Evolution Fountain Spray pattern can be changed pretty easily.
Before we get to the video showing how to change display patterns let’s back up a little bit and ask a question. What if I don’t have a pond or maybe don’t want a pond? But it would sure be nice to have a display to drown out the noise from the neighborhood and even have display to attract customers to my business. There is hope with the Evolution Fountain.
The picture to the left is more of a classy or elegant water feature where there would be retaining walls dressed to suit your surroundings that holds the water in place above ground. The picture on the right offers more of a ground level approach. Both require water proof liner to keep the water from either soaking into the ground or leaking out the retaining wall.
Before you watch the video I want to warn you, I left the blooper in. Yes I could edit it out by why? There is a valuable lesson to learn and if you run into a situation similar this could help out. Just keeping it real we are all human and sometimes have mistakes. And my lil woman asked to remove her from the video but I told her that is the best part, the excitement. Learn more about the Evolution Fountain.
There comes a time to stop and smell the roses, but I’m allergic to them so every day we spend time at the ponds. Taking time to relax and enjoy the peaceful oasis while listening to the fountain, frogs, feeding fish and our boys (the 4 legged kids) and just plain lose the days stress’s by soaking in nature and the beautiful sunsets. (video below)
Folks are always telling to take a break, take some time off to relax and rejuvenate or you’ll get burned out. You know take a trip or a mini vacation, something that can offer new insights or experiences
So let’s take off on a day trip, one day vacation. We meet up with my friend Phil Mutrie, his little woman Vanessa and her friend. Phil is from Canada, eh! My wife loves his accent. Phil and I met a little over a year ago online and formed a great friendship.
Oh come on, let’s get to the story. Ok here we go to Niagara Falls, hmm waterfalls does give me ideas to connect our 2 ponds so that was part of the trip. The rest was sightseeing, chatting, eating and lots of walking. At first we took our time walking along the river trying to figure out what we would do for the day stopping every 25’ or so to poke our heads over the bank and see the falls at a little bit different angles. It was a lot more exciting than the last time I was there being a young guy but did remember the flower clock.
We ended up buying the all day pass, yes the absolute best way to go if you plan on hitting all the attractions. We went under the falls in the tunnels carved out many years ago and the Maid of the Mist was cool too. Yes when you are given a rain coat to wear… wear it, it means there’s a good chance you’ll get wet.
The falls themselves was a great experience as well with the amount of water flowing over them, too much to comprehend and just like the energizer bunny they just keep going and going. Ok so I think the next or maybe the biggest attraction that got me going even more was the Niagara Furry, how the falls were made. I really want one of these at home but could be expensive. This is a 4D experience no cameras allowed and way too involved to try and explain in this post. But I can say it was absolutely amazing from 70 degrees to 50 in 30 seconds was impressive and then it started to snow… really cool sights sounds effected both mentally and physically. If you only want to spend for one attraction I would recommend going to the Niagara Furry is an absolute must to see and feel.
Finally we get to the part where part of the reason I went was to check out the water falls to get ideas for future plans at WhatPond. If you didn’t know we slipped in another pond last year and at some point will connect them with a stream ending with a waterfall. Lots of work and planning but that is what I do when I’m out feeding the fish and boys. Just stop and look around, look at other falls and try to picture them. Should it be like this or that, how big, how wide? The list goes on and on but be sure when I take little breaks I’ll be thinking of those questions and throughout the winter months. So take some breaks in everyday life and at least one day a month to just cut loose.
Oh the day trip to relax and take it easy ended up very exhausting, man I was beat and didn’t get home till after midnight. Sure did sleep well. Just like Aqua Control says on the website “ the Possibilities are endless” which gives me more ideas as they do have the Niagara Series waterfall pumps, 1hp to 7.5 hp.
Life is exciting, isn’t it? (video below)
Living Life is what we make of it. From waking up in the morning to what our day has in store for us we just never know what can happen. Good things and bad but it’s up to us to work thru them and come out on top. Sure we all have problems but what if you changed the word “problem” to challenge? Puts a little different perspective on the situation and now the challenge can be broke down to smaller steps and worked out. Instead of panic mode running with around with problems.
Wake up every day and say “It’s a Beautiful Day” even if it’s -15 degrees and snowing or 95 degrees and humid. Your alive so keep living life.
Ok not totally about ponds but I got a email this morning and it had a slide show attached about the “Philosophy For Old Age”. In the slide show all the pictures are of ponds and lakes, very inspiring to see but also the captions that go along with the pictures. Click the video below and enjoy. It does move a little fast so hit pause to read or watch again.
WhatPond has been a busy place this summer so far. And what a summer actually warm to very hot and muggy, not like last year when we only had 3 days above 80 degrees. Since the last post of my parents 50th we’ve had another party at the pond. At least this time we did not put up any tents because it was already windy. Then ½ hour before the party started the warnings came for severe thunderstorms and tornado’s. The day ended up great and a tornado did touch down but it was miles away from us. Oh the party was the July birthday party for my wife Wanda, her sister Tina, my brother Jeff and mom Jean who turn 70 this year hmmm I better leave that one alone, for now.
Finally finished up writing a book on How to Build a Farm Pond, the cool thing is it’s a down loadable book and when there are any updates or additions you’ll be notified to download again plus 2 interviews that have not been posted anywhere else. The book is on the special offer page and set up with PayPal be sure to click the return to merchant after purchase.
WhatPond’s website has been rearranged a little to help those who have ponds currently and need help with their water quality and to help you when planning your new pond. A couple videos and pages have been put up about pond aeration. Starting with the Pond Fountain and showing one small power house of a fountain called the Evolution Fountain. Next up is bottom aeration. We also have another site set up where you can learn what is happening below your water’s surface and how to improve your pond water quality. Well over 2 hours of video sign up and grab a pen and paper, a real eye opener.
Coming up is a report on a new pond dye we have been testing this year and why would you add microbes (bugs) to your pond? Comments are welcome, feel free to leave yours below.
The morning of the 50th Anniversary party forecast was 70% chance of rain mainly after 2:00 pm, yep that’s when the party started. As 2:00 got closer it got darker and just waiting for the rain to start but after a little while the clouds gave way to sunshine and the weather was perfect for the duration on the party. Family and Friends came to celebrate this mile stone in life, love and the long journey to their Golden Anniversary. As everyone arrived we did the greetings talked about old times and then proceeded to mingle off around the pond to check out all the life that is in and around the pond and explore the life the pond has been able to sustain.
Then about 3:00 everyone got called in so we could start eating and of course you need to know when to say when. But with all the food there was so many different things to try it was hard not eating too much. I can say all us kids did a great job on putting this little shindig together from preparing all the food, lawn care and setting up 2 different areas in case it rained and pulling it off as a picnic type event. Our parents I believe where very impressed with all that we have set up for them and in putting this event together, from the food to the poster board of their wedding pictures, wishing well card catcher even the wedding cake was reproduced from old pictures, I thought that was pretty cool. Oh we didn’t do the cake.
After a while folks started to head out to their homes others helped in cleaning up and putting away the tons of leftover food, making small packages for folks to take some home with them. The last thing to get cleaned up was the chocolate fountain, not in the pond, but the one you can dip anything into and have chocolate strawberries, chips, banana’s, cherries and anything that goes with chocolate. Once that was cleaned up it was time to relax, it’s dark now and a fire going at the pond… Then it started to rain on and off, just a light sprinkle. After awhile we all headed off to bed. The weather seemed calm with the light sprinkle and there was hardly any wind so we figured it would be fine if we left the canopies up overnight and hope they would dry the next day.
Guess what… Woke up to Tornado warnings… Said hmmm wonder if the canopies made it? When I first got out of bed I looked in the back yard to the small pond and saw something weird looking in it. Yep it was the 10’ x 20’ car canopy. Well ok how did the other three survive? They didn’t the white carport played bulldozer after breaking the ropes and just crushing the other 3 on its way up the yard losing its legs along the way.
Having the party at the pond was a good idea as it seemed everyone enjoyed the life the pond had to offer, not to mention the relaxing atmosphere and entertainment of the Koi. The kids and some adults had a blast feeding the Koi by hand and getting their finger’s kissed.
With everything in life we want it to last a long time, a great job, home, family and life in general. Oh yes of coarse this means are ponds and lakes too, but you can learn more about how to save your waters at My Pond Aeration.
I wanted to bring up a couple mile stones that are happening. These 2 mile stones are something that seems be falling by the way side as our culture, economy and government change every time we turn around. Jobs and lively hoods are being lost to downsizing, companies moving to find cheaper labor or just closing their doors, but I really don’t want to get into politics. In Our culture we are fast paced and want it now. If it doesn’t work cut your losses and try again.
Ok so what am I getting at? Something must be wrong or there must be a big secret that gets exposed when a couple get’s married then divorced one month later. My Dad jokingly said during our rehearsal that we should change the one vow to “for long as it should last” Wanda didn’t go for it. And it seems they must have started using that line for the modern weddings.
Here at WhatPond we have been getting the place mowed weeded and cleaned up for another event. This event has a Gold theme to it and happens to be my parents 50th anniversary. Having a small get together hopefully at the pond but back up plans ready in case of rain. My parents deserve it heck they had to raise me and my brothers and sister and well gotta hand it to them we all turned out pretty good. Plus all of other life issues they have had.
Happy 50th Anniversary to my parents
Memorial Day is another mile stone over 140 years, so take a minute and remember the military who has fought in and for our country. The day after Memorial Day is my anniversary to my place of work and I goofed on the math and thought I have been there 30 years but turns out to be 29. Still a long time and hope the economy holds until I retire.
Have a GREAT Memorial Day and be safe, sit back relax, take your time and enjoy what you are doing.
Now I cannot do it justice but do want to show a nearby dam that is used for flood control. It may not look like much from the video but the area controlled is 222 square miles. So to speak it is like the watershed filling the pond. I wanted to get out to the dam when the water is running over the spillway but one of these times it will happen and I’ll get the video put up here with the one you’re about to see. In the video I mention the lake goes way back. Actually it goes back over 7 miles, wow that is a lot of water to control. Another part I was unsure of but found on the Army Corps site is that the overflow pipe is 19 feet in diameter, Wow. And with proper design and construction all the pieces fit together and work in harmony to keep folks safe from being flooded out, destroying homes
The Union City dam is used for flood control so the watershed above the dam is controlled and the farm land homes and roads below the dam are not affected by floods. This is very similar to retention ponds and storm water pond but a much bigger scale.
Planning out this project included picnic areas, restrooms a roadway and parking areas so there is more thought as to just putting in a pond. Look into the future, ask family, friends and neighbors their thoughts, it could spark up some ideas you haven’t thought about…
If you are in the area you’ll need to map out a trip to the Union City Dam and schedule time in to stop by WhatPond. A couple websites to see more detail are one from Union City, Pa. Community Website,
What’s in the news about natural resources? Always something about oil popping up in the news, conversations and our daily lives. Look at the prices and makes you think a little more about how to save and cut back on driving. What would happen if the same happens about water? Water is a natural resource that someday could run out or worse be regulated. Not just because of drought but taxed as well. Sure we already pay for water but it’s an acceptable expense for now. What if the government caps your well off and charges you pay a usage fee?
Water a natural resource we pay to drink every day. If you live in the cities or suburbs the town’s water supply is plumbed to your house and you pay a cost monthly or quarterly.
Live out in the country? You paid to have a well drilled, the pump, and pressure tank and plumbed to the house, then every time water is used there is a cost of electricity to run the pump. Has your well run dry on you? Life changes pretty quick when the well runs dry. I know, I’ve been there myself and have friends that hit the same problem and it is scary. Call in the tanker truck, fill the well or invest in another drilled well. Bringing water home every day will wear you down and not to mention how to bathe.
Our first well was not supplying enough water to live on we had another well drilled and have not had any issues since. But you just never know, one day it could happen again.
There is a chance that one day when city water will become available but that’s not what I would call natural water. Quick question… Do you drink bottled water? What does it say on the bottle? The latest one I saw was “natural spring water” sodium reduced, so is this sea water?
Since our first well went dry I have been very concerned about saving water. Shorter shower or bath time, catching rain for the garden, skip washing the truck and over all just watch how much water is used.
Since building our pond WhatPond there is relief of running out of water. Watering the garden or newly planted trees and grass is not much of a concern now. The connection to the house has not been made as of yet but over time it will be finished and ready for the day when our natural water well should run dry.
Now what to do with the water from the overflow pipe of the pond? It seems a waste to let it freely run away, perhaps another pond? Maybe a water storage tank that could be pumped back to the pond in dry spells? Building a pond is may not be in your near future but you can still conserve water for the garden, newly planted trees and emergency toilet flush by catching rain in rain barrels from your gutters.
Ok the pond water quality workshop was a great success. Cary Martin of Aqua Control presented very easy to follow examples in the science of ponds. Decent weather as for being warm but the wind was crazy and made a lot of noise in the camera. We had a small group and everyone learned from the event, even those who did not have a pond but wanted some form of water flowing.
One of the biggest things learned is that once a pond is finished nature starts to do her job and fill it back in. What? Take a look around at swamps and marshes this is a good example of what can happen. The process takes many years but does happen. What happens below the surface you can’t see right away but what is above the surface you can. Such as leaves, plants, fish waste, goose poop and anything that falls into the water eventually becomes fertilizer and nutrients that feed algae and then turn into muck at the bottom of the pond that will continue to fill the pond. This muck builds up because of the lack of oxygen at the bottom of the pond.
Finally my little honey got her fountain and giggles every time she sees it like a school girl who just saw her heart throb on TV. To clarify, this is a display aerator where not only do you get water movement but also aeration at 134 gallons per minute in the tornado display as shown.
Yes we are working with a new Blue Dye, results and findings will be made available soon.
There is a ton of information which will open your eyes to what is going on at your pond and below the water’s surface. Head over to My Pond Aeration and sign up to receive your workshop information by way of video. In part 2 listen close as Cary reveals a discounted price and if you have the” Definitive Guide to Ponds” You already know from page 3 how to receive another discount as well. So head over to My Pond Aeration and get started learning more about your pond and how to cure it’s ailments from expert Cary Martin.
Feel Free to reply to any email or use the contact form at the top of the website if you have any questions…
Wow amazing weather the past few days and hopefully sticks around thru the summer.
Spring has hit and life is just popping up all over, even at the pond, below is a short video of some of the events going on at the pond. From the Koi surfacing and their first feeding to the frog out sunbathing or at least trying to shake the winter hibernation blue’s and get warmed up to move. He didn’t even blink when touched.
As we walked around we found perch eggs and that is exciting. Hoping to see some little perch again this year when it’s feeding time for the Koi.
Bringing out the floating dock and the lighthouse is a little work but well worth the effort in the end as they will be enjoyed thru the rest of the summer months. The dock is a little hard to paddle around but so nice to be out on the water and have a feeling that no one can get to you. Let the breeze blow you around and feel the action of the little ripples of the water.
Two days away to the Pond and Lake water Quality Workshop and still have things to get done.
Before we get to the video showing how to change display patterns let’s back up a little bit and ask a question. What if I don’t have a pond or maybe don’t want a pond? But it would sure be nice to have a display to drown out the noise from the neighborhood and even have display to attract customers to my business. There is hope with the Evolution Fountain.
would be retaining walls dressed to suit your surroundings that holds the water in place above ground. The picture on the right offers more of a ground level approach. Both require water proof liner to keep the water from either soaking into the ground or leaking out the retaining wall.
