Last Updated: 11/7/16

1. I did pond work on 10/2/16. The 1800 gallon pond was at 66 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 67 degrees F. I squirted off all the filter materials and the bioballs. I heard a weird noise; I think it was a pickerel frog calling from a bush by the house.

2. I linked in these recent photos of insects that have nothing to do with ponds.

On 8/27/16, I found a huge moth stuck on the front screen in a spider web. I did research and found that he/she was a giant silk moth, a Cecropia moth to be exact. I freed the moth that then flew to the porch and away.
Cecropia moth stuck in the screen
Cecropia moth in the daylight on the porch
Cecropia moth in the daylight on the porch

These are milkweed bugs that I found on my milkweed on 9/18/16. They are bright red to warn predators that they are poisonous.
Milkweed Bugs
Milkweed Bugs - note the shed exoskeletons hanging on the bottom left
Milkweed Bugs - at the upper left are also oleander aphids.
Oleander Aphids

3. I linked in some old photos, from 8 months ago!

The ponds were almost entirely frozen over on 2/14/16:
Waterfalls
Waterfalls and de-icer hole
Main waterfall
De-icer hole
Big pond and falls facing northeast
153 gallon pond

4. I did pond work on 10/9/16. Fall is finally here. There were high winds and leaves raining down. The 1800 gallon pond was at 64 degrees, and the 153 gallon pond was at 63 degrees F. I removed the other two waterlily protectors. I would say the results were mixed. The protectors worked for two lilies for the most part but the fish were adept at simply moving them to get in to the third one (that lily never flowered). The protectors also removed significant swimming room for the fish.

5. I did pond chores on 10/16/16. The 1800 gallon pond was at 56 degrees F while the 153 gallon pond was at 60 degrees F. I changed the PondMaster filter materials. I dismantled the Biosteps filter and the MagDrive 700 that feeds it for the winter. I squirted all the remaining filter materials. My left hip wader took on water so I had to order another one. They only last a few years and are expensive but worth it I guess. I changed the Ammocarb in the main biofilter.

6. I took off work on 10/17/16 to haul in the tropical plants which took about 5 hours. I set up the 20 gallon Lerio tub pond in the basement and put the two gallon pot of black taro in there for the winter.

7. On 10/23/16, I did pond work. The 1800 gallon pond was at 55 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 60 degrees F, after I added some water. I did the regular chores. I removed the auxiliary pump that runs the waterfall so only the main pump is left in the big pond. There were a ton of leaves on the net because of high winds the day before and also on this day. The net ripped where it was over one of the metal fence stakes. It took a long time to get most of the leaves off the net. I raked a few leaves from around the pond as well.

8. I did pond chores on 10/30/16. The air temperature was 80 degrees F! The 1800 gallon pond was at 56 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 60 degrees F. I squirted the filter materials and the bioballs. I netted out about 5 pickerel frogs and 3 green frogs from the biofilter who were bouncing off the walls. I've never seen so many frogs! I had to get them out of the filter to clean it. It was so warm, it didn't seem right to do any more winterizing this day. I haven't cut down any marginals or moved the golden club or pickerel rush to deeper waters.

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