Greg, I went and put a diagonal wire across the pond. Not as cute as the little two wires surrounding the pond but so far it has been affective. The pond is only about 5'x12' and 18" deep at the deepest part. Great blues are too big to land in the pond without hitting a wire with the one stretching across the middle.

Raccoons are incredible. The first visit they threw most of the big fish out of the pond, and then just kept coming back. If you haven't seen Raccoon Nation on PBS you should give it a peek. http://m.video.pbs.org/video/2... I found it interesting.

Ooh I totally will!! I know they're annoying and actually they scare me a little bit because they can be so "tame" (or fierce ) but I do think they're very cute!
The wire thing is such a good idea! Did you come up with that or did someone tell you? EIther way I'm impressed!

Years ago I had goats, so had an old electric fencer, but could never figure out how to run electricity to the pond. I knew if it could keep goats in, it would keep critters out. Once we were motivated, my hubby figured out how to run an extension cord from the basement and create a water proof box. This solved the critter problem.

For living right downtown there are possums, raccoons, squirrels, deer and the ever present rats. It is funny how we have a larger variety of birds and mammals in town, than we do up at the family cabin. I guess city living can be good Of course this old part of town has some pretty sizable lots and gullies scattered throughout.

Are you right in Olympia?
It is funny how many animals and birds I see! Living right in Seattle!

Yeh, Olympia. A little bit wetter than Seattle, but our lot has great soil. I grow moss really well.

I hear ya there Jewell! I have a shaded part to my yard, moss is great!! And ferns!

The other day I actually transplanted some native moss. There was a healthy patch growing on top of a boulder which will soon get full-on sun and likely shrivel up, so I moved some to the shady side where the rock meets the dirt. Not sure if 'transplanting' is the proper term, I just tore some off the rock and patted it into the soil.

I've done that before too Deb!

Not me I'm not a fan of moss.

I have brick pavers that have been down for many years. Early this spring I started scrapping and transplanting moss from the brick pathways into a new woodland area. The ground for those beds look like they have been there much longer than just a few seasons with all the moss now growing. Then I put some scraped and pulled moss on some old mixed brick low retaining wall planters I made this spring. What do you think? Instant funky aging? .

It helps to cover up the fact I reuse old bricks salvaged from different times and places and mix them with new bricks and rocks. My hubby's happy because most of the lawn is gone. Only a small orchard area has any grass left. I am naturalizing bulbs in the little orchard area, and thinking of trying out some ideas mimicking the "forest garden" idea with strawberries and maybe a few more blueberry bushes. Not sure if there is enough sunlight there since the neighbor on the south side of that part of the lot planted a sequoia tree and it is now huge. should have done something to it years ago but didn't dummy me since they moved away shortly after planting the sequoia.

Love the 'mixed media' look. And, your orchard plans sound pretty - give us some before/after pics!

I know what you mean about taking advantage of 'between neighbors' -- when the bank owned the property next door I was tempted to go get a large pile of boulders the previous owners left behind, but it just felt too much like stealing. Fortunately, new neighbor has given us the go-ahead to take them off her hands (she apparently has no clue what a treasure they are). Must move soon on that or I'm fearful she will just tumble them down her sizeable hill.

Perhaps you can offer to replace the sequoia with something less shade-stealing if they will take it out?

I read somewhere a suggestion for propagating moss or lichens.

She scraped them off, then ran them through a blender with MILK. Then she painted the slurry onto other rocks. The milk acted as glue and perhaps nourishment.

Wikipedia agrees:

"Materials which are porous and moisture retentive, such as brick, wood, and certain coarse concrete mixtures are hospitable to moss. Surfaces can also be prepared with acidic substances, including buttermilk, yogurt, urine, and gently puréed mixtures of moss samples, water and ericaceous compost."

*
ericaceous (acid loving/lime hating)
such as peat moss.

Jewell that looks very nice!! I think you can find shade varieties of huckleberry and blueberry!

@Bonehead

Hello Deb, I was looking for information on overwintering a calla as a bog plant and came across this old thread. How did it go? I would love to just be able to leave this in the pond year round.

Esperanza, I did not have a chance to find out. My neighbor dog dragged my calla lily all around the yard in its pot on more than one occasion, effectively killing it. I have since renovated my preformed pond to a pondless water feature rather than continuing to battle a young lab playing in water (she's a really amiable animal and just acting on her instincts). I do know I've seen well established callas growing in folks' yards in my area, so I assume they will over-winter OK, just not sure if they will do so in water or not. I'd sure give it a try, they are beautiful plants.

Oh, bummer Deb. Young pups can sure do some damage! Mine look fantastic in the spring and then fizzle out in the summer and I have not had any blooms in two years so about a month ago I plunked them in the shallow end of a pond and they are leafing out again.

It is soooo hot, dry, and windy in the summer here that it is near impossible to keep watered, even with a catch tray under the pot. I think I will try one this winter sunk into the pond and will lug in the other one inside. I will be so very happy if it works out. One less plant to drag in would be great!

Yeah, I have quite a few Used-to-Have plants in My List with the notation 'Marla kill' -- she was really liking anything in a pot when she was young. Instant play toy, fun to toss around, made a crinkly noise, what could be better for a pup? No hard feelings though, she is a good companion for my older dog. I just changed my habits a bit and now only buy what plants I can reasonably expect to get in the ground that day. Let us know how your calla does in-pond.

That was nice of you. Some neighbors would not be so forgiving. I will post the results next spring. Like you said early on in this thread, lots of conflicting info out there. It will be nice to have it documented at least somewhere on the web that it will or will not work for our zone 8 anyways. I think it would just come down to how cold it can get while wet. They live in marshes, but I don't think it freezes. I will try and keep the rogue neighborhood pups out of my yard until then so we can find out!

The pup's cuteness factor definitely played in her favor - how can you get mad at a tipped head and lolling tongue?

Not very mad at all. I put up with ALOT of funny stuff here at our little farm just because of that dern cute factor. The time my nine ducks got in one of my ornamental ponds and destroyed everything in a matter of minutes I did not find cute in the least though. Or the time my neighbors steers came crashing through my garden! That was about 1500 pounds over my cuteness factor level. Ha ha