Really neat. I live in Flour Bluff on the east side of Corpus Christi, and I am wanting to build a natural pond in my sandy backyard using clay and then lining the bottom with white rock and limestone. I want to make the pond look like the Comal River in New Braunfels ( a natural spring fed river) and plant it and stock it with plants and fish from the river. I live in a Zone 10A climate (nearly tropical) with an average annual low of about 31F. I have a tropically landscaped backyard, and I think having a natural spring looking pond would be awesome underneath my jungle canopy I am starting to grow in the backyard. I would like to make the pond about 10 - 12 feet long, about 8 ft. wide and about 4. 5 - 5 ft. deep. with a small waterfall and filtration for the fish and aquatic life. I would like to power this with a small solar panel attached to the fence or the roof of the house (where it can get some sunlight). Any suggestions? Thanks, John

The white blobs look like mealybugs. The leaf growth, maybe it's a powdery mildew? See page three of the referenced extension publication (see below for link). Its healthy leaves look awesome! Here is a link that might be useful: Common Diseases of Maple

Are these depressions or raised? You mentioned craters which leads me towards depressions. Pools with cementacious surfaces need some calcium in solution to ease water's tendency to dissolve the surface. Water is also known as The Universal Solvent. By adding calcium hardness and maintaining proper pH and alkalinity levels, this dissolving property of water is reduced substantially. When the pH and alk are too high, deposits form as the calcium will drop out of solution and attach onto the walls. These form discolored and raised blotches. When the pH and alk are too low, the water will pull calcium from the pool's surface, making it rough. This tends to be a more evenly felt effect across the pool. This link is a pretty good scientific description I glommed from Google: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.isws.illinois.edu%2Fpubdoc%2FC%2FISWSC-22.pdf&ei=IdYtTLmaKMP38Aaq0YWfAw&usg=AFQjCNEyzy-KIFM2wpIJz9XNjsu1AHVp1Q The depressions you describe are not what I would say due to a low calcium condition as this is almost always a nearly uniform condition. If someone added powdered pH down, aka sodium bisulfate, and it sat on the floor, it could eat some plaster, leaving you with depressions. Scott

Any dark plasters will have color variations because of the pigments used to color them. Some streaking may result after exposing the finish. Exposing is performed to bring out the color and any quartz within the finish. The creamy residue is removed during this process. Some contractors will use water and a brush and some may use a solution of water and muriatic acid. The white based plasters have a much more consistent color range. The dark plasters do not. It is inherent of all darker finishes. Some color variations can occur over time. Improperly added chemicals or poor water chemistry can create streaking, discoloration or damage to a finish.