The first post on a new blog is always the hardest. You want to grab the attention of all your future readers but the ideas for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and future posts are swirling around in your mind. So I will provide a brief history of how I came to write this pond journal and what I hope it can become.
I grew up in Florida surrounded by water. My father was an avid fisherman and was usually found near water most of his life. Growing up near a large river I learned early how to fish, catch crabs, and to swim. We rarely went to the beach even though it was just a few minutes drive. When we moved to Atlanta we would go hiking in the north Georgia mountains and see the fabulous waterfalls. Then in 2003 I purchased a house with a 400 gallon backyard pond comprised of two preformed shells.
It wasn’t long after we moved in that the pond became a fascination. Of course it turned green during the first warm days of spring. So I went and bought chemicals to kill the algae and managed to kill every other plant in the pond. After a water change and major clean up I visited the local pond store and got some water lilies and some hyacinth to try to revive my pond. But the algae would be a battle for two years. Then one day I read about filtration and added a waterfall filter box with hundreds of scrubber pads to help filter the water. It was a dramatic improvement. So I added a couple of goldfish to the pond and sat back in amazement at how much entertainment those little fish provided.
I fed and visited with the fish every day and was more careful about the additives I used in the pond to help maintain its appearance. On one particular visit I was shocked to find that two fish had mysteriously disappeared. I assumed a local cat got them and thought nothing further about it. I went to the pond store and purchased a couple of fancier goldfish to replace them. A few days later there was only 1 fish. It wasn’t long before 1 fish was zero.
My mother-in-law decided we could not have a pond with out fish so she purchased 12 goldfish at the local pet store. These shy fish hid under rocks and plants and seemed not to disappear as rappidly as prior occupants. The even multiplied the next spring giving me about 30 fish in total. I gave them good places to hide and kept the water clean and clear as possible. Then one morning the dog was going ballistic at the back door. I looked out to see a 3 foot heron purched at the side of my lower pond where all the fish lived. AH HA. There is the culprit. Sure enough he had reduced me down to about 6 fish. Over the next few weeks the heron returned and claimed all but 2 of the shyest fish.
Then in the summer of 2010 I decided it was time to build a bigger pond that would allow me to keep Koi and be deep enough to keep the Heron away from them. Thus is the beginning of the adventure of building a new pond. I hope the following posts will help those in some small way to learn from my mistakes, successes, and endeavors in water gardening.
