An Apple A Day

The orchard is flourishing, and we will have lots of fruit for later this summer - homemade fresh apple pie, and canning is in the future.


The Garden is hit or miss, but is doing ok for a first year here.

We have an apple tree:




A pear tree:



Zucchini:




Corn:



Along with Cherries, Beans, Okra, Tomatoes and a few other things. My peppers have been poor performers this year, and the lettuce has bolted to seed with the hot Spring we had.

Last Laugh For Laminate

The oak edged Laminate countertops are having their final hurrah. Moments after the taking of this photo they met their new nemesis--crowbar and circular saw, and were removed from their life of leisure in the kitchen. They have now been replaced with gleaming granite. (Photos coming soon!)

Victory Shall Be Mine

Victory over the Algae, that is. We now have a healthy sparkling pond, that is truly a joy to sit by and relax. We have at least 6 turtles currently calling the pond home, along with Mrs. Mallard and her 4 ducklings, and countless frogs who make noises that make us laugh.

107 Passengers In A Mini

Continuing our pond cleanup efforts, we loaded up the Mini with a bunch of workers to help keep the algae at bay....105 to be exact, plus me and Joel.

Yes--it was Fish Day at the Co-Op, and we brought home 50 catfish, 50 Bluegill and 5 Triploid Grass Carp. In the fall, we will pick up 25 Bass, and our pond will be completely re-stocked.

I found it extremely difficult to photograph bagged fish, so to explain, the Bluegill and Catfish are sharing a bag--they are each between 2 to 2.5" long.

The 5 Triploid Grass Carp are in their own bag. They are already 6 to 8" long. They all seemed happy to be released into the pond, and on to their new life.

Bonus--the pond surface is COMPLETELY clear now.

Oh Gee

We have been working with Douglas on understanding the word Algae---he calls it Oh Gee, but we can understand why. When the beautiful pond gets overtaken with a thick coat of stinky slimy green stuff, it's hard not to look at it without saying "Oh gee, what now?"

The what now has been long and involved. First 4 Gallons of Non-Toxic Blue Colorant. It doesn't hurt the fish, but it makes it harder for the green stuff to photo-synthesize.

Then 2 Gallons of Water Soluble Copper which is a fish safe herbicide.

Then and electrician to run electric to the pond so we can hook up the pond fountain. That takes us to these photos, where a good portion of the Algae is already gone....




So, we let the pond run for about a week, change the head out to one that creates a greater oxygenation level in the water, and add 2 more gallons of water soluble copper. As you can see, this brought us back to having far more clean water surface than algae surface: