Last Updated: 2/6/24

1. On 1/7/24, I didn't do much in the way of pond work. At 10:53 am, the air temperature was 42 degrees F, and it was windy. The 1800 gallon pond was at 45 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 44 degrees F. We had gotten almost two inches of rain the day before so none of the ponds needed water. I did put some additives in the big pond (baking soda, BZT, koi clay, and Pond-Zyme). The 153 gallon pond got a little BZT. That was about it.

2. Well, I was saying it seemed like we would never get winter or snow again after two years but it finally arrived! I am just too old and weak to do pond chores when it is below freezing, or the winds are like those I imagine that I will find in hell. Knowing it was going to be below freezing on Sunday, I went out on Saturday in those horrid winds to do pond chores but all I did was record temperatures and remove some leaves! The air temperature was 44 degrees F but the winds were maybe 30 mph off and on. The 1800 gallon pond was at 52 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 46 degrees F.

3. We got an inch of snow the morning of 1/15/24, the first measurable snow in two years!

4. We got four inches of snow on 1/16/24. I could not enjoy it. I had to go to work. I was only about 45 minutes late after attempting (and failing) to use the snow blower which just kept jamming with the wet snow. Since I live about a third of a mile from a county road, I would not have been able to get to work without my four wheel drive truck. The neighbor who is supposed to do our community road went on a three week vacation right when we finally got snow! Luckily, his son did use his tractor to clear out the road before I came home from work. My late father, when he was healthy, would put chains and a blade on his riding mower and plow not only our 1000 foot driveway but the community road (for free; we pay the neighbor now). Dad would plow through the night during blizzards since the riding mower could not move more than about six inches of snow! I would be awakened at 4 am from the garage door opening, the mower coming on, and the stench of the exhaust filling my room above the garage. But, because of that, he could go to work, and I could go to school or work. Sometimes he would lose half a night's sleep and be covered in snow. I have those chains and blade but I can't lift them or attach them to the mower even with my brother's help. They are just too heavy and bulky.

5. There were 3 inches of fresh snow on the ground the morning of 1/19/24 and 2 more inches would fall by nightfall. The total snow depth in untouched areas was 8 to 9 inches.

6. At 3 pm on 1/21/24, the air temperature had gone up to 28 degrees F. I could not get into the big pond or read its thermometer because it was frozen in. The airline tubing froze a week ago, and I only tried once to fix it (the new line I picked was too short). I figure they will okay until it thaws in a few days. The 153 gallon pond's thermometer read 40 degrees F. It was toasty from the de-icer. I pulled out a 15 foot hose whose sole purpose is to put water in the big pond when the 100 foot hose is frozen. I had just left the big hose out because I need to toss it anyway because it kinks so badly. Stupid me, I bought the same make and model as a replacement last fall. It will likely be just as bad. It says it is kink free!

7. The weather went warm for a few days. At 7:57 am on 1/26/24, the air temperature was 62 degrees F, and the 1800 gallon pond thermometer read 56 degrees F. So, I fed the fish for the first time in months.

8. On 1/27/24, I did my pond chores a day early, on Saturday since it was warm and would be colder and rainy on Sunday. I had to move a few hours of my Saturday aquarium chores to Sunday morning and cancel cleaning the bathroom but who needs a clean bathroom anyway. At 3:19 pm, the air temperature was about 57 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 56 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 54 degrees F. I got in the pond to remove the filter floss, and I cut new pieces. I changed the zeolite/carbon blend in a mesh bag in the biofilter. I put additives (including some pond salt and the remainder of my older bottle of KoiZyme) and water in the big pond. I removed leaves from the two largest ponds. The water hawthorne was blooming and didn't seem to care that the lows the week before were 10 degrees F! Not this day. It was warm, I worse short sleeves, and I fed the fish twice. The temperatures would then go back to close to normal.

While I was cutting the new filter floss, I heard a lot of splashing in the big pond. I thought a hawk was attacking the fish but, instead, I found one of my three largest orfe stranded in the waterfall overflow area which was basically dry since the pump/waterfall was off. Do you know what that means? The orfe was trying to swim upstream to spawn! I have one younger orfe (now an adult), the only baby orfe to be born in my pond and survive to adulthood. I picked the orfe up and moved him/her to the safety of the water.

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