Pond dreaming is over

[EddieWalker]

Phil,

What's with all that white stuff? I wont even tell you about the weather here, but will just hint about mowing the grass and having to wear a hat to avoid a sun burn!!!!

The bird house looks awesome. I'm sure it will be another focal point that will add to your enjoyment while at your pond.

Eddie

 

[philbuilt]

Eddie,
That white stuff is what keeps the ground water levels full I hope. Yes it's time for it to go. The dogs Kobe and Skippy just want to go for there nightly walks to the pond. We are now at the point we won't go down there with them till the ice is out. They don't seem to be afraid to walk on the ice and I don't want have to go in and get them.

We are hoping the bird house will invite some new birds to the area. The doll house had 8 rooms so some of the holes that you see on the front are fake. I tried to separate them in hopes of having multiple families.

Do you know if the duck factory will work? I'm hoping that the ducks will eat some of the weeds in the pond. I think they are vegetarians.
So your place is coming alive! That very cool.

The plan this year is to clean up all the tree branches from the last big storm. Then I will be lining the feeder pond walls with rocks so that it looks a little more natural.

Phil

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Hey Phil,

We have a state setup area about 10 miles down the road, they use that type of nest, they also use a dish with bedding in it for nests. I can get you some photos if you like, it will be a couple of days we are about to get hit with a blizzard.

 

[philbuilt]

Thumper,
Thanks that would be wonderful.

Here is a picture of my walking partners.


Phil

 

[studor]

I have a few of those duck factory type nests on my back pond (about 30 acres) and they do get used by mallards. I have flooded timber so I wire them to the trees. I also have a dozen or so wood duck boxes which get used every year. Usually in February I go out on the ice and fix the straw in the duck factories and change the wood shavings in the duck boxes.
I have tried the floating platform type nests but they seem to attract mostly Canada Geese and I have no desire to have them around in great numbers
If you want ducks, I would avoid anything big enough for a goose to sit on!
regards

 

[EddieWalker]

Do you know if the duck factory will work? I'm hoping that the ducks will eat some of the weeds in the pond. I think they are vegetarians.

I think it was Ben Franklin who was the big fan of ducks. if not him, then it was Jefferson. Anyway, he had a saying about ducks. There is no suck thing as having too many snails, you just don't have enough ducks.

Ducks will eat just about anything. Mine love spiders, crickets, grasshoppers and every other bug that they can catch. They spend hours in the grass around the pond hunting bugs.

I feed mine corn and floating catfish food. They eat each just about equally.

As for keeping your weeds under control, I don't think the ducks are the answer. Either wild or domestic. My guess is they will add more weeds to your pond when they poop, then they will ever eat. Once those new seeds work their way through the ducks system, there' s nothing you will be able to do to stop it. Just let nature do her thing and enjoy whatever you end up with.

Eddie

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Hey Phil,

We took off to town for a quick trip tonight, I remembered to take my camera. Here is the two types of nests they use up here. Hope this helps.

 

[philbuilt]

Thumper,
Thank you for the pictures. I've been away so I haven't posted. The second one is that a nest as well? It seem very exposed to the elements.

I put the BH on to go help a friend repair a water line to his house from the well. He just had back surgery and could not do it himself. Heres the cool part. It was the first time that I have ever been to his house and I had to locate the lines myself. So I took the welding rods out and started marking the yard. His yard still had about a foot of snow covering it and I wanted to make sure that the one clear spot was it. They were loosing water pressure and the pump was running every 4 minutes. Well my marks went through the clear spot and centered on the house. I dug that spot up and the pipe had a 3/16" dia hole. I did the repair and all is fine.

So long story short when I got back home I went down to the pond to see how thick the ice was by using the BH. The top 4" is slush and under that I still had 5" of solid ice. So I smash 2 large openings to create some open water. I Hope the ducks come.
Phil

 

[philbuilt]

Good news to report! Today April 7 it's ice out. The pond now has a couple of geese hanging around and my wife said she saw some ducks as well. So the game came is set and hopefully we will get some shots of wild life at the pond. I also started digging up some rock at the front of the yard to continue lining the pond edges.
Phil

 

[philbuilt]

Time for an update.
I had the opportunity to have a mini excavator at the pond so we added about 300 more sq ft. My son moved the dirt with the Massey and I dug with the mini.

I dug the hole down to 12' from water level. Time was runnig out on the mini so then we broke the holding wall and watched the water pour in.
Then we clean up the dirt till the time on the mini ran out.
Here a few completion pics.

This is how I dig with the massey and haul the dirt.

 

[EddieWalker]

Phil,

Good to see your progress. Every time you update your pics, the pond looks better and better!!!

Eddie

 

[mike69440]

It sure is nice that I have my own old worn out excavator while digging my pond. Much better than a new rental, that needs to be returned.

What I found out is what i can dig in a few hours with the excavator takes me two weeks to bucket away with my tractor.

I figure I moved about 1,000 yards so far. I use the spoils in my and my neighbors pasture and to fill behind the wal of our senic overlook.

 

[philbuilt]

Minimal snow this year so I desided to get some gravel on the island. I will post a few pictures if this app will let me.

 

[philbuilt]

Here's a a few pictures. I took the chainsaw and checked the thickness of the ice. 14" good and solid. So the Island top was even with the top of the ice.

 

[EddieWalker]

Rocks look great. Are they from your land or are you having to bring them in?

Eddie

 

[philbuilt]

Thanks Eddie
Rock are from the land but, from the front. I have to dig them out and carry them in the bucket. There's about 4 of them that I had to drag. Also the front bucket was full of rocks for xtra weight and traction.
The bridge has been started and I hope to have the frame across before Ice out.

 

[EddieWalker]

Walking bridge or something strong enough to get a mower across?

Eddie

 

[philbuilt]

Walking. It will have a bow tie shape looking down from the top. Image the path starting at 48" and reducing to 36" and back. The arc has a 30" rise and its 23' long.
I rolled 2.5"x 3" aluminum I beams. These will be hidden with cedar. I should be going to the sign shop this weekend and get a picture.

 

[EddieWalker]

You have my interest!!!! That sounds like nothing that I've ever seen or heard of before.

Eddie

 

[PossumHound]

Nice thread! Can't believe I've missed this one before now. Beautiful job!

PH