Last Updated: 11/30/16

1. I did pond chores on 11/6/16. The 1800 gallon was at 54 degrees F. I could not find the thermometer in the 153 gallon pond. It must have broken off and sank. I squirted the main filter materials. It took a long time to try to get most of the leaves off the pond net. The air stone broke off (where the plastic meets the stone) so I put on a a new used one.

2. I did pond work on 11/13/16. The 1800 gallon pond was down to 46 degrees F while the 153 gallon pond was at 50 degrees F. I spent a lot of time get tons of leaves off from the pond net and around the ponds. I removed the PondMaster filter from the 153 gallon pond and replaced it with the air stone from the Luft pump for the winter. I cut down all the marginals in the 1800 gallon pond. I moved two pots of golden club and one pot of pickerel rush to the deeper area of the marginal area. I have found that they will not survive if left in the most shallow water.

3. To say it was pure hell outside on 11/20/16 would be an understatement. I only have one day a week to do work outside. On this day, the air temperature was about 40 degrees F which I could take but the winds were gusting to 50 mph and were running non-stop at least 30 mph. It was hard to breathe and hard to stand. I wore long johns and a hat but the wind sucked all the heat out of me. More than that, these kind of hell winds suck the life out of me. I couldn't stand it outside long enough to make much headway. I did dig up the last of the potted tropical bulbs and stored them for the winter. I squirted the only remaining filter floss on the pump in the big pond. I managed to get some leaves off the net but it's hard when you lift up some leaves, and they blow off at high force and smack you in the head and blow right back on to the pond. The leaves were running races across the property so trying to mow them up with the leaf collector was also out. It may have been my last chance to do that this year. The 1800 gallon pond was at 45 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 47 degrees F. I have about 50 cages on plants on the property, and many were ripped off from the hell winds. I fixed one but it was off again within the hour. I can't do anything until the winds stop. Branches are down all over. It's all on me to clean things up. The problem is that I go back to work when the winds stop, and I come home in the dark. I wasn't able to plant the remaining fall bulbs either so I'll try to store them indoors until it rains/snows and thaws, and the winds stop. It may be well in to winter by then. I can't break the ground as we've had no real rain in months. I also couldn't stand it outside long enough to pull the tropical waterlilies for the year.

4. On 11/21/16, the tub ponds were iced over, the first ice of the year.

5. On 11/27/16, the 1800 gallon pond was at 44 degrees F, and the 153 galon pond was at 42 degrees F. I put the two de-icers out in those two ponds. I squirted the filter materials, put in additives, and topped off with water. I pulled out two of the tropical waterlily pots. From one, I just saved the growing tip. From the other, I got a growing tip, one large nut tuber, and three tiny ones (real tiny!). I didn't have time to pot everything up and put the tubers in reptile sand that day so I just put them in a bucket of water for a few days.

6. On 11/29/16, I put the waterlily nut tubers in damp reptile sand. I potted up the two tropical waterlily growing tips in to two separate one gallon pots and put them in the 20 gallon basement pond for the winter. My last mouse, Dottie, died later that day.

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