Conservation

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 6:21 am

Well,,,i'm safe in the knowledge that i have done my bit for butterfly conservation this autumn.... I've only talked the wife, and her sister into going to Alners Gorse for a clear up. They should enjoy it, because there are baked spuds on offer at lunchtime.... Me? Well i'll be working on my pond,,,,, probably.

, or i could go and watch.

oops

Gruditch · Post by **Gruditch** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 3:53 pm

Digging a pond or cleaning it

Cheers Gruditch

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:04 pm

Ripping out a rubbish liner and putting in a rubberoid one, with an underlay. I installed the pond in 2000, it only lasted 9 years. I hate disturbing my dragonfly larvae and stuff, but it is necessary, and i am saving as much life as i can in tanks. Lessons to be learned. Don't use thin reinforced polythene liners, and don't let the grandkids throw sharp gravel in, or paddle in the shallows, and dont put in stuff that you have to drag out every year, because it is so invasive.

Gruditch · Post by **Gruditch** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 6:03 pm

Poo, rather you than me, that is gonna stink,

Had my fill with wildlife ponds at my last place, waaaaay to much hassle. Even my 5000gl pond with 25 koi in it, is less hassle than my old small wildlife pond.

Regards Gruditch

Dave McCormick · Post by **Dave McCormick** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:23 pm

Zonda wrote:Ripping out a rubbish liner and putting in a rubberoid one, with an underlay. I installed the pond in 2000, it only lasted 9 years. I hate disturbing my dragonfly larvae and stuff, but it is necessary, and i am saving as much life as i can in tanks. Lessons to be learned. Don't use thin reinforced polythene liners, and don't let the grandkids throw sharp gravel in, or paddle in the shallows, and dont put in stuff that you have to drag out every year, because it is so invasive.

Reminds me of the time I was heping the National Trust here get rid of some of the algie in some small ponds here as there was too much, too forever to save the critters as there was so many. Sure what your doing will have good benifits in future. When I was cleaning the ponds, I was at on at 8:30am not long after breakfast as this was when I started work, and found a dead rabbit in one, not a pretty site first thing in the morning.

Gruditch · Post by **Gruditch** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:50 am

Yuk, Dave that reminds me of the time I was mountain biking with a bunch of pals in the Quantock

Hills. The day turned out to be a scorcher, we had all run out of water, so we stopped at a stream for a drink and refill our water bottles. After we had drunk our fill, we rode 50 yards upstream to find a pretty affective dam, made of a dead decaying sheep, nasty.

Regards Gruditch

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 7:37 am

It is an awful job, but the rewards are great. I've had Broad-bodied chasers, Southern hawkers, Common darters, Azure damselflies, and Large red damselflies coming out on previous years. Plus, the birds drink and bathe there, the butterflies nectar on the Water mint and Loosestrife, and i get frogs spawn every year. It is a joy to be around in the summer. All this for a small pond 15ftX10ft, and 4ft deep is a bargain, dont you think?

Piers · Post by **Piers** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:32 pm

Gruditch wrote:Yuk, Dave that reminds me of the time I was mountain biking with a bunch of pals in the Quantock Hills. The day turned out to be a scorcher, we had all run out of water, so we stopped at a stream for a drink and refill our water bottles. After we had drunk our fill, we rode 50 yards upstream to find a pretty affective dam, made of a dead decaying sheep, nasty.

Regards Gruditch

A rotting sheep! Sorry but I had to chuckle at that story. Did you have a baaa'd stomach later? If not, ewe were lucky!

Did you go home or did you carrion cycling?

Someone stop me for god's sake...!!

Felix.

Gruditch · Post by **Gruditch** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:10 pm

Glad you enjoyed that Felix, funny thing was, spring water filtered though a rotting sheep, tasted great.

Regards Gruditch

Piers · Post by **Piers** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:15 pm

I laugh because I can sympathise with you: Not long ago I was wandering along a wide grass verge beside a busy main road (looking for bugs of course) when a lorry passed by, driving through some ancient road kill that was by the side of the road. As it did so a little piece of 'meat' flipped up from the wheel and hit my lip! In an attempt to spit it off I somehow inhaled the bit of rotten flesh into my mouth. I promptly spat it out and then was violently sick. I continued to be sick long after my stomach had emptied, curled doubled up by the side of the road wretching until I thought I was going to pass out!

I know some people eat road-kill; well all I can say is their breath must be something else!

Felix.

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 5:44 pm

Don't knock eating meat. My sister has been a vegan for some years, and due to a lack of calcium and other essential minerals her bones are crumbling. I am 3 years older than her, have gutted down all the meat i could find, and my bones are fine. Bring on the roadkill, it wont do you any harm. The best beef is always hung for close to a month. Us humans do need an omnivorous diet.

Have we drifted off topic?

Piers · Post by **Piers** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:00 pm

Zonda wrote:The best beef is always hung for close to a month.

Granted, and so it should be, but that's a little different to some 'old brock' that's been sitting by the side of a road for six weeks all puffed up in the warm summer weather...! (wretch, gag...)

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:06 pm

Yes,,, point taken

Although i have had badger. It's like a dark, slightly gamey pork. Also, i have eaten badger brawn. All this was years ago, when i was a lot poorer.

Piers · Post by **Piers** » Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:23 pm

You didn't grow up in Gloucestershire did you?

Country sports author L.C.R.Cameron wrote in 1917 in 'Wild Foods of Great Britain' said that the use of badger in the culinary arts was restricted to "peasants in Gloucestershire" who used its fat for cooking and rubbing on their chests as a remedy for colds and rheumatism...!!!!

Cameron rated the taste of badger above that of either the brown rat or dormouse(

), which probably came as a great relief to Mrs Cameron..

Felix.

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:12 am

Felix said

You didn't grow up in Gloucestershire did you?

No i grew up in Dorset, but strangely my father grew up in Gloucestershire.

, and i do have loads of relatives in the Tetbury area.

I expect they all sit around the table on a Sunday while dad carves the blown up brock.

.
From what i've learnt about Dorset a century and a half ago, and the working hell land workers had to endure, i expect a brock would have gone down well on a Sunday.

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:46 am

My de-constructed pond, with the water level sadly apparent. All of my wiggly things, and several frogs are still in it, i'll wait till the new liner arrives before i disturb it all. I'm altering the shelving a little, as i have the chance to make it better. Notice the probable cause of liner failure in the foreground, a Sumach growing not far away has got its roots into the layer of sand between the chalky soil and the failed liner.

: Pond work 2009 (2).jpg (200.18 KiB) Viewed 1270 times

This pic shows the offending Sumach, and its proximity to the pond. I am trying to get the Ivy to strangle it.

: Pond work 2009 (c) (2).jpg (203.08 KiB) Viewed 1270 times

Gruditch · Post by **Gruditch** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:16 am

That Sumach sends up some nasty little suckers too, though unlike bamboo I doubt they could pierce a rubber liner.

Happy Birthday Zonda.

Regards Gruditch

Denise · Post by **Denise** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:23 am

Happy Birthday from me too Zonda. Hope you have a great day.

Denise

Piers · Post by **Piers** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 12:13 pm

Happy Birthday Z.

The big Six-Zero !! Free bus travel then.

Doing anything special?

Zonda · Post by **Zonda** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:44 pm

Thankyou all for your kind greetings. Not really doing anything, having the grandkids over this morning was special enough. Their mum made me a cake which they decorated, and they sang 'happy birthday', made helluva mess and left, like grandkids do. The liner arrived yesterday, not doing anything to the pond today, it's a bit cold and windy here. Cheers

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