I'm dreading the job this year. I was pushed for time and dropped the cheap taro bulbs I bought into the Skippy. They turned into monsters. Some of them are 6 or 7 feet tall with 3.5 foot long leaves which puts the tops at more than 8 feet high. I'm afraid to look into the Skippy.

I cleaned out my 100 gallon skippy but still need to clean out my 75 gallon. I have mucked out the bottom of the pond twice in the last couple of weeks and think I should do one more go at it. All my plants in the skippies and bog are still growing though so I wont trim them back just yet and it will be another couple of months before I shut the pumps off.

Frankie, do you live in a cold location? seems early just shut pumps down.

I have the pumps going and will pull them out and put in bubblers in a few weeks. The dogs came back today but I put a frame with wire over the 2 in ground ponds so they couldn't do any more damage--not pretty but saved me a bunch of work.

I had a trickle tower in the big pond and it hasn't been crystal clear any this summer, clear at the top but not all the way down, but I think has had less ammonia. I pulled it out and put in quilt batting and overnight I had crystal clear water. Wow! And that was after all the dirt stirred up yesterday.

I wish I had some of those big leaves. I have been making big leaf castings this summer for birdbaths and such. I have made so many I don't quite know what I will do with them all. They were all princess tree leaves and I would like to try some other shapes. Maybe next year I will plant some taro. It has been all my husband could do to keep me from making a few nightly forays into people's yards for big leaves. :c)

I am dreading this task this fall, but we still have at least another week of weather that will be bearable in which to do it. Then I think fall will settle in for good.