The pump was put in two weekends ago, and the waterfall has been sounding just so lovely. Before that I had the little skimmer pump moving the water around while we did water changes. All our fish survived, the only casualty of the winter was Bubba, the big frog. So now Wannabe is going to be called Bubba, and Waldo will be Wannabe, and any one of the smaller ones will be Waldo. They all look the same to me except for relative size... The goldfish are jumping out of the water, and our lone big koi is cruisin'. The had cheerios for a while in April, then spring/autumn food. Today the water temp was over 60, and I gave them summer food - mostly because I'm almost out of spring food... I have to order some. They sure didn't mind. The day the ice melted from the pond surface, was the day that the first lily leaf poked its head up. There are many lily leaves now and the pickerels and grassy marginals are all starting up. They all need repotting - but, no rush... We took the sediment filters apart last fall, they were working well but too large and unwieldy when wet. And the screws had rusted through. So we have to design a lighter weight version now. Meanwhile the double settling chamber is helping a lot even without the filters. Maybe we'll get that done this weekend. Weekends without ponding are hardly worth staying home for! :) Mary

clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by mikeygraz 5 Omaha, NE (My Page) on Fri, Jul 11, 08 at 15:43 PervinPatty - Obviously you didn't do YOUR research on this subject. You undoubtedly got your information from the following website: www.californiaherps.com This is an excellent resource, and I know some of the people who have put that whole thing together. You obviously didn't look at the species list closely enough, as you will see that the southern leopard frog (Rana utricularia) is an INTRODUCED species - that means it is not native and doesn't belong there! While northern leopard frogs once had a few spots in northerneastern California where they were present, it is likely that they are EXTIRPATED (that means they are gone) from the state now, as it also says on that site and if you actually took the time to read scientific journals (as I do) you'll see that repeated efforts to find relict populations have failed. Also, you'll notice that northern leopard frogs never ranged into Central california, where you say you live...so again, that goes back to my saying you shouldn't be bringing in nonnative or nonlocal species. Obviously you didn't read my original post - do you really think that a northern leopard frog (or leopard toad, as you put it, haha) with its origins in North Carolina would survive in your region? I doubt it...not to mention the fact that it is ILLEGAL. You tried using the word "indigenous" as well - you have to use that word with some measure of scale - there are lots of anurans indigenous to California - but how about YOUR LOCAL area? I guess by your rules, you could take a Couch's spadefoot toad from extreme southeastern CA and put it in your pond...because its indigenous to California, right? Or maybe a Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea), because they are indigenous to the United State, and they sure are pretty! Again, do your research, and if you're too lazy to go find some construction sites or golf courses nearby you, then tough luck. Don't get pissy at me for advising and educating you about the problems that could be caused by your actions. ~Mike An old post but worth repeating!

Well it's been a week and the tadpoles seem to be very fat and happy. They love the nasty boiled lettuce and I stuck a bunch of my floating plants in the tank and a small rock with algea on it. I also have a strange looking water bug and a couple of baby salamanderes which look a lot like the tadpoles just skinnier and they have a little fan around their gills. also now have several baby fish... My fish spawned and I didn't realize it and stuck the pond plants in there.. I was down looking in the side of the pond and saw all the babies in it so I know they weren't some out of the same pond as the tadpoles. My hubby thinks I'm nuts with my obsession with the fish/frogs/etc. Just can't help myself.

I've been waging war on these guys for years. My Squirrel and Green TF population has been steadily decreasing for a long time. Leopard frog too. But just recently I almost dispatched the wrong frog. Late one night a couple of treefrogs almost leapt into the net, I popped them into a bin to be dealt with the next morning. In the light of day I discovered a pair of green and very indignant Barking Treefrogs, I turned them loose by one of the ponds. In the dark the pair had looked like warty Ctf's. The Barking TF has a granular look and grows to 2+ inches, I had not paid attention to the spotty pattern on their backs or their color as they were under the blue mossie zapper light and I had been very tired. I've since been told the Barking TF is slower and easier to catch. DC? Your frog looks rather like a Pine Woods Treefrog, it's hard to tell if his back is smooth. Here's a couple of CF shots I took a few years ago. And... Hi everyone, I sometimes lurk but haven't posted for years.