following along with taking the netting off the pond and the fish being happier, I’ve been working on their winter condo…
rarely do I clean the tanks when they head out to the pond, lol…
so, I’ve been working on emptying tanks, cleaning them and getting them set up for the big move…
this year I decided to move the small tank from the living room to the dining room credenza with the other two tanks…
the plan is to have plants on the ledge where the tank was…
to do that I had to empty the two big tanks so that I could move them along so there would be room to fit the third one in… they also were scrubbed to get most of the algae off them…
and of course the one is the same depth, but about an inch and a half shorter than the others… we found some wood in the garage that brought it up to the perfect height…
we ordered a pump to use to empty them and after waiting for it to arrive, when I used it on Saturday, it worked for about five minutes and then quit, sigh… so I filled a jug and dumped it into the toilet over and over as well as watering some of the planters outside…
I quite like how they look all together…
after nearly completely emptying them and moving them, I filled them with the outside hose… I am so happy that it extends to a hundred feet so it can do things like this…
two of the three pumps started with no problem… unfortunately, the biggest one did not… it had been giving me a bit of trouble last year so I will be heading to Nestor’s to either replace the pump or the whole system… we have had that one for many years…
once it is running, it will likely be three or four weeks to be sure the water is clean and ready, before the fish come in…
on Friday I rearranged the lawn furniture so there was a bit more space on the back deck…
on Saturday, I took the netting off the pond… it was doing a good job of collecting the leaves although the weight of them had it sinking into the water…
the fish weren’t moving around as much as usual, the birds weren’t drinking or bathing and I didn’t like the look of it…
next year when it goes down, I will put some thin boards over the top so that it doesn’t slip into the fishes’ domain…
now, the fish, the birds, and I are much happier, lol…
this morning, my former neighbour and friend came by, removed the front door, and took it to his house where he replaced the bottom board which had rotted…
we had put a sweep on the bottom of the door and rainwater had been going into it which caused the rot…
we stuck a table in the space, put a chair up against it on the inside, and closed the retractable screen while the door was gone…
I sat and read in the living room as it was a bit nerve racking to not have a door, lol…
and, of course, a meter reader came to the door and I had to call through the table for them to go to the back…
when the door returned a few hours later, a new sweep was put on, screwed in, and caulked so it won’t get water in and should last for as long as I do in the house, lol…
what a blessing to have friends and neighbours who can help deal with some of the issues that take place in the house…
it was hot but we had a crazy busy and productive day yesterday… the shed, which I haven’t been to the back of for over fifteen years, got emptied…
it had been jammed with all kinds of goodies over the years… let’s be honest, my beloved was a pack rat… and, I may have added a few items…
part way through the process it looked a bit better…
once all the “stuff” was removed, they had to shovel out twelve garbage bags filled with seeds, nuts, bits of cardboard, chewed up wood, and insulation…