Water Garden

We built a waterfall and a pond in our backyard ten years ago and it continues to delight us. 

We had a pond in our old house and I brought this water lilly with us when we moved here.

I re-pot it every couple of years and it continues to give us beautiful flowers.  I have shared pieces of it with friends and family and now it grows in their ponds too. 

Our fish are "rescues" from pet shops selling them as feeder fish and from the Del Mar Fair. We call our pond "Fishtopia" because they seem very happy.  They have reproduced many times and now we have many generations from our first fish.  We even have tadpoles.  Can you see the baby tadpoles?  They are very small and black.

We do throw some fish food in there.

It's impossible for me to sit next to our pond and feel anything but relaxed.  Listening to the trickling water and watching our fish glide smoothly by always makes me breath a little deeper.

The Water Hyacinth is blooming right now.

It floats along the top of the pond and keeps the water shaded from the hot sun. 

The fish are happy.

Here's what it looks like when it's not blooming.  The pond is very easy to maintain.  Mother nature does most of the work.  The plants create shade on the pond which keeps the algae growth down.  The plants also create oxygen, hiding places, and food for the fish.  The fish provide fertilizer for the plants.  We have a pump that recirculates the water and has a filter on it.  This keeps the water clear.  We have another pump that runs the waterfall.  We only use the waterfall pump for a few hours a day. 

Here's the proud papa or mama?  How do tell a boy frog from a girl?

Do you have a pond or water garden? 

I would love to see it.

Breath deeper, smile more, stop and sniff the flowers.

Thanks for checking it out. 

Do You Look Like Your Pet?

We have all heard the theory that we look like our pets?

Source

I don't think I look like my little white dog Roscoe?  I've got a few gray hairs but not white yet.  I keep my eyebrows plucked and my whiskers shaved.  Ha Ha! 

She is a cute little thing, I'm tall.  "Little" is never used to describe me.

I have been known to wear animal prints, so maybe we dress a like?

This is my daughter Cami with her bunny Rosie.  Cami has blue/green eyes and a sprinkling of freckles.  Cami can be quite loud and funny!

Rosie has pink eyes, white fur and no freckles that we can see?
She never makes a peep.

This is our pet bull frog, Froggy.  He lives in our pond.  He's about the size of a dinner plate, huge!

We got him and a few more tadpoles at the Del Mar Fair a couple of years ago and he grew into this big daddy.

Frogs freeze when you shine a bright light at them at night. 

He held still long enough to get these pics.

He lives in our backyard in our pond.  I built it when we first moved in ten years ago.  Froggy lives with his fish friends.  Also mostly Del Mar Fair "rescues" that have multiplied over the years.

The kids love to sit on the wall and feed the fish.

Here they are with my dad in their p.j.'s.  They are much bigger now but still enjoy doing this.

Feeding frenzy!

The waterfall creates a soothing sound.

 I've started my swim work outs again now that the weather is warmer.
 

Hmm, maybe I do look like one of my pets?

Froggy and I look like twins when I swim.

(A bright light was shined in my eyes to get this picture)

We have the same fins.

Maybe there's something to this looking like your pet theory?

Do you look like one of your pets?

I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for checking it out!