Hi everyone, HOORAY!!!!! The STEELERS brought home one for the thumb! Thanks Semper! You are so wonderful to do this for all us ponders. It was great fun! And thank you for the win. I asked Semper to donate my winnings to The National Aviary right here in Pittsburgh, PA. It is a wonderful place that is close to my heart. Here is a pic of the Bald Eagles that reside there. Notice the one flapping only has one wing. Poor thing had been shot by some @#$&*!*....... And this is a picture of me the last time I was there..... Thanks for helping take care of the birds Semper. Hi Comet! Thanks! Well, it's been a great season. I'm already looking forward to training camp. And the next pool...........: ) ~Dawn (mamabirrd)

Hi Claire...Great shots of those Hummers! At last they have arrived...whew! It looks like you have some tired but happy Hummers. I counted Herring this morning. I saw 8 during my 10 minute count time. The sun was bright, water was clear and the gulls were happy. We have found that Herring like to run when the water temps reach 13C. Last year we recorded the largest number of Herring making the final run into the Mill Pond between May 11th & 18th. Interesting little tid-bit...when the adult Herring return to the sea, they do so tail first...facing upstream. They allow themselves to be swept backwards with the current. In 2003 the herring run in Bournedale River in Buzzards Bay numbered approximately 200,000 herring. The herring in that run are/were counted using an electronic counting tube...a camera. I find it all very interesting. I need to get out and walk around the yard today. If the Hummers are here, I should find a lot of new growth, buds and hope for color to come...or not. I've seen some hanging baskets of impatients on houses already. It seems a little early to see such color. Nice, but early. Our nights are still cold. Soon it will be time to get my house plants outside...the start of summer camp. sooey

Funky, We have lots of friends and family living in the New Hope/Newtown area and visit frequently. We were at The Inn at Phillips Mill in the summer and dined outside. It was very charming. Food was good. We were given a couple of gift certificates for our wedding from our family who live right outside of NH to a B&B called Porches and a restaurant called the RiverHouse. Have not been there yet but they are anxious for us to try so both are probably very good places to check out for stay and food. Our go to places for dinner with friends are in Newtown. They are Trattoria Tiramisu and Duck Soup on State Rd. I grew up in NE Philadelphia and remember when New Hope was nothing but farmland and dark roads. I live less than 50 minutes from there in NJ. Wish I had pictures of my SIL beautiful farmhouse just outside NH to share. Next time I'm there I will take pictures and post. It was built in the1800's. Beautiful grounds and fabulous home.

Thank you for your comments suggestions and encouragement. I am posting a few photos this time and it will show what I have used and how I made certain things. Firstly, perhaps I should mention that what happened as I searched deeper into planting in a steep-walled pond (with no sloping, shallow end) was that I found myself reading more about hydroponics and aquaponics. Because of the methods used in these fields, I have been using the sheet polystyrene (rigid sheet foam, or what have you) as you will have noticed in my video. My latest island (oh my, doesn't that sound grand!) is a 4 ft x 8 ft x 2" thick sheet with a 3/4" PVC (schedule 40) frame. For transport reasons I had to by 4 sheets at 2' x 4' and join them to make an 4x8. Having done this I decided that a PVC frame would help keep it together and assist with anchoring/mooring it. Here are a couple of photos: I joined the sheets with Gorilla glue which works very well. I jointed all the PVC with the appropriate glue to keep it airtight because open PVC tubing will sink. I then added some 'lumps' of polystyrene glued together and hacked them about to look like rocks: I angled the edges of the island and painted the sides and top with some exterior household paint I had lying around. Then I painted the rocks with acrylic paint of various reds, blues and browns until they looked natural (!?) Here is a photo or two, what do you think? (The wire is a set of solar night lights) Given that the ground cover in the foreground should later cover the nasty brown of the surface, I think (hope) it should turn out alright. Oh; one other thing I did was to add a sheet of filter material to the underneath to encourage bacteria (I used swamp cooler pads, but in a roll). That is the reason I placed it next to the air stone column, as can be seen in the photo. I originally placed it directly over the air but found that it smothered the air column so effectively that it made the whole of the pond appear to be still, like a mill pond. Clearly I did not want this so I moored it to the side of the column. The air bubbles assist the bacteria and will therefore help clear the water. Most of what you see there, plantwise, is a ground cover but there is also mexican feather grasses and some herbs (sage, parsley, etc). BTW. The photos are in high-def so you should be able to zoom in if you wish. Other updates: The lobelia is getting towards its end but still looks OK. The goldfish continue to grow, and goodness knows how many mosquito fish are in there now. I might have to consider another fish to keep them under control as there is no sign of the goldfish doing this and I am told that they should eat the eggs or small fry. Any suggestions welcome. Overall, the water is starting to clear, possibly thanks to the addition of barley straw and pellets. Pontyrogof; Interesting idea of wattles made with stuffed stockings Victorian_bellefonte; Cork, eh? Never thought of that. It should look very natural but does it not become too waterlogged over time. How about a photo of some you are using. Nice-looking pond, too! Mary; Thanks for the nice comments. I'm hoping to put an update video soon. Donna; I have had no success with water hyacinth or water lettuce, never have; I think it might be the full sun the pond gets. Thanks for the interest and keep those ideas coming, please. Steve