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Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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Posted by
shelley_t z5 IL (
My Page) on
Tue, May 18, 10 at 12:30
| Just blindly cleaned a dead frog stuck in the filter! Ugghgggg!!! My hand was already on it and I knew it was bad!
Nauseous, but on the upside, I wonder if that has anything to do with the sudden flush of lily buds coming up... I have like 7 in my fairly small pond!
♫ It's the cir-cle of life...♪♫ |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Oh, I have done the same thing. Once I noticed my skimmer flow was not what it should be. So I reached down in the skimmer to the grating that covered the pump suction and felt something. Something slippery and boney. It wasn't one frog....it was the squished remains of several of them. I about lost it right there. Ugh!!! |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Gross! You gotta laugh at the gross stuff or you'll never make it in this hobby! LOL! |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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LOL! I deal with those things by thinking that everything on the earth is made up of the same things........just in different proportions and arrangements. haha (I also wear those long plastic gloves!)
I found a bony frog at the bottom of my little pond this spring. I decided just to leave it and let it feed everything else.
Speaking of surprises.......here's what I found when I took the top off a lily container. YIKES! haha
There are 3 of them there. I'm getting pretty used to them being around.
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RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| okay that's it....I'm buying some heavy duty shoulder length gloves! LOL I was blindly reaching into a 45 gallon tub I sunk next to the pond last night to fish out a water lily pot when I suddenly had the thought "Oh GOD what if there is a frog or *shudder* a snake swimming around in there???" Luckily my hand did not encounter any squishy, slimy, squirmy things but glad to know it happens. I'll be prepared!! :-) You'd think with all the dead baby squirrels, chipmunks, baby rabbits, birds, bats and mice my cats have brought home to me with no adverse reaction out of me that a slimy frog or snake would be no problem. uhhh, nope! |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Catherinet is that a water mocassin? Very poisonous!!! Ouch. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| must be dead frog day. i got to fish a very dead frog out of one of my lotus tubs today. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| I was a little luckier. I got to revive two female toads that had almost been drowned by the males. One of them came back immediately and after resting on a rock for a half hour, hopped away, but the other one was on her back on the bottom and I actually thought she was dead when I lifted her out. As soon as she was in the air, she opened her mouth and sort of gasped. I kept tapping her gently on the back until she opened her eyes. Both of them still had the egg tubes coming out. Pulling frogs or toads out of the skimmer tube has crossed my mind, but I haven't had that experience yet. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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No, fortunately, the snakes are northern water snakes. At least that's what I'm thinking! We don't have moccasins around here.
Nancy......those poor females. I watch them seem to struggle to keep their heads above water with the males on their backs. Doesn't seem fair. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| They look very simular to the ones we have here in "Loouise Si Ana": ) In the copperhead family. |
Here is a link that might be useful: copperhead
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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Yep. Dead frog day over here too. Found one that looked mumified like he's been sitting on the beach like that for years! I know he wasn't there yesterday.
Watch out putting your hand into stuff like that. I found a big huge fat water moccasin in my skimmer one day. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Catherinet you are thinking correct- those are northern water snakes. Mean critters at first but become tame faster then any wild snake I have ever handled. So far there have been two toad deaths and one frog death in my yard and pond this year. Yep, sometimes it is hard to keep your cookies if you are a ponder. |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Not just your cookies! lol That's why I wouldn't let anyone other than another ponder help me clean up my top pond and split the lilies. I had offers of help, but unless you are a true ponder you can't deal with sludge, algae, dirty finger and toe nails, etc. I remember when I had to take pieces parts of my four shubunkins out of the intake valve of my pump. One of my big koi was dead in the skimmer this spring and I smelled it before I found it. It really took a lot not to blow chunks that day. I swear that dead fish smell was on my hands and clothes for days even though I used a net and a piece of PVC pipe to pry it out. By the time I was done most of it was floating on the surface of the pond. Yes I think ponding is an art. Just like in nature. Only the strong survive. Jenny |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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goodkarma.......glad to hear my guess was right about the water snakes! And I have noticed that they quickly seemed to get used to us being around. I have made my peace with them and they are part of my little ponds. I've just learned to look ahead of my steps now, and also don't pick anything up (like an overturned container) without expecting to see them!
Jenny......I'm not as apt to just stick my bare hand in the water in my big stocktank ponds anymore, since there are billions of water lice/mites. I wonder where they all come from?? |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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| Thanks. We are in the middle of installing a 7 by 9 foot pond. The hole is finally all dug and I got rid of most of the dirt. I am now going back outside to fill it back up! Gross! |
RE: Sometimes, pond cleaning ain't pretty....*shudder*
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