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fall~is~here!
Our temperatures are finally cooling off in the
day from high 80s to mid 70s promised this week. So what fall pond work have you got planned, or should be planning, or are actively avoiding? DH has scouting stuff this weekend and next then he is at the mercy of the Honey~Do list. Remove much of the raccoon damage to the iris. Remove rocks that are in the little frog bog that were attempting to block the fish from entering that didn't work. k :-) http://tinyurl.com/6bguh ~ new pond keeper info http://tinyurl.com/yp64db ~ slide show of pond |
fall~is~here!
Yep, many of our trees have already lost leaves, and many are turning as
well. I pulled the parrot's feather out, since the fish had unrooted it, and put it in the aquarium in the house.. I had done that earlier, and we even up with two baby salamanders! With any luck, it'll winter ok in the aquarium. The Pickerel went nuts this year.. I want to split both of them, since they've gottem huge, and will do that once they start to show signs of cooler temperature effects. -- Gareee (Gary Tabar Jr.) |
fall~is~here!
Gareee:
Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? We just had a cool front move in. The high temps are expected to come down to the high 80s°F (low 30s°C) with low 70s°F at night. No trees turning here. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== "GareeeŠ" wrote in message ... Yep, many of our trees have already lost leaves, and many are turning as well. I pulled the parrot's feather out, since the fish had unrooted it, and put it in the aquarium in the house.. I had done that earlier, and we even up with two baby salamanders! With any luck, it'll winter ok in the aquarium. The Pickerel went nuts this year.. I want to split both of them, since they've gottem huge, and will do that once they start to show signs of cooler temperature effects. -- Gareee (Gary Tabar Jr.) |
fall~is~here!
In article , "MLF"
wrote: Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? We just had a cool front move in. The high temps are expected to come down to the high 80s°F (low 30s°C) with low 70s°F at night. No trees turning here. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== "GareeeŠ" wrote in message ... Yep, many of our trees have already lost leaves, and many are turning as well. I pulled the parrot's feather out, since the fish had unrooted it, and put it in the aquarium in the house.. I had done that earlier, and we even up with two baby salamanders! With any luck, it'll winter ok in the aquarium. The Pickerel went nuts this year.. I want to split both of them, since they've gottem huge, and will do that once they start to show signs of cooler temperature effects. -- Gareee (Gary Tabar Jr.) Still warm in So Cal. September can be one of our warmest months. 90s inland today. October can go either way, some hot, some cooler. I still like the fact that I can usually wear shorts outside on Xmas day. (though chillier here down at the beach) -- To reply by email, remove the word "space" |
fall~is~here!
"MLF" wrote in message
... Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? Nope, Western NC in the mountains at 3,000 feet. Typically the mean temperatures drop 5 degrees for every 1000 feet altitude gain. We had two late freezes 2 weeks apart this spring, and then drought for the next 4 months. That's been VERY hard on all the plants here. We lost our japanese maple, a evergreen tree (one of our christmas trees), and our dogwood. The stream running through our property is TOTALLY dried up, and the creek ajoining our property (usually 3-5 feet wide by a foot or so deep) is just about gone as well. For those reasons, leaves are just browning and falling off trees here..and have been for the last 2-3 weeks. Normally in summer we can't see our neighbors houses at all, and in winter, without th eleaves, can see then clear as day. We noticed the last week in August we could already see one of ther homes. Upside of course, is we literally only cut our grass and yard 3 total times this year! (and actually I'm in the process of doing the 3rd cutting this week.) besause of full sun an dnow cloudy rainy days, algea has been at an all time high, and the filter I built sprang a leak, so the pond has been roughing it the last 4 or 5 weeks. Oh.. our high today was 64 I think, the possible low tonight (and most of the upcoming week) is 45 already! -- Gareee (Gary Tabar Jr.) |
fall~is~here!
Michael,
We're wityh you. Here in Jackson, the crepe myrtle are dropping leaves. Everything else is doing fine. The lilies are pushing fewer leaves and will begin to have smaller ones once we have s serious dip in temp. The hyacinth, however, are holding fine. Jim |
fall~is~here!
"MLF" wrote in message ... Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? We just had a cool front move in. The high temps are expected to come down to the high 80s°F (low 30s°C) with low 70s°F at night. No trees turning here. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== Only 55° here today, 45° now. Winter is on the way. |
fall~is~here!
"GareeeŠ" wrote in message ... "MLF" wrote in message ... Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? Nope, Western NC in the mountains at 3,000 feet. Typically the mean temperatures drop 5 degrees for every 1000 feet altitude gain. We had two late freezes 2 weeks apart this spring, and then drought for the next 4 months. That's been VERY hard on all the plants here. We lost our japanese maple, a evergreen tree (one of our christmas trees), and our dogwood. The stream running through our property is TOTALLY dried up, and the creek ajoining our property (usually 3-5 feet wide by a foot or so deep) is just about gone as well. For those reasons, leaves are just browning and falling off trees here..and have been for the last 2-3 weeks. Normally in summer we can't see our neighbors houses at all, and in winter, without th eleaves, can see then clear as day. We noticed the last week in August we could already see one of ther homes. Upside of course, is we literally only cut our grass and yard 3 total times this year! (and actually I'm in the process of doing the 3rd cutting this week.) besause of full sun an dnow cloudy rainy days, algea has been at an all time high, and the filter I built sprang a leak, so the pond has been roughing it the last 4 or 5 weeks. Oh.. our high today was 64 I think, the possible low tonight (and most of the upcoming week) is 45 already! -- Gareee (Gary Tabar Jr.) The same thing is happening here in Louisville. I have a water maple in my front yard that partially overhangs my house. With about 118 days over 90 degrees this summer, about 20 days of that over 100, the heat rising off the roof combined with the drought conditions we experienced apparently cooked the side of the tree closest to the house. All of the leaves on that side of the tree have been falling of for the last five days. I'm debating how bad the damage is, because it may have to come down. The oak tree in the back yard appears to be fine. George |
fall~is~here!
On Sep 15, 12:07 pm, k wrote:
Our temperatures are finally cooling off in the day from high 80s to mid 70s promised this week. So what fall pond work have you got planned, or should be planning, or are actively avoiding? DH has scouting stuff this weekend and next then he is at the mercy of the Honey~Do list. Remove much of the raccoon damage to the iris. Remove rocks that are in the little frog bog that were attempting to block the fish from entering that didn't work. k :-)http://tinyurl.com/6bguh~ new pond keeper infohttp://tinyurl.com/yp64db~ slide show of pond Yeah getting nice here too. I think it will only be 96 today. no more 100+ temps :) Chris |
fall~is~here!
"Dude" wrote in message ups.com... On Sep 15, 12:07 pm, k wrote: Our temperatures are finally cooling off in the day from high 80s to mid 70s promised this week. So what fall pond work have you got planned, or should be planning, or are actively avoiding? DH has scouting stuff this weekend and next then he is at the mercy of the Honey~Do list. Remove much of the raccoon damage to the iris. Remove rocks that are in the little frog bog that were attempting to block the fish from entering that didn't work. k :-)http://tinyurl.com/6bguh~ new pond keeper infohttp://tinyurl.com/yp64db~ slide show of pond Yeah getting nice here too. I think it will only be 96 today. no more 100+ temps :) Chris I gather you're somewhere in the South West? How do the fish survive with such warm weather, is the pond in the shade? |
fall~is~here!
On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 10:28:58 CST, "Bill Stock" wrote:
Yeah getting nice here too. I think it will only be 96 today. no more 100+ temps :) Chris I gather you're somewhere in the South West? How do the fish survive with such warm weather, is the pond in the shade? Yes, my memory isn't the best, when giving weather/environmental conditions one needs to remind us where one is reporting from. ;-) Here in South Central WA, same place as kathy, the weather is finally NICE! The maple we girdled two summers ago has just about lost all it's leaves. My DH got off easy, since most got mowed, or fell in the pond area (on the net) where I had to clean them up. Any in the flowerbeds will become mulch or wait till spring for clean up. Currently fall chores are not upon me yet, but soon enough I'll be moving plants inside and such, but not till next month. So I'm just maintaining. I did do a major harvest of my mini Roma tomatoes today. Must have taken 10 lbs off one plant.... thankfully only have one plant! I am moving some hardy pond plants, I had in decorative holeless pots on the patio, to the lily pond to winter over. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
Irrigation vs rainfall
I didn't want to hijack the Fall thread so started a new one when....
On Sat, 15 Sep 2007 GareeeŠ wrote: Nope, Western NC in the mountains at 3,000 feet. Typically the mean temperatures drop 5 degrees for every 1000 feet altitude gain. We had two late freezes 2 weeks apart this spring, and then drought for the next 4 months. That's been VERY hard on all the plants here. We lost our japanese maple, a evergreen tree (one of our christmas trees), and our dogwood. The stream running through our property is TOTALLY dried up, and the creek ajoining our property (usually 3-5 feet wide by a foot or so deep) is just about gone as well. I just have to ask.... is water really expensive there? Here nothing but sage, cactus and rocks would survive without us watering, sometimes daily, not to mention deep watering trees with a soaker hose that might run 12 hours. Regardless of drought years (so far) most of us are able to keep our plants alive and happy. I do know it is different in areas where mother nature normally does the watering. IE, I can remember Seattle (the wetside of WA) as a kid going there about August and the grass of most homes would be brown. That was normal for them... yet my grandparents, who lived quite a few years in Yakima was never brown when we visited, because they used a hose and sprinkler. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
fall~is~here!
On Sep 15, 1:07 pm, k wrote:
Our temperatures are finally cooling off in the day from high 80s to mid 70s promised this week. So what fall pond work have you got planned, or should be planning, or are actively avoiding? DH has scouting stuff this weekend and next then he is at the mercy of the Honey~Do list. Remove much of the raccoon damage to the iris. Remove rocks that are in the little frog bog that were attempting to block the fish from entering that didn't work. k :-)http://tinyurl.com/6bguh~ new pond keeper infohttp://tinyurl.com/yp64db~ slide show of pond Well, all the real activity in my pond, algae I guess, ended around the Middle of August! No more constant changing if clogged filters! So, I can concentrate on Raising the level of the pond on the North and East Side! The clam bed I have have has all the gravel thrown out again! I will have to fill it again! Not sure who or what is throwing out all the gravel in the bed all the time! Will decide whether to bring the Hibiscus moscheutos http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/982/ In this year or just take it out of the pond and mulch it and let it winter as I did last year! Repair the Bird netting and the fence! Take out the Milk crate shelves and clean out under them! They must be at an angle or just collect gunk! Order some more fat-head minnows for mosquito control! I could be wrong and maybe the Bull frog did decimate them! But that large bullet shaped fish that partols the bottom is my best bet! I wonder who planted that fish there and what it is! Some kind of a joke by one of my friends I guess! |
fall~is~here!
"George" wrote in message .. . The same thing is happening here in Louisville. I have a water maple in my front yard that partially overhangs my house. With about 118 days over 90 degrees this summer, about 20 days of that over 100, the heat rising off the roof combined with the drought conditions we experienced apparently cooked the side of the tree closest to the house. All of the leaves on that side of the tree have been falling of for the last five days. I'm debating how bad the damage is, because it may have to come down. The oak tree in the back yard appears to be fine. =============================== We've had the same thing here in Middle TN. Months of drought and 100+ heat have killed many trees on our property. They turned brown in mid August and the leaves started to drop. We've also lost many shrubs. There was too much to water so we had to let them go. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö |
fall~is~here!
In article ,
"Bill Stock" wrote: "MLF" wrote in message ... Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? We just had a cool front move in. The high temps are expected to come down to the high 80s°F (low 30s°C) with low 70s°F at night. No trees turning here. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== Only 55° here today, 45° now. Winter is on the way. Stanley, Idaho? -- To reply by email, remove the word "space" |
Irrigation vs rainfall
At the dacha we still have an active well, pump, holding tank for
watering the grounds and the pond. Last month I paid the 3 month bill, 318 for our duplex and 218 for our house (I have soaker hoses set really low, but they come on for an hour every morning). We use lake water, there havent been any restrictions. Ingrid On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:54:52 CST, ~ jan wrote: I just have to ask.... is water really expensive there? |
fall~is~here!
the temp dipped to 40 a couple nights ago, it is going to bounce back
into the 70's and 80's for the next week. but it got me to thinking I had better get my little sitting area around my pond enclosed. Ingrid |
Irrigation vs rainfall
~ jan wrote:
I didn't want to hijack the Fall thread so started a new one when.... On Sat, 15 Sep 2007 GareeeŠ wrote: Nope, Western NC in the mountains at 3,000 feet. Typically the mean temperatures drop 5 degrees for every 1000 feet altitude gain. We had two late freezes 2 weeks apart this spring, and then drought for the next 4 months. That's been VERY hard on all the plants here. We lost our japanese maple, a evergreen tree (one of our christmas trees), and our dogwood. The stream running through our property is TOTALLY dried up, and the creek ajoining our property (usually 3-5 feet wide by a foot or so deep) is just about gone as well. I just have to ask.... is water really expensive there? If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. -- derek |
Irrigation vs rainfall
Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers
for the sake of ornamental plants. You are talking about in a drought stricken area? Not general irrigation uses. k :-) |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:59 CST, Derek Broughton
wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. Plus, I'm reducing my carbon foot print by keeping my AC bill lower due to reducing the temperature around my house, not to mention adding O2 via all the greenery. Plants around a house also can keep heating bills lower as they lessen wind flow, that would suck heat away. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Sep 17, 6:15 pm, ~ jan wrote:
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:59 CST, Derek Broughton wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. Farmers in Colorado use to drill wells near rivers! In fact. the water they drew out caused the river water to flow into the pumping area! Was ruled as illegal taking of water! Plus, I'm reducing my carbon foot print by keeping my AC bill lower due to reducing the temperature around my house, not to mention adding O2 via all the greenery. Plants around a house also can keep heating bills lower as they lessen wind flow, that would suck heat away. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds:www.jjspond.us |
fall~is~here!
"Kurt" wrote in message ... In article , "Bill Stock" wrote: "MLF" wrote in message ... Gareee: Where are you at, Nome? Trees turning already? We just had a cool front move in. The high temps are expected to come down to the high 80s°F (low 30s°C) with low 70s°F at night. No trees turning here. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== Only 55° here today, 45° now. Winter is on the way. Stanley, Idaho? -- To reply by email, remove the word "space" Nice looking place (Google Earth), but I'm in Southern Ontario. It got down to 41° that night. |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:51:16 CST, chatnoir
wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. Farmers in Colorado use to drill wells near rivers! In fact. the water they drew out caused the river water to flow into the pumping area! Was ruled as illegal taking of water! I'm not sure what doing an illegal activity has to do with people here watering plants so they don't die??? I sure wasn't suggesting it.... nor does my water come to me in this fashion. Every drop I used is metered. The above reply/comment, in my mind, seems really remote to the current conversation, totally confusing the issue. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Sep 18, 1:59 am, ~ jan wrote:
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:51:16 CST, chatnoir wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. Farmers in Colorado use to drill wells near rivers! In fact. the water they drew out caused the river water to flow into the pumping area! Was ruled as illegal taking of water! I'm not sure what doing an illegal activity has to do with people here watering plants so they don't die??? I sure wasn't suggesting it.... nor does my water come to me in this fashion. Every drop I used is metered. The above reply/comment, in my mind, seems really remote to the current conversation, totally confusing the issue. ~ jan To the contrary! You said: "Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason." It is not remote or confusing! You imply since you have 3 rivers near you, you are not depleting the aquifer! In fact that was always the attitude in Colorado! If they drill near the river, they get all the water they want! In fact, they are draining the river illegally and violating numerous river compacts! People living near rivers in Colorado often drop pimps in the river and use it to irrigate even though all the water in the river isallocated and they don't have any nallovation! So, I think saying you kive near so and so rivers makes it very relevant! |
Irrigation vs rainfall
~ jan wrote:
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 09:27:59 CST, Derek Broughton wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) I have. Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. You don't think it's all related? Plus, I'm reducing my carbon foot print by keeping my AC bill lower due to reducing the temperature around my house, not to mention adding O2 via all the greenery. Plants around a house also can keep heating bills lower as they lessen wind flow, that would suck heat away. ~ jan Greenery, is one thing - and well arguable - but that doesn't mean pouring water onto ornamentals that can't stand your native (or anywhere near native) environment. imo, water bills almost everywhere are too low. They encourage people to waste water. The cost of water rarely, in North America at least, approaches the actual value of the water. -- derek |
Irrigation vs rainfall
~ jan wrote:
On Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:51:16 CST, chatnoir wrote: If it isn't, it should be. Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. Apparently you haven't priced how much a mature tree costs now days. :-) Not all off us are sucking our water out of aquifers either. I personally live were 3 rivers meet. Not sure about the OP, perhaps that is their reason. Farmers in Colorado use to drill wells near rivers! In fact. the water they drew out caused the river water to flow into the pumping area! Was ruled as illegal taking of water! I'm not sure what doing an illegal activity has to do with people here watering plants so they don't die??? I sure wasn't suggesting it.... nor does my water come to me in this fashion. Every drop I used is metered. The above reply/comment, in my mind, seems really remote to the current conversation, totally confusing the issue. ~ jan You raised the issue, and it's completely relevant. Just because your metered water comes out of a river (if it does...) it doesn't mean there's no effect on the aquifer. -- derek |
Irrigation vs rainfall
k wrote:
Some of us just can't justify wasting aquifers for the sake of ornamental plants. You are talking about in a drought stricken area? Not general irrigation uses. k :-) No, general irrigation. We don't have water quantity or quality problems, but we've never grown plants that needed watering (at least once established). Except, of course, for the ponds... We all make concessions to our principles :-) -- derek |
Irrigation vs rainfall
No, general irrigation.
Hmmmm. Random thoughts. There are sooo many issues involved with irrigation in our area. Goes way beyond keeping a few plants alive. Our area of 100,000 people is in an area of 7.5 inches of rainfall a year. We need irrigation. People are making changes in landscaping, with the current low water landscaping trend, but there are some things that we need. Imagine 650 elementary kids turned out for recess on dry, sandy sagebrush. I don't think my asthmatic children would have survived. And we are also an agricultural area that uses irrigation. There's another whole topic ~ food grown but only with the help of irrigation. Back to homeowner irrigation. We do have three rivers here and our water comes from those rivers. But we also have a huge supply of 'escaped water' below us and it has been in the courts and halls of the lawmakers for years trying to figure out who 'owns' that water. So we have tons of water around here, just not much that falls from the sky. The West in the USA is all about water rights. We won't even talk about energy useage and the proposal to tear down the dams. It is a topic that goes on and on and on and on.... k :-) |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Sep 18, 12:39 pm, k wrote:
No, general irrigation. Hmmmm. Random thoughts. There are sooo many issues involved with irrigation in our area. Goes way beyond keeping a few plants alive. Our area of 100,000 people is in an area of 7.5 inches of rainfall a year. We need irrigation. People are making changes in landscaping, with the current low water landscaping trend, but there are some things that we need. Imagine 650 elementary kids turned out for recess on dry, sandy sagebrush. I don't think my asthmatic children would have survived. And we are also an agricultural area that uses irrigation. There's another whole topic ~ food grown but only with the help of irrigation. Back to homeowner irrigation. We do have three rivers here and our water comes from those rivers. But we also have a huge supply of 'escaped water' below us and it has been in the courts and halls of the lawmakers for years trying to figure out who 'owns' that water. So we have tons of water around here, just not much that falls from the sky. The West in the USA is all about water rights. We won't even talk about energy useage and the proposal to tear down the dams. It is a topic that goes on and on and on and on.... k :-) Unfortunately most rivers are allocated way above 100 % of Average Flow! |
Irrigation vs rainfall
"k" wrote The West in the USA is all about water rights. We won't even talk about energy useage and the proposal to tear down the dams. It is a topic that goes on and on and on and on.... Yes, you are correct. However, everyone should keep in mind that the amount of water now extracted from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains is equal to the amount in the rivers. The Colorado River, for instance, used to flow to the north end of the Bay of California in Mexico. It no longer does, but rather just dries up in the desert far from its former mouth. In essense we are taking all of the water out of the river and have turned it into a long skinny lake. Most of that water goes to California to maintain otherwise unliveable cities like Los Angeles and Palm Springs and Las Vegas that are built in desert climates. I guess my point is that the issue of water is very important. And whether you get it from a river, ground water, or an aquifer, make sure you use it wisely. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== |
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"Bill Stock" wrote Nice looking place (Google Earth), but I'm in Southern Ontario. It got down to 41° that night. Brrrrrr! It must be difficult to maintain a pond in that climate. By the time you get it ready for summer, it's time to button it up for the long winter. BTW: When it gets down to 41 degF here we call it winter. In fact, we call it arctic. It does snow here occassionally, about every 10 years or so. The last time was on Christmas 2004. Of course is was a dusting and it was 60 degF by noon, but still it was interesting. The largest weather problem with ponds here is rain and sun. The rain can come down frantically every summer afternoon and overlow your pond quickly. And many fish and plants can't take the summer sun. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== |
Irrigation vs rainfall
Most of that water goes to California to maintain
otherwise unliveable cities like Los Angeles and Palm Springs and Las Vegas that are built in desert climates. California is *always* a case unto itself, at least as far as the PNWesterners are concerned ;-) (But that's another story...) Otoh, there's Texas with way too much water, what a summer they have had! k :-) |
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"MLF" wrote in message ... The largest weather problem with ponds here is rain and sun. The rain can come down frantically every summer afternoon and overlow your pond quickly. And many fish and plants can't take the summer sun. =========================== How about a bunch of tropical water lilies to shade the pond? We use the hardy ones here and they do a great job of shading sunny ponds. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö |
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"Reel McKoi" wrote The largest weather problem with ponds here is rain and sun. The rain can come down frantically every summer afternoon and overlow your pond quickly. And many fish and plants can't take the summer sun. =========================== How about a bunch of tropical water lilies to shade the pond? We use the hardy ones here and they do a great job of shading sunny ponds. That will certainly work. However, it can get expensive. An alternative is to make sure you pond is deep enough so that it doesn't turn into fish soup in the afternoon. Another idea is to provide some shade (NOT trees) to keep the temp down. Lots of plants will do it, or a pergola or other cover. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Sep 18, 4:15 pm, "MLF" wrote:
"k" wrote The West in the USA is all about water rights. We won't even talk about energy useage and the proposal to tear down the dams. It is a topic that goes on and on and on and on.... Yes, you are correct. However, everyone should keep in mind that the amount of water now extracted from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains is equal to the amount in the rivers. The Colorado River, for instance, used to flow to the north end of the Bay of California in Mexico. It no longer does, but rather just dries up in the desert far from its former mouth. But they say they can knick more out of it! http://origin.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6919633 Making more water Ed Quillen, Denver Post columnist Article Launched: 09/18/2007 01:00:00 AM MDT The U.S. Department of the Interior has discovered a way to produce more water from the overworked Colorado River. (I learned of this not from my own dogged journalistic investigations, but from Phil Doe of Littleton, who chairs a group of troublemakers known as the Citizens Progressive Alliance.) At issue last summer was a pipeline from the San Juan River to serve Gallup, N.M., and portions of the Navajo nation. Before it can be built, the Interior Department has to issue a "Hydrologic Determination" that there will likely be enough water available to make the project worth building. After all, there's no point in constructing 267 miles of pipeline if there's no water to put into the pipes. On June 8, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne sent a letter to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. "The finding in the Determination is that there is likely to be sufficient water to support the proposed contract," Kempthorne wrote, which "removes any Department of Interior concern about potential limitations of water supply." The San Juan River is a major tributary of the Colorado River, which is governed by the Colorado River Compact. The compact was drawn up in 1922, and it was based on the best data available then, which indicated an average annual flow in the Colorado of about 17 million acre-feet. The problem is that those statistics were compiled during years that, in the grand sweep of things, were unusually wet. More recent studies put the average closer to 13.5 million acre-feet per year. So we have a river that was allocated on the basis of 17 million annual acre-feet, but rarely carries that much water. In our state's water jargon, the river is "over-appropriated," meaning there are more legitimate claims on the river than it has water to supply. And that was before this pipeline was approved by Interior. So how did Interior determine "that there is likely to be sufficient water"? Take two logical statements, combine them into illogic, and you can make water - at least if you're the Interior Department. Logical Statement 1: The lower the evaporation from the surface of reservoirs in the Colorado River basin, the more liquid water in the system. No argument there. Logical Statement 2: The lower the levels of the reservoirs in the Colorado River basin, the less surface area there is to suffer from evaporation. So, the reservoirs are smaller and thus they lose less water, and therefore, there is more water available. Believe it or not, that's how our Interior Department determined that there was water available for this New Mexico pipeline. No one seems to have asked, "Why are the reservoirs smaller?" The answer to that question would be something like, "Years of drought," and that would imply that there isn't enough water to go around with current uses, let alone adding another diversion from the river. Consider Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. That's hot, dry country, and so the reservoir drops 6.4 feet a year on account of evaporation, which works out to 791,000 acre-feet a year - enough water for more than 3 million people. Move up the Colorado River to Powell Reservoir (also in a hot desert), and there's an estimated 884,000 acre-feet a year lost to evaporation and seepage into the surrounding sandstone. Let's figure only half the loss is evaporation, and that's 442,000 acre-feet - enough for at least 1.7 million people. In other words, the combined evaporative loss from just these two reservoirs is enough water for all 4.7 million of us Coloradans. So if we were to remove the dams, the reservoirs would shrink away and evaporation losses would diminish. Thus there's more water for everybody in our arid West. So if it works this way, as Interior now argues, why did it build dams in the first place? In essense we are taking all of the water out of the river and have turned it into a long skinny lake. Most of that water goes to California to maintain otherwise unliveable cities like Los Angeles and Palm Springs and Las Vegas that are built in desert climates. I guess my point is that the issue of water is very important. And whether you get it from a river, ground water, or an aquifer, make sure you use it wisely. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== |
Irrigation vs rainfall
why did it build dams in the first place?
On our rivers they were built for generation of electricity (a lot of which we send to California). They are being threatened with being torn down for fish migration. Salmon. Mine DH works for a nuclear power plant... (easier on the fish except for that glow in the dark thing - does make them easier to find in the back of the fridge). k :-) |
fall~is~here!
"MLF" wrote in message ... "Reel McKoi" wrote How about a bunch of tropical water lilies to shade the pond? We use the hardy ones here and they do a great job of shading sunny ponds. That will certainly work. However, it can get expensive. An alternative is to make sure you pond is deep enough so that it doesn't turn into fish soup in the afternoon. Another idea is to provide some shade (NOT trees) to keep the temp down. Lots of plants will do it, or a pergola or other cover. Michael New Orleans, Louisiana USA ================================================== ============== I started with a few hardly water lilies and now I have to compost what I can't give away. But the hardys are cheap at Wal*Mart - $4.88 for the last ones I bought. In the spring each can be divided into several plants. But one healthy well fed lily can cover a huge area. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:39:25 CST, k wrote:
No, general irrigation. Hmmmm. Random thoughts. There are sooo many issues involved with irrigation in our area. Goes way beyond keeping a few plants alive. Our area of 100,000 people is in an area of 7.5 inches of rainfall a year. We need irrigation. People are making changes in landscaping, with the current low water landscaping trend, but there are some things that we need. Imagine 650 elementary kids turned out for recess on dry, sandy sagebrush. I don't think my asthmatic children would have survived. I know Kathy, let's all move to where Derek lives! ;-) ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:23:08 CST, Derek Broughton
wrote: established). Except, of course, for the ponds... We all make concessions to our principles :-) Yes, we do. And people shouldn't jump to conclusions or assumptions over a simple curiosity question. Nor climb upon a high horse else they fall off. I personally, would water a tree next to my house in a drought area unless there were restrictions against it. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
Irrigation vs rainfall
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:22:17 CST, chatnoir
wrote: It is not remote or confusing! You imply since you have 3 rivers near you, you are not depleting the aquifer! In fact that was always the attitude in Colorado! If they drill near the river, they get all the water they want! Looks like someone is jumping to a big Assumption. I don't know what they do/did in Colorado, but in Washington, cities have what are called designated water rights that are closely watched. My city pulls straight from the Columbia. In fact, they are draining the river illegally and violating numerous river compacts! People living near rivers in Colorado often drop pimps in the river and use it to irrigate even though all the water in the river isallocated and they don't have any nallovation! So, I think saying you kive near so and so rivers makes it very relevant! I strongly disagree, not on this thread, where no one suggested, but yourself, that someone do anything illegal. Are you implying I am? After I said every drop of my water used is metered? That's really stretching it, imo. ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
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