Last Updated: 8/5/24

1. My co-worker's daughter came to help me on 7/3/24. As far as the ponds go, I got her to add water to the 1800 and 153 gallon ponds. She also pulled up the 153 gallon filter but I really had to help her because it is tricky. It got squirted off. I am still too weak to do the big pond work.

2. On 7/4/24, it was the first time I had to do all the morning feeding and maintenance 100% by myself as my brother moved out the night before. When I made it to the big pond, it was four inches below maximum even though my angel helper had put water in the day before! So, I added water and tried to figure it out. I think some hair algae built up in the biofilter overflow lip. This is something I would have scraped in my normaly maintenance four days before if I had been functional. With part of the overflow blocked, the water level in the biofilter rose and then went through the door seals I have there (they were all detached), and water went off the edges. The lip was never deep enough to prevent minor leaks but this was major.

3. The ponds need maintanance. I am still too weak.

4. I finally did pond work after two weeks of not doing it on 7/6/24. At 2:23 pm, the air temperature was 90 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 84 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 80 degrees F. I got in the pond to pull all the filter flosses around the pumps and cleaned them all off. I put in additives and water. I pulled weed grass out of the waterfall. It was bad since I had not gotten in the week before. I barely made a dent in the amount of weeds I need to get out of the waterfall but I was too weak, and it was too hot to do much.

I got in the pool after the pond work. There was a dead red bat in the pool! It is rare for me to see any bat, alive or dead so it was nice to know that there are red bats alive. I do not know what caused this bat to apparently drown.

5. On 7/9/24, the tubing to the auxiliary pump was off again, and the pump was fountaining up. Based on the other messes in the pond, the raccoons were to blame. They also removed all the water lettuce and water hyacinth from the floating hoop and walked on the net so it was in the water. I had to get on my hip waders and get in to fix the tubing.

6. The mornings of 7/12/14 and 7/14/24, the hose popped off the auxiliary pump yet again. I do not know how to stop it! The hose clamp does not tighten since the tubing is ribbed.

7. At 11:30 am on 7/14/24, it was already 88 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 82 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 77 degrees F. I squirted all the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off with water. I could smell dead fish while in the big pond. I finally saw the fish, on land. It was a partially eaten ~3" goldfish.

A few hours later, my niece helped me squirt off the bags of lava rock and bioballs as my back was killing me. She didn't complain but I don't think she wants to do it again! We encountered a small frog (I honestly didn't look at it) and a large two-lined salamander. I lost track of the salamander. I hope she/he is okay!

8. On 7/16/24, I found my rooster, Iris, had died. Somehow, he broke his neck but there were no clues as to how.

9. I did pond chores a day late on my day off on 7/22/24 while a man was replacing the line from the house to the septic tank. It was broken in two spots, and yet, there was no backup, yet. I started pond work at 10:45 am. The air temperature was 78 degrees F with 100% humidity. It was drizzling off and on. The 1800 gallon pond was at 78 degrees F. The 153 gallon pond was at 75 degrees F. I changed the PondMaster filters. The tubing came off from the pump to the filter so I had to get down low into the water to retrieve it. I squirted off the Matala in the Biosteps filter. I squirted off all the filter flosses around the three pumps in the big pond. I put in additives and topped off with water. A little later, I cut and pulled a lot of Japanese stilt grass and Multiflora rose out of the edge of the waterfall. Within the waterfall itself was a different invasive grass. I don't know the name but it doesn't pull out like the Japanese stilt grass does.

10. On 7/25/24, I had a big, beautiful yellow waterlily flower in my big pond! It is the first lily flower of the year. I get so few due to the increased shade over the years. Based on the color, it must be Chromatella.

11. On 7/28/24 at 11:13, the air temperature was already 84 degrees F. The 1800 gallon pond was at 75 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 72 degrees F. I changed the main filter floss. I squirted all the other filter flosses. I changed the Ammocarb. I fertilized the three waterlily pots. Only the one that flowered looks like it is in good health. The other two are barely alive.

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