the autumn trees and leaves, but not as good as your fall. must be spectacular.We found agreat outoor market had lunch out and went shopping. tidying up today sweep leaves off the drive, there thats many squirrels about the cats are chasing them (pick a squirrel)

If moose 'look over the fence' and take that much notice, they will go right through it unfortunately. It is not a guarantee, just a deterrent. Not much stops a moose if he is determined. I have seen pictures of moose with fencing all balled up in their horns where they bulldozed there way in but couldn't get loose from the wiring and such.

Our ground is frozen down about 1-2" and I don't think it will thaw out much during the day,. It is 40F here with clear skies. Really nice if you are dressed warmly. I had to work out in the botanical gardens today and couldn't wear gloves for what I was doing (not digging in the dirt - placing signs, wiring some to woody plants) and my fingertips about fell off. lol

hi oh your poor fingers, we not had any frost yet usually later on in november, we are very near gulf stream that helps us from bad frost and snow. About 5 years ago the frost and snow was so bad it stopped for weeks and it went down to - 10c and in scotland -17c below, but thats very unusual for uk, last 3 years we had rain going on for 4 months, very bad flooding and high winds and storms
today i pruned a passion flower climber it had gone wild, filled 5 garden bags of overgrown vine. at last see the summer house keep warm lol janet

Four months of rain. Ouch. I thought we were bad. But ours is mostly just overcast. Still depressing. Clear skies in summer is great but clear skies in winter here and especially in the interior (Fairbanks) generally means really cold weather. Although in Fairbanks when it gets cold it is accompanied by ice fog and lack of sun so like living in a cave. Not fun but you get used to it. You had to as it occurred every year.

hi today was wet and overcast and got the light on 3pm, by december its getting dark before 3pm.
next week, the clocks go back 1hr, i think only uk does it
my lads go to work in the dark and come back in the dark, Been busy pruned a passion flower vine, 5 bags full
we been clearing the garden 15 bags to go to the refuge tip, hope get it in one trip back of car its a zafira 7 seater people carrier. moved hot tub on the other side of our hot room, and ive put in lovely zebra grasses, coleus is in a crate in the spare room all planted up in pots nice and warm.
im glad the moose does not come into your garden fairbanks sounds a very cold place you must have to put on lots of thick clothes and boots etc. It gets foggy here as i we live by the sea, i used to live by the river. Seen the fog come right up street from the river front very creepy to see and feel the cold air
i used to live further north in the lake district, we always got frost and snow i lived in a prefabricated house with a metal roof and sections joined together to make the sides, put up after the war, temporary houses mum and dad lived in it 50 years the garden was on 4 sides, they grew loads of vegtables and fruit trees lots of nice pies to eat
the frost was inside the windows even the bedroom no heating anywhere except one coal fire in sitting room
we did not have really thick clothes, hard winters. anyway thank goodness we got full central heating in this house bye for now janet have you closed the pond yet
new photos of plants and grasses hope you like
dahlias and a nice rose front border

busy putting pansys for winter all round front window


our veranda at the moment



hot tub and zebra grasses still using tub set at 37c really warm


indoor plant impatien grew to 5ft

@Oberun46, your life in retirement sounds busier than many of ours still working. You are an inspiration as your gardens are.

hi thankyou for that lovely post, we try very hard to keep the garden looking nice, put as many rescue plants as possible in the garden save a plant :hearts:
i retired 5 years ago, my husband took early retirement i worked for 40years mainly part-time and always very busy doing something my youngest son is autistic and new diabetic and lives with us life throws everything at you, but my garden gets my full attention 2-3hrs every afternoon, am cleaning or going shopping usual chores
i watched some forums and wonder what the moan is about just have to keep going
I dont go out if its cold, I suffers from arthritis and osteoporosis had nasty fractures in both arms, paths can get slippy brian says stay in always another day. we have a heron who comes into the garden, so we got a water sensor spray trips if anything goes past it (i been soaked many a time forgot to turn it off ) but it works i know
.bye janet

that's funny Janet. About your water sensor. I would do the same, no doubt. I would love to have a heron in my garden. Do they do damage? I know they will get in ponds and eat fish but you don't have a pond so no problem there.

Sounds like you really roughed it growing up. Only coal heat in one room. Brrrrr. For a year or so when I was small we lived in a basement, all one room really, with an oil fired heater in the middle. Dad would turn it down at night then turn it up in the morning. Was pretty chilly. We would stand in front of it to get dressed for school. lol.

Glad you have nice warm home now.

Thanks Laurie. I am not as busy as I sound. Still have time to bake and read. I take frequent breaks also. Other wise the back just screams. We (DH and I) worked today and got most all the last minute stuff done in the yard and put the pond to bed. We are worried though as the big koi must have managed to jam himself into the cave at the bottom. We are worried 1) he won't be able to get out, and 2) he will prevent the other fish from getting out. So now I have to worry about that til net April when they usually come back out. I should have put a screen over the entry so he couldn't get in. We saw him with his head and part of his body in the cave entrance so figured that he couldn't get in. Guess he got desperate.