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It's been so long since I been on the forum that I have no idea what anybody is talking about but wanted to tell Richard that I loved the pictures of your family, the pond and the water lilies. You did a great job.

07/26/15 08:11 PM	#2315
Richard C. Green Wasn't that the place where students who smoked, went to get them because they knew he'd sell to them?

07/26/15 10:23 PM

#2316

I hope I never need one of these.

07/26/15 11:17 PM

#2317

Deann, my pond began as a hope, then a dream, then a lot of planning and research on the internet to be certain I did it right. And one fine day I invited a friend over to help me dig. He dug two shovel fulls, said the ground was too hard, and left. So I set a 2 wheelbarrows of dirt per day goal and managed to get a 13' circle dug 3' deep in one summer.

The completed project (it never really is done) is/was a trip back to those times when the hippies talked about getting back to nature, when we were in school. We'd sit out there and it was just fish to start with; 60 feeeder goldfish (12/$1.00 at the pet shop; $6 worth) and 6 koi. Ten years later, the gold fish were all a foot long, and the koi were two feet long.

So we'd sit and feed the fish. Then we'd notice dragon flies hanging around. Then 2 species of dragon flies. Then 3, then 4. Then I hung a hummingbird feeder up; seemed like the right thing to do. I'd had one in front of the house for years. Immediately we had hummers feeding and they were fun to watch. Then they came straight at us as we sat feeding the fish. They hovered near a swarm of gnats, then darted in to pick them off one by one. Never knew that.

Then a garter snake came around. Oh he was only a foot long at first, but he'd swim across the top of the pond, or go straight down. He grew to be 3' long. My kids liked to catch him and play with him briefly now and again.

And the birds: starlings, robins, morning doves, sparrows, magpies; they all came around the pond to drink and many also to bathe in the stream above my waterfall. Fun to watch.

So there I'd sit after 10-12 hours in the Crime Lab at crime scenes galore; robberes, burglaries, family fights, deaths, assaults, traffic accidents, plus I was the AFIS guy. Lots of stress but the pond......................well, it always took it all away if I needed help with it.

I am so glad I built that pond. We have learned lots and been able to see so much of mother nature, we feel fortunate.

And the fish. I'd climb in to clip the water lilies, and the fish would all be kissing my legs, trying to find food, thinking my hairy legs were tender morsels I guess. It tickled. It was fun.

Remember those old Tarzan movies with Jane and Boy? In one, boy floated down the river on a large circular pad. I had seeds to grow those things but never had a chance. It takes a lot of attention. I also wanted to buy some tropical waterlilies that only bloom at night. And they are VERY fragrant. And blue, and purple too.

07/27/15 01:57 AM

#2318

Jerald DeGraw

Great Pond, Great train;

Great guesses, Wrong again :-)

--- Edgar

07/27/15 12:56 PM

#2319

Burritos or gummy bears? (CUBS..........GUMMY BEARS........................makes sense)

ALSO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meMZNiHURe0&index=12&list=FL9634EY2HPEhCADBUO73slQ

That's Barry Gibb with Ricky Skaggs singing an old civil war song. Just in case anyone loved the Bee Gees and is wondering what the sole survivor is doing nowadays. Probaby just the ladies, yeah?

07/27/15 02:18 PM

#2320

Richard, thanks for elaborting on your pond. What a treasure for you and your family. We've been contemplating a small waterfall thing in our backyard for years but never have made it a reality. I think you have inspired me to get things in gear and get things going before I realyt can't move anymore.

07/27/15 07:27 PM

#2321

Dowie VanderWerff

Pancakes!!!

07/27/15 08:19 PM

#2322

Deeann I just typed a page on water features and hit one wrong key and POOF. You won't regret ANY KIND of a water feature. A waterfall, a spitting faxe from a wall into a pond, ANYTHING. That will allow you to get into water plants and once you buy one tropical wwaterlily, you'll be hooked. When you walk out at one evening and watch it open, and the smell. And so many other plants; all colors; all sizes, all types. I have ALL the issues of a pond magazine that went out of business, buut they are filled with ideas on your creation. If you want copies, let me know.

Fish are optional. Even without them, you'll be amazed at how many different creatures find your watere feature and make use of it; insects as well, but even the bees never bothered us. They'd just busy themselves with the water blossoms. i lookd out one morning andd there was a doe drinking from our pond. When it saw me, it took one step, then jumped my 6' fence easily and was gone in seconds. We also had regular visits from blue heron from Decker Lake, coming to help themselves to our "all you can eat" smorgasborg. They have 7' wing spans, and disappear with one flap.

If you join a pond group, they often share plant seeds that are neearly inmpossible to find otherwise. Some require water changes daily but the result is a huge flower called a ???? I forget. I even have seeds for them.

Do it Deann. Do it soon. Do lots of reserch first, even if it's just perusing pictures for ideas. Again, I can share some if wanted. I was a member of a pond group that shared ideeas and knowledge and two experts had an argument over filtration and the result was lots of knowledge gleaned. But enough boredom. SORRY. I'll try to post a few related photos.

Now, about my Harley....................

Oh..........I talkd to Jim Curtis and his wife, Eloise Larsen. Jim says he visits this site often, he just hasn't filled out anything on himself.

07/28/15 05:57 AM	#2323
Richard C. Green Deeann-3 half whiskey barrels make a nice water feature

07/28/15 11:23 AM

#2324

Dale Charlie Salazar

I've been to the northern reaches of the lower 48 for a family reunion in Sandpoint Idaho. Great way to reconnect with nature. I'm the baby of a large family but most are gone now so I was the elder at the gathering, but your classmate will never grow up so I fit right in with the teenagers.

DeGraw, my guess is you used to eat moonpies with RC Cola?????

Like your pond story Mr. Green. It reminds me of when we would play with the fish in the pond at Liberty Park. I did have the pleasure of swimming in that muddy pond back when. I had a hard time refusing a dare.

The campaign is going well and rumor is Nate is the frontrunner. We wont know for sure til August 11, the primary date. If we cme out of primary we are onto the runoff. Wish us luck. In my fondest dreans I never imaganed one of my kids might serve in public office.

07/28/15 01:44 PM

#2325

Thankyou Richard, If you will be at the Friday reunion event, maybe we can meet there and discuss water fall ideas. We have a VERY small yard so not sure a pond would work unless it is a very small pond but I know you have to have someplace for the "Fall" to collect.

What is all this discussion about food. Did I miss something (obviously).

07/28/15 05:44 PM

#2326

Deeann, think about 2 half whiskey barrels. That would give you a waterfall from one to the other and they don't take up much space. You can overlap them and put plants in both. My illnesses prevent me from attending things. By the time I get there, I hurt so bad all I want to do is go home and lay down again.

The other iidea is a spitter coming out of a wall, into a ??? half whiskey barrel? That's small & will still allow lots of plants.

I'll try and collect all the small pond/spitters/half barrels I can find and see about getting them to you. I know I have mkore than a few. Oughta be good for ideas.

And I was thinking maybe it's something that isn't made anymore. RC COLA? Or could it be Tab? No way. Diet Rite Cola?

07/29/15 06:54 PM

#2327

Richard, so sorry you can't be there. We can connect another time on this. I'm in the process of relandscaping our parking strip (double wide) so it will be a while before the backyard will be touched so please don't go to the trouble of collecting at the moment. Since we live in an area where we naturally have different elevations in our yards, we have a natural slope to work with. I think I'm mostly concerned with a decent pump. That seems to be where other people around here have the biggest problem. We will look forward to "picking your brain" maybe next spring. My husband is also experiencing some health issues and things go a little slow around here. Thanks so much for your suggestions. It's nice to know who to go to for good advice.

07/29/15 11:31 PM

#2328

07/30/15 12:59 PM

#2329

Dale Charlie Salazar

I don't know about you Char, or any of our other classmates, but some of us have never grown up and don't plan to.

I did just receive one of the photos from my family reunion and wanted to share it. Great-Great Uncle with the four year old who wanted to hold the newborn on her lap. Uncle had it wired and we took a great photo.

Little Aviana with Baby Amaya and Great Great Uncle Chuck

07/30/15 01:50 PM

#2330

I hope nobody's offended by this - but it's a catchy tune at least.

07/31/15 05:13 AM

#2331

The worst day of my life at South High School was in our sophomore year when the music teacher, I believe his name was Mr Willardsen? When he called us into HIS classroom in groups of 8 or 10 from our classes. Does anyone else remember this horror show? He sat us all down then brought us up to the front of the class one at a time and forced us to sing a solo as his piano player layer played the tune we were forced to sing; solo. The really bad ones he simply said ok go back & sit down. The okay ones, he said something like 5th period. But the really good ones he said third period, or something like that. My only vocal training was listening to my father sing in the Tabernacle Choir my entire life on Sunday mornings. We'd watch the broadcast for dad on TV, try to find him and see he if he managed to get a close up. So, as I stood up there, and I began to sing, of course I was nervous, and I thought I sounded awful. However after a few bars, he stopped me, said third period, then called the next person. I was in the band and that was enough music for me for one day. I loved playing the sousaphone and didn't want to quit band to sing in a choir whether I was good or really bad. Does anyone else remember this and did anyone Really transfer into one of his classes?

07/31/15 08:59 AM

#2332

Candida Bettinson (Jensen)

Yes, I remember. This was Mr. Willardson, I believe. I must have had a decent voice because he wanted me in the choir. But the only class I could have dropped was seminary. Now it's one of my regrets from high school. I could have easily done without seminary - I would have loved to sing instead. My parents would have given me all kinds of hell if I had even mentioned dropping seminary.

07/31/15 02:55 PM

#2333

I remember that time with Mr Willardsen also. I felt like I'd done plenty of singing in the choir in Jr High School and had my sites set on other things for high school. It didn't help that I already had heard too much about Mr Willardson and his temper. I will have to admit though he was a talented man, with a drive for an excellent and well taught choir. Sometimes I think back and wonder if I made the right choice not doing his a'capella choir. But I have had plenty of choir singing since too.

07/31/15 03:36 PM

#2334

Mary Benson (Bendixen)

Ah! Speaking of J. Armont! He was without a doubt my favoite teacher E V E R! I think I learned more from him in three years than from any other teacher....well. I absolutely loved all choirs from whatever the sophomore choir was called all the way through to A' cappella and Bel Canto and then Symphonic Choir. That's where the fun was. For me anyway. Of course there was the time when Leek, McGhie and I spent the night in the school! And exploring the school basement. The things that were stored down there! Decorating for dances. Wouldn't be a hoot to hear from everyone who we had 'crushes' on back in the day? And so many many great memories. It's been fun to hear all of your memories of teachers and classmates. We had a great class with great teachers. Can't wait to see all of you at the reunion. And don't be embarassed to ask people their names. We're all in the same boat...our oars aren't as long as they used to be! Go Cubs!

07/31/15 04:40 PM

#2335