After a mercy mission to rescue a stranded motorist who’s clutch burnt out, I started on all the weeding and cleared a few beds, dead-headed the peonies and pruned a few small trees.
Our pond is small but close to the house and attractively set and planted. However, it has been getting browner and browner over the years. There was a lot of algae this spring, now gone, but murkiness remains. It’s actually not much different from the last few years, but, as I mentioned in the 6-10-12 post, we had a consultation and testing done. The tests were negative for anything harmful, as attested to by the abundant happy, pond critters. Tim Matson, the pond guru, did find the dissolved oxygen to be low which retards the degradation of organic material and contributes to the color. Dissolved tannins from pine needles and leaves also cause browning.
At Tim’s suggestion, we contacted Brian Furze of Aqua Dynamics Solutions. This company makes AquaPucks which act to increase oxygen levels, kill algae, aid in organic decomposition, and flocculate particulate matter. All without harming plants and animals. [Their website describes it all.] I put four pucks in a few days ago.
New blooms: rosebay rhododendron, summer sweet.
The water is the color of black coffee.
The tape measure blurs at six feet, at a foot and a half depth.
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