Spring garden surprise

Sometimes you are surprised by what happens under your very nose.  As I went into winter my front yard was a mess of scraggly twigs and under-acheiving plants overwhelmed by an uncontrolled growth of Russian Sage.

Russian Sage is a nice robust plant but it is invasive and aggressive and spreads underground to pop up from under rocks yards away from the parent plant. Letting it run wild in an enclosed yard is a disaster. I want one bush...not ten...so I've declared war and have been fairly ruthless in cutting and destroying the invasive offspring and completely killing off two large bushes, I have one left and it is under control, mostly.

Much to my surprise, the twiggy war zone of mid-winter turned into a thing of beauty when spring arrived. Here are some pictures...

Pyracantha

A variety of Scotch Broom

Goldfish Pond

Mexican Bird of Paradise tree

New Mexico Willow

Even the sky gets into the act

Buddy, my adopted quail 

I was about to have much of this ripped out because it looked so bad last winter. The Russian Sage tried to kill off one of the Bird of Paradise trees but they have both survived.  The sage is by the gate and it will be blooming next.  My Red Photensia bush already bloomed --- it looked like a viburnum with red leaves. It is next to the waterfall.  I have a Mountain Mahogany on the outside of the wall that looks better and bloomed early. My wild rose bush bloomed once and my Lilac bloomed even though it is onlt two feet tall.

Building my Bocce Court

The previous owner of my house was a "Granola Person" as my realtor called him.  He and his wife were nice people who had great expectations for life in the desert. They were a live and let life couple. They went to considerable lengths to construct a raised vegetable garden with about seven 4' by 8' planter boxes and the whole thing was fenced in to keep the rabbits and other vegetarian wildlife out.  But this is desert and you barely can get anything to grow, let alone a vegetable garden.  So, the experiment failed and when I moved in the garden was deteriorating and filled with  salt bush, tumbleweeds and trash. A large compost heap was baking in the desert sun and not really converting anything to soil.

I wanted a bocce court and saw an opportunity to salvage the garden boxes and  convert the garden boxes and other wood used in the garden as the basis for my bocce court. The project was a little bigger than I planned and my neighbor joined in the project about halfway through. We got it done in about five weeks -- including spreading 8 tons of crushed stone for the surface,

The pictures show the general progress of the project.

Demolition

Finished

We have had a few games and it is a little difficult getting used to the surface. We rake it and water it periodically to get the crushed stone to solidify a little more. The climate is so dry that we did not have to install drainage.

Life on my local "Serengeti"

Apart from my one neighbor, my house here in New Mexico is surrounded on three sides by desert and desert flora and fauna. I have neighbors in the back but my yard is over an acre and theirs is too and there is an erosional ravine between the two that is about fifteen feet deep and filled with brush and old tumbleweed. The desert flora doesn't bother me much...I steer clear of the thorns and needles and someone systematically dug out all of the prickly pear that one time lived in the yard. One of the previous owners had dogs so the prickly pear had to go.

The house was vacant for a couple months and the local animals decided to move in closer. I'm having to reassert my place as the head guy. The birds seen to have it figured out. My doves and quail are being cautious neighbors. The ants are persistent in their efforts to take over. Some are huge and there are a few nests of large red ants. I spray the nests whenever they come close to the house. One group of small ants got into the house and found Watson's food dish...he was not amused. I followed them back to the coat closet where they were coming into the house. They got sprayed.

That ravine provides a handy natural pathway for animals to move around without being seen. Most are shy but some are very sneaky. We have bunnies that are too tame and my neighbor has taken to feeding them. It's cute and they come into my yard so I'll toss out a few carrots from time to time but I worry about them being easy prey for the coyotes.

We have three separate packs of coyotes in the neighborhood and they are not shy. They frequently move through the neighborhood between the houses. We all know this because we have motion detector lights that go on sometimes at night. It is very  eerie to hear them calling at night...one pack will start and then the other two will answer. Sometimes they are surprisingly close. The coyotes will climb fences and walls and take pets. All of my neighbors have stories about some one's little Fifi or Fluffy being hauled away screaming and never seen again. Strangely enough, I have some neighbors who have chickens and somehow the chickens survive. Watson's Vet gave me a very serious warning that he was not to be allowed outside by himself.

Owls and hawks and even eagles are in the area and they will also carry off a small pet. One lady I know had a cat killed by an owl.

The Vet also warned me about the scorpions. The little scorpions are the dangerous ones. Big ones are a nuisance but the little ones are more poisonous and will sting like a very bad wasp sting causing a lot of swelling. We also have tarantulas but they don't cause problems. I haven't seen either one yet. Millipedes are large and have a nasty bite. I've only seen a dead millipede but he was in the house.

There are maybe a dozen or two little burrows in the yard. I'm guessing they are some kind of desert mouse. I've seen several ground squirrels and one regular (tree) squirrel in the yard. Something seems to be trying to build a den in the rock landscaping around my waterfall that circulates water back into the fish pond. I don't know what it is but it collects sticks and little pieces of prickly pear as part of its den building effort. I'm trying to discourage it but we will see if that works.

My fish pond is an attractive feature for the local animals. I see birds splashing in the water just after sunset. Once it gets dark I suppose that there are other visitors. I don't really want to know. They leave the goldfish alone but I think I'm missing some of the tiny mosquito fish. Some of the water plants are disturbed when I go out in the morning.

Something is burrowing under my house on one side. There are two holes going under the garage floor. I'm trying to get rid of that animal, too, but it is bigger than the mice snd squirrels. The burrow is too small for anything like a badger or bobcat (as someone suggested) but it could be some kind of desert rat or maybe a weasel or mink. I imagine that here are some kind of prairie dog type of animal.

I had to kill a snake today. I hated doing it because it was a Western Coachwhip snake that is generally beneficial and eats mice and scorpions and even other snakes.  He decided to take up residence in my garage...I guess for the winter...and wouldn't leave. I just can't have snakes living in the house no matter how beneficial they are. This type of snake is a 'racer' and is able to out run a man. They are fierce biters if they are threatened and they have a lot of large teeth.

I did see a crane fly by...maybe a Whooping Crane. It was huge and snowy white. We have Sandhill cranes in the area closer to the river so it could be one of those. The 'Whoopers' fly through the area on their way to Bosque del Apache where they spend the winter.

I sound like I'm complaining but I'm really not. I just don't like having to kill the intruders. This was their place for eons and now they get squeezed off their natural turf. I haven't seen any zebras or lions yet but the place is like the local version of the Serengeti.

Joys of Home Ownership - Checklist

I've been in my house for almost six weeks and things are starting to calm down into a routine of sorts. Watson is doing OK and has taken over his new home. His schedule of three pills a day and two insulin shots works almost as a way to break up my day...I have to be sure that he gets his meds on schedule.  I still need to find him a vet and me a doctor...that's my goal this week.

Koi Pond

The Koi are long gone and the pond is recovering nicely. It was traumatic for the remaining goldfish and they spent a few weeks hiding in the shade of the large flower pot at the bottom of the pond. Slowly they have recovered and the pond is no longer so sterile. The water lilies are back but still sparse. I only have to clean out the filter every other day. My plan was to stop feeding the goldfish and let them subsist on the algae in the pond but I have a lot of food and they need to be strong to make it through the winter so I'm still feeding them. They are not nearly as shy as they were and come to the edge of the pond to be fed. It is nice that they know where their food comes from and they put on a pretty good show at feeding time. I found a small frog in the skimmer yesterday. This was the first frog I've seen  here in NM. He was not doing well because it was pretty cold and he was in a shaded space but I tossed him back into the pond and he recovered in a few seconds and swam away. I don't think the fish will bother him and he'll eat mosquitoes and flies.  I also chopped out two large areas of overgrown Russian Sage bushes.

Bonsai

I've gotten my bonsai trees back into shape after the move. They were struggling back in Missouri from the heat and neglect and I lost a few. My juniper suffered from root rot a year or so ago but has come back strong. It is my oldest and I've been tending it for about 20 years. My flowering quince trees were on their last legs when I moved them out here and I figured they wouldn't make it. They are hanging on and show some new growth but are still struggling. My desert rose  (Baobab tree) is trying to go dormant as it does each winter and it looks OK.  The baby baobab that survived as a cutting from the older plant is doing fine, It is the only survivor of four cuttings. The jade tree is doing OK as well. I need to get the jade and the desert rose trees inside before it freezes. We had one night at 28 degrees already but I got them inside that night. I have to get my key lime tree inside and the schleffera as well. I had to really cut back the lime tree to move it and it looks bad but it will make it.

I bought a scrawny looking Alberta Spruce and got it potted into a bonsai pot but it has been rough. The tree is a little top heavy and the wind has blown it over twice and it has come out of it's pot each time. I have it wired into the pot now but it is in shock.

Kitchen

I'm still trying to organize the kitchen. It has more space than I'm used to and I'm not using it efficiently. I added under cabinet lights which I like a lot. I lost electric power to the island and a couple counter top outlets and couldn't figure out why. The circuit breaker wasn't tripped but I couldn't get the power back on. Finally I found an electric outlet with a gfci button hidden in one of the cabinets that controlled that circuit. The kitchen was remodelled some years ago and a few things don't make much sense -- lighting seems misplaced and the outlets are in odd locations. I'm liking the gas stove but not quite used to it. The oven is a hybrid standard oven and convection oven but I haven't figured out the convection part.

Balloon Fiesta

Albuquerque's big annual event -- the International Balloon Fiesta -- took place in early October. They had about 800,000 people attend during the week. I didn't go but the balloons came to me. We had balloons all over the place and two landed across the street. It was interesting and enjoyable -- I took lots of pictures. I did go to the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts festival that is associated with the fiesta. It was very large and very high quality. I was impressed with some of the art.

Homebrew

Kactus Brewing

I made beer yesterday. It will be a rye amber ale but maybe a little dark. It should be good. I found a beer supply store that will come in handy. I also found a local microbrewery -- Kactus Brewery -- in Bernalillo. I'm enjoying the local brewery scene and the Kactus is very laid back and the beer is good...they have chickens roaming in the yard so it is very much Bernalillo.



Out and About
I'm learning not to get lost each time I go out. My first experiences with Rio Rancho were all bad and I spent most of my time getting lost. Now I have almost mastered the north-south major roads and can get into and out of the more commercial and congested parts of town. The residential areas are still confusing.  I spent an afternoon at the Rio Rancho Octoberfest and I've been to the library and got my library card. I go the the Kactus Brewery and a couple Flying Star cafes and I found the Barnes and Noble. I'm still looking for a grocery store I like. I took a day hike up at Tent Rocks and that was enjoyable.(See pictures at 'I Spy With My Little Eye' blog.) There is still a bunch more I want to do but I'm getting started.

Rod
My neighbor, Rod, has been a big help in many ways. He knows the basic stuff on how to make the swamp cooler work and how to put it to bed for the winter. If I need to know something...like where to dispose of yard waste (Russian Sage = 2 truckloads) he knows the answer.

So at this point things are going well. I noticed that there is snow on the mountains up by Santa Fe and it is in the mid 30s at night so winter is not too far away.

Free at last! Free at last!

The Koi have been sent packing and the pond has been whipped into submission. Before yesterday, it was leaking at a significant rate...about 6 or 7 inches a day...since I came back with Watson and before that it was maybe 4 inches a day. The leak had accelerated in just a few days. The filter had to be cleaned twice a day and the Koi were having to be fed twice a day and the pond needed water added at least three times a day.

I called a pond service guy (Terry) and he came out to look at it on Thursday and said he could come the following Monday to clean up the pond and take the Koi away. His explanation for the leak was too much plant material in the stream that feeds the pond. The plants were building a dam and water was backing up and flowing over the liner and escaping from the system. That was my opinion, too, but I didn't know where to start.

Over the weekend I pulled out about five gallons of plant material from the stream and I could tell that the leaking had slowed but not stopped.

Terry showed up on Monday morning and tore into the pond. The water was flushed out of the pond, fish salvaged and put into tanks, the rocks and liner were power washed, plants uprooted and divided. A few plants had escaped from their pots and were growing into the rocks and had to be pulled out by the roots. Some plants, like the lilies,  were cut back and fertilized while some others were discarded. Terry added a bacterial agent that will keep the pond healthy. The process of filling the pond took a few hours. It holds 1,300 gallons of water and is over four feet deep. The goldfish were returned...in shock, mostly. The plants were replaced and stabilized and finally the water got high enough to turn on the pump and filter. The waterfall and stream came back into action and the pond water finally reached full level. This was almost a full day's job and there was only one guy doing it all.

The pond looks sterile now compared to how it looked before. Terry said it would take a couple weeks to become stable and self sustaining. I need to keep feeding the goldfish for a while.  He cut back the lilies hoping they would go dormant until spring but they might sprout new growth if the weather stays warm,

before

The stream has almost nothing growing in it. That was my problem area...too much plant material blocking the flow of water.


I went out this morning and cleaned out the filters...they were seriously dirty from the mud and debris. Gleefully I noted that the water level was just as I left it the day before. I fed the Goldfish but they are pouting and won't eat if I'm around. Fine. They were eating later.

In the evening the water was still holding at the same level and it had cleared up a lot more.  I need to think about floating something on the surface so the goldfish can get out of the sun.

Terry doesn't come cheap but he got the problem fixed and I'm pretty much ready for fall and winter.

To Koi or not to Koi...

Well, I moved in to my new home on Wednesday. It was a busy day and exhausting and I have several days ahead of unpacking and organizing things just to make the place seem livable. I need to take care of the Koi Pond twice a day but it was pretty late when I managed to get out there to clean the filter and feed the fish....barely daylight but I got it done.

Let me describe the Koi Pond for you. When I came to look at the house I saw that there was a water feature out in the front enclosed yard. I thought, "Gee, how cute.  It looks nice." There is a little water fall and the water flows down a stream and under a bridge and tumbles into a pond that is about 15' by 8' in sort of an irregular oval shape...all lined in smooth river stones. It looks nice and well cared for. There are water lilies and  bull rush looking things and some grassy things and some floating plants. I could see that there were some fish but I didn't pay much attention...I was more interested in the house.

Well, the pond is a little more complicated than that. It has a pump and filtration system and a skimmer and another filter up at the waterfall end. The plants serve as an additional filtration system. When you look closely, you see dozens of tiny little fish about 1.5 inches long. These are mosquito fish that eat the mosquito larva. Next there are a few goldfish swimming around. Goldfish eat algae and some other stuff that occurs naturally in the pond including the mosquito larva. At the top of the list are the Koi fish. Koi fish are the pigs of the fish world. They are some sort of specialized Carp. They will eat everything including those darling little plants that are living in the pond.  Koi are voracious eaters. They have a lifespan of 50 to 100 years and reach three feet in length. Koi fish are also expensive. My local dealer sells them for $45 each and these are the standard run-of-the-mill Koi fish. Some Koi fish sell for $40,000 each. I have at least a dozen or more Koi fish in all different colors....orange, red, white, mottled with black or blue/gray and in various combinations of these colors. I suspect that they are up to something and that some of the Goldfish might actually be baby Koi.

The Koi fish live by means of extortion. You must feed them twice a day or they will eat all of your plants. Because they eat twice a day and feed on other stuff if they get a chance, they poop a lot. As I said, these are the pigs of the fish world.  Koi poop provides nutrients for algae which reproduces and keeps the Goldfish happy but also clogs up the filters on the pump. So, twice a day I go out and hose off the filters to keep them clean so water can flow through. If the filters get too clogged the water level drops around the pump and it burns out...sort of like the nuclear fuel rods in a reactor, I guess. I have been doing this for a while and when I'm not here my neighbor feeds the fish and cleans the filters.  So, anyway, this cute little water feature has become something of a chore.

Like I said, I finally moved in on Wednesday and took care of the pond....everything was fine. On Thursday I got up and started working on unpacking boxes and didn't go out to deal with the pond until around 10 AM (instead of 7 AM -- AS THE KOI ARE ACCUSTOMED TO). So as I go out the front door I hear a funny sound. The water level is down about five inches and the pump is sucking air. What the hell??!!  It was fine when I went to bed. I filled up the pond from the hose (well water...no chlorine) and cleaned out the filters (nothing unusual there) and fed the fish.   By about 5 PM it was back down about two inches so I filled it up again. Next day...the same thing. I'm losing water at the rate of about four or five inches a day. The water level is usually stable with some evaporation that makes you add water every week or ten days. Great. Day two of my life at the new house and the pond goes on the fritz.

Yesterday, Saturday, I went over to the local water garden nursery that sells pond equipment and fish and plants. I explained my dilemma...I tried not to whimper too much. They said they clean out their filters maybe once a month and showed me the filter on one of their ponds and it was almost black --- much more stuff than what I have.  So, I'm cleaning the filter too much...cut it back to once a day and then maybe once a week if it works OK. She said the pump will tell me when it needs to be cleaned because it will make an odd noise...I heard that already.

She said the leak is probably in the plumbing and not in the liner because it sounds like a fast leak. A liner leak would be slower unless it is a gaping hole.  The recommended solution is to fill up the pond and turn off the pump for about half a day to see if the water level drops.  If not, the leak is in the pump hoses or couplings. If the water still drops the leak is in the liner. If the liner has the leak then I let the water drop to where it stabilizes and then find the hole and patch it with special tape. This requires wading in the pond with the fish. I already fell into the pond once and it is slicker than snot and you can't keep your footing. I am not looking forward to this.


Since Koi fish are such a chore I quizzed her about what alternatives I would have. She said there are Koi rescue groups who will come and take the fish or the nursery will buy back some fish in the spring at a small price...like 10% of the value.  Craigslist is another way to get rid of the fish but one must closely monitor the people when they are taking the fish.  Switching over to a water garden with only Goldfish and small mosquito fish is the way to go because you can have so many more plants that you can't have with Koi fish because they will eat them. Goldfish don't require daily feeding and you can stock smaller fish to eat the algae that wouldn't live with the Koi. The filter won't need leaning so often.

OKIEDOKIE...that's for me. I have an experiment going on with not cleaning the filters but every other day. I still need to turn off the pump to find the leak but I can't find the switch...might have to throw the breaker if there is no switch. Still looking.  Stay tuned

Yikes---tomorrow is moving day

I'm as ready as I will ever be. I still have some things to do so I'll be up until 2 AM I guess but I'm pretty much finished.  No time to talk....catch you on the other end. I figure there will be stories here.