Hey Froggy! Tell Pan it is time to tune the pipes. Congregate and bless the Spring! There is an awaking noted over eons of time. Spring first starts with a bloom of algae. Then the insects, frogs and newts appear. An explosion occurs and it is dependent on temperature. The magic temperature is 55 F … Read more
Dear Glug, Andrew invited a Tibetan monk to visit his pond. The Buddhist gentleman said it was simple and powerful. I too have heard my approach to pond construction is also simplistic. I love hearing this as the most beautiful this world has to offer is seemingly simple. I placed ecology in a pond near … Read more
Good Night Dear Froggie, The pond and you are going to sleep. PonDoc isn’t. It is time to get ready for next year! Through-out the winter, bare root plants are available. These are inexpensive trees and shrubs. Willows can be staked. Because most of the invading vegetation (canary reed grass) has died down, you can … Read more
Dearest Gluggy, Pond oxygen comes from algae. Notice the bubbles on the rock in the picture (click on it to enlarge). Oxygen is the result of photosynthesis where as long as the sun shines and algae grow, the pond will receive oxygen. Molecular oxygen is dimeric atomic oxygen and thus has an apparent molecular weight … Read more
Dear Gluggy, Life in a pond is all about procreation. Yes, sex! This requires a proper living space. You need a house to grow your babies. A pond can provide this house. I am often asked if rainbow trout will spawn in a pond. They cannot if they do not have spawning beds which most … Read more
Dear Gluggy, Ponds require more structure than being a hole in the ground with water in them; they are eco-systems. Fresh water ponds exist in deserts as well as rain forests; and all require the same basic structures. Using the extreme in the high Arizona desert as an example, I will briefly describe how to … Read more
Dear Awaking Froggie, The microbial life in a pond accounts for over 98 % of the life in a pond. This is a huge dynamic where many variables are present. In the Middle Ages, pond keepers in Scotland noticed if barley straw was placed in the castle moat, algae was retarded. I have been asked … Read more
Dear Frog, You cannot create a fishery growing massive numbers of top predators and losing them on ecology. Hatcheries use a huge amount of fish food that further degrades the ecology increasing nutrients in rivers. Clearing for agriculture has completely degraded many streams and rivers. To create a viable fishery, you must grow your way … Read more
Dear Sleepy Frog, You and I first started our conversations over twenty years ago. I decided to learn what a fishery was and how to construct one. I took degrees in pathogenic microbiology and biochemistry and previously worked in veterinary vaccines to prevent disease in fish. I soon discovered the intent of the fishery was … Read more
Dear Glug, It is winter and I am restless. I need a walk. “Where does that train go?,” asked a friend of Thoreau at Walden Pond. Thoreau replied, “Nowhere, it goes to Hartford in the morning and returns to Boston in the afternoon.” You need a path to nowhere. A path around the pond is … Read more