East Side Patch

"Fish & Chips"

ESPatch Aug 23, 2008 0 comments

Warning!

This post contains scenes not suitable for young children or people with heart conditions. The post contains scenes of death and mass genocide.

Remember these guys? well they have been busy! rather too busy as it turns out.

I have had my pond for five years, It is a 900 Gallon stock tank, and I must say it has been brilliant. I have had no trouble with critters due to the steep sides, and apart from cleaning my filter on occasion, it really hasn’t been any hassle….until recently, the last three days actually. It all started with a hatch of tadpoles shortly after the recent rain we have had. When I say hatch I mean a hatch of Biblical proportions, it turned the waters black, the clouds darkened, and the birds stopped chirping… this was just the start of the holocaust. I can only assume it has something to do with the drought in Central Texas then the recent rains, the toads just went bananas, I could even hear them during daylight hours, up to their toady shenanigans. That is not the norm!

As with any plague comes death, and subsequently an imbalance in the natural eco-system, my pond is no exception. So far I have lost 5 fish that I have had for years, and I fear more will follow. The spike in oxygen depletion and an erratic build up of ammonia in the water is my current prognosis.

I have had this poor girl for years, now she is buried and pushing up the daises. This was a rather large goldfish. Goodbye silver princess, I promise that your composted remains will be put to good use.

Arrggh! all these tadpoles, and I just got my hair fixed!

I love toads as much as the next gardener, but this has got to be dealt with. The pictures do not relay the extent of this “infestation”. My filters are clogged with them, the fish can’t breath without inhaling them, they are that dense. I needed to do some tadpole culling. I went out today and bought a new fine mesh net to do some skimming and another “sock” net to strap over my water outlet from my pump to catch even more. I also set up the fountain/filter that usually resides in my feeder tank to try to get more oxygen into the tank water as well. It cannot hurt.
My other fish are also not looking good, (shallow breathing and tadpoles attached to them).

Think this but with 5 tadpoles instead of the sucker fish!

Poor water quality = poor fish, this is a desperate scene. One I don’t wish ever to see again.

This is how many that passed through my filter system in a couple of hours!…stocking, I mean shocking!. The mesh sock seems to be clearing some of them out, I am afraid it is too little too late. I am going to the Emerald Garden tomorrow to pick up some “Microbe Lift” to try to eat some of the waste material in the pond. Any other suggestions welcome.

When I was done thinning out some of the poor tadpoles I noticed this Pompei scene on the hot Texas rocks. It also reminded me of:

Cave men also had filtration issues as it turns out.
This was a caveman’s blog image, posted on a wall,
The artist knew it was quicker to paint it
than use an online modem.

Oh and to top my ponds struggle off, my fish decided this was a good time to hatch as well…..Ahhhhhhh!

“And now for something completely different”…

I am hoping someone can identify these crazy beetles that are buzzing everywhere in my yard right now, I should really know what they are! I have to execute all manner of erratic dances and head jerks to avoid getting hit by them on my way to my “ratty” shed. I now have whiplash. They are also really loud, like June bugs when they “try” to fly, they also have the same navigational issues. I love the metallic green and forms of these bugs, could be inspirational for a new design of a motorbike or car. The color scheme is amazing.

…and while we are on the bug subject, this tiny one was having a great time on my citrus tree, are these beneficial or not? What is this little guy?

Other recorded happenings in the yard right now:

Cannas and toad stools blooming after the recent rain.

A natural weave!

Exploding Dwarf Papyrus.

The Lunar surface all turned over.

This plant has one of these on each of its 4 leafs. I imagine they intend to depart the mother ship soon to root. Perhaps I will give them a helping hand.

This lily was half submerged, it looked like sea anenome.

Click then click again to see the incredible wing structure of this blue dragonfly.

Stay Tuned for:
“Primordial Soup”

Pick Axel Rose

ESPatch Aug 17, 2008 0 comments

“Welcome to the jungle baby”

“Oh My Squirrel Gods, he has got his pick axe out of the shed, tell me he isn’t looking for buried treasure again”

I continued hacking my way on top of my compacted lunar surface today. I thought I would take full advantage of the slight reprieve in temperature we are currently having. I was also finding all manner of buried treasure, bottles, glass shards, springs? and what appears to be an old 50’s chevy truck, I wasn’t stopping. I felt I was on the brink of a major archaeological discovery when my pick axe shuddered to a rib braking stop. This was it! perhaps some loot from an old western bank heist? perhaps a buried Wells Fargo safe?, it did sound and feel metallic after all.

As soon as my body stopped reverberating
from the impact, I investigated further…

I went down on my knees and with my newly
purchased archaeological brushes from Breed & Co,
I began my excavation of the artifact.

14 Hours of meticulous brushing later, and I had it, my adrenalin was flowing. The top 1/3rd of it looked like some form of ancient bronze tool. I peered in even closer, I could smell the dirt of the ancients, (mmm, perhaps I should rephrase that one). With gentle leverage, my find emerged into the daylight…it was, it was…….well, it was an old, rusty car jack – presumably the one used on the buried Chevy.

Still, it was a treasure of sorts to me and will
take pride of place somewhere in my yard.
Look at this thing!

One of the previous owners of my house I found out, had “fallen off the utilities map” and subsequently began burying all her trash around the property. I have trash soil! I really do, (and don’t say it fits with my Ratatouille chewed inflatable pool!)
I contemplated if lavender had ever been grown on landfill. I guess I will soon find out.

Staying on the subject ot trash – My dead agave is a) taking on an interesting rotting aesthetic of it’s own and b) now incredibly annoying as I still need to straddle it to cross one of my main pathways (at least there are no spikes on it as yet) yup, that would be really dangerous considering it’s current height. Look at this mangled scene, it reminds me of:

The plants around the agave are also looking really bad, I can’t decide if it is the drought or if the decaying beanstalk is effecting them in some underground way. I still have a rather unhealthy obsession to plant another fifty pups…it is the least I can do for a dying old friend, no matter how irritating.

“George, do you think he is ever going to chop the Agave down … George!

“Calm down Mildred, I am more concerned by the fact that we are being followed by a lily!

Staying next to the pond for a second, this lily is also starting a new family, in the middle of one of the pads. I would imagine this breaks away from the pad at some point to root? I have witnessed little “groupings” floating around, and may explain why my pond is choked with lillies. I thin them out every other week.

Another lily dweller I caught, I assume it is a dragonfly nymph?

This rock has been in its current location for ever, I noticed it glowing after the rains today. It has been a day of finding treasure.
It looked amazing and reminded me of:

The Nazca lines in Peru.
The Nazca lines are series of geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert

“psst! we didn’t create those lines by the way. Now this we did create, but those, definately not.”

Moving on to the front of the property – this bed has been such a trouper over the last three months. I have watered it perhaps 3-4 times and it still looks healthy. You just can’t beat rosemary, succulents, and palms for staying power.

Potato vine going berserk in my golden
bamboo container, I really need to paint my house.
What am I talking about, this was a planned distressed
look to contrast the vibrant vine…not!

Foreground, Mexican Bush Sage, then weeping
bamboo, then golden bamboo, all hanging in there well
considering this years harsh conditions.

Front deck covered in red passion vine.

Mexican Petunia, not only does it endure high
heat and humidity, but it is also a performer in
drought-like conditions. Pride of barbados above it
and purple heart to the lower right.

Stay Tuned for:
“Fish & Chips”

"Fish & Chips"

Pick Axel Rose

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