June 1 - Last weekend john completely emptied the small pond. john didn't remember that he had dug it so deep. It is 5 feet deep in the middle. What he found was about a 55 gallon drum of rotted sludge. The small pond is under 3 Bradford Pear trees and is under constant leaf droppage. In the Fall, john had put netting over the pond, but he hates doing that because that is an admission that Summer is over. Plus, the netting detracts from the beautiful view of the pond and there are many nice days left to sit out on the deck and look at the colorful change of seasons.

The lesson john wants to pass to you is this: Once you get sludge overload in your pond all hell breaks out! NO! filter is going to take out all that sludge for you. All filters clog very quickly and pumps start to lose their prime due to rotting leaves keeping flapper valves open. john had been trying to clear the pond with a sand pressure filter which would only block up quickly and run up an electric bill. It would "channel" to get any of the sludge through it at all.

Think about it. You wouldn't throw dirt into your furnace filter and then expect it to clean your air. The same is true here.

It is sooo nice to have a non-stop waterfall and stream running again. john knows the fish like the clear water much better too!

The blue heron is still coming for lunch every day.

June 26 - it has been a busy month. john has been working on the pump house and it is now almost completely enclosed. He has also started on the retaining wall behind the large waterfall. He took delivery of 13 tons of Keystone blocks. Each block weighs 85 pounds and john and his garden helper, Eddie, moved about 100 blocks per day for three days into the backyard. You can look at the website for Keystone blocks by clicking here: http//www.keystonewalls.com

joyce and john have not seen the Mallard ducks for about a month. The blue heron is showing up every so often. john has seen new tiny minnows dart here and there in zenpond.

 

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