Useful Ramblings

A little clarity, if you please.

Ron — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:45:13 +0000

These are referred to as “bio balls”. You can purchase them from ACE hardware on MI for about $0.15 each. I used these in a bio filter I made and they seemed to get the job done by “producing ‘good bacteria’” in the filter environment. The short video below will show the clarity of the pond water. It took about 4~5 weeks before the water cleared. Initially it was quite clear but then with algae and other things happening it became quite opaque. Then suddenly within a 24 hour period the water cleared. I have read where it is best to not change/replace the filter materials until the circulation of water through the filter is sufficiently reduced. Early on I changed the filter weekly and the water never cleared so there must be some truth to this.

This video demonstrates the effectiveness of the bio filter. The filter is visible later in the video along with the tangle of pad vines and old flowers that sink below the surface after the bloom is finished. The small fountain action is from a solar pump. The water that it pushes is not from the bio filter. I had originally wanted a fountain but in a small tub like this the water was redirected by wind and the tub was almost pumped dry. Also water lillies do not seem to like a lot of agitation. You can compare the water quality to pics posted below this post. Double click the video to restart. Just in case you missed something.

Today’s bloom

Ron — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:29:32 +0000

	A very pale yellow.
	Used a still digital camera to capture the opening of the bloom ,but the battery died and I missed it. So this is an “after the fact” video. Not too interesting, but will capture the opening on the next bloom.You can see the solar pump agitate the water. It was around 10:30 in the morning. I was dressed in black so I damn near caught fire. “ObiWan has taught me well.”

hubris

Lillie Blooms

Ron — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:57:01 +0000

	Hard to believe the growth of this single plant in 95 F water. The tub which is above ground is shaded by stone blocks on all sides. Even so the water temp is high. Amazing the plant survives.
	And then a miracle as seen to the left and in the following photos. If interested you may “double click” on the photos for greater detail. This bloom lasted for about two days. The lily bloom acts much like a sunflower in that it tracks the sun. Late in the day the bloom closes completely until the following morning. hubris Last Sunday while potting other plants I noticed a new bloom. It was tightly closed, but something said sit, be still and watch. To my surprise about 5 minutes later as the sun enveloped the bloom, it opened to 1/3 its size. It was like watching time lapse photography. But it was not. It was a real time event. Unbelievable.

Container (water gardens) gardening.

Ron — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:05:33 +0000

Went to a Buddhist temple a few weeks ago and was really impressed by their use of container (water) gardens. So I thought a would give it a try. See right side bar for “Water gardens”. hubris

Summer Bloomers and producers.

Ron — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:46:00 +0000

	The back corner. Mostly orchids with a few lilies, poinsettia, etc.
	A yellow lillie.
	A vanda. This one is in bloom most of the summer. hubris
	A closer look.
	Some phalaenopsis (white).
	And “spotted”.
	A dendrobium on the right.
	Pineapple. Have only two this year. They require a large amount of real estate, plus you need to cage them against the squirrels.
	Lots of Lychee. But the squirrels ate most of them. This tree was a gift from Kien and his wife. It took five years to fruit but it is making up for lost time. Damn you squirrels!!!

Last Call

Ron — Fri, 14 May 2010 07:26:20 +0000

Last flight of Atlantis as seen from the backyard. hubris

4/29/10 on the North trail.

Ron — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:32:17 +0000

Today we decided to try the north trail. While biking on the access road I made the comment to Maren that last night I had a dream about deer. 30 seconds later we saw our first doe bounding across the access road. Within minutes we saw our second. During this trip we saw a total of 4 white tails. Until today we had not seen any. This does not mean that they were not there just that they are difficult to spot, especially if they are still. Unfortunately I was not able to access the camera in time to snap a few pics. What follows are some other pics of today’s trip. hubris

Maren and I near a group of cattle. As we proceeded to follow the trail north they too decided to follow us a short distance all the while serenading us with “song”.

Maren noticed some blackberries growing. Before you knew it we were both grazing alongside the cattle. Wow!!, this one tastes funny. They (the berries less anyone get confused) are sweet/sour. Probably a bit early since most were not quite ready for picking. These berries have a grouping of 5 shiny, scalloped leaves.

Another find of Maren’s. A black snake on the north side canal overpass. We had spotted a couple of snakes. All well out of the way.

Lychee fruit

Ron — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:29:32 +0000

These are how the fruit on a lychee tree begins. Almost like LEDs. The birds are doing a number on the fruit. Hopefully they will leave me some

Bigger tomatos

Ron — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:19:20 +0000

	Plants have doubled or maybe tripled in size in just 22 days.
	And blackberries. Maybe.

Pics from the porch – the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle.

Ron — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:40:56 +0000

	Just off the pad.
	Downrange.
	Pressure wave.
	Boosters away.
	The perfect navel.
	Oh (trailing). They are not going to be happy.