Just as I was beginning to believe the rain would never stop it did, at least for the morning. I'm pretty sure it will be back, at least for the next ten days it looks like. I've been outside just standing by a pond enjoying the light.

I shouldn't complain, I just got back from a short trip to Jamaica to attend a granddaughter's wedding. It was beautiful, she was beautiful, they were beautiful and so happy together. A good time was had by all. The flora was so lush and beautiful. I wish we could grow some of it here. Most requires too much water although lately, that might not have been a problem but we know that soon we'll be wondering when it was going to rain again, if ever, and how much longer will these hot summer days hang around. Here's a Poinciana Tree from there.

I'll bet many of you are like us and just anticipating dryer weather so you can get out and really work in the yard and your pond. A .customer told me yesterday that he had his patio full of plants ready to go in the ground as soon as he could wade through the standing water and get them planted. He was going to buy some pond plants since he could put them in the pond now but decided to wait for our new shipment next week. Many of you may be aware of supply shortages in your world and possibly have been to a local nursery and found they are having some plant issues as well. I can certainly vouch for a severe shortage in plants for the pond world right now. I'm told it was due to the heavy freeze, the fact that it penetrated so far south where many of the nurseries are and into areas where they are normally not prepared for such cold for such lengths of time.

We ordered our normal first load of plants, they arrived only to find out that 70% were not available. Oh, wow! Now what do we do? I started to hunt for alternate suppliers. Finally, found one with some stock and should have plenty for you to choose from next week on Wednesday if not before.

Right now we have plenty of lilies, both hardy and tropical. They don't look all that spiffy due to the cool temperatures we've been having but are all healthy and will come out of it when the weather clears and they get some sunshine, kind of like us. We also have some of the floating plants you want like water lettuce and hyacinths and a very few marginal plants.

We have koi, both regular and butterfly, goldfish, plecostomus and hi-fin shark algae eaters available now.

We're still working on the yard in between showers and attempting to stay ahead of the ever growing grass. I've got two ponds totally shut down trying to decide what we're going to do to them. They had old equipment and weren't performing the way we like. We've drained them, removed fish and plants but the rain keeps filling them up. Can't leave them that way so we take some time to drain them again thinking this is the last time. It hasn't been! I can't promise to get them back in shape this summer the way things are going. Mowing around all the features is a big chore.

The one thing all this dreary weather has done is keep single cell algae from being such a problem if your UV light is working properly. I've noticed in the ponds without UV we have experienced some blooms and have had lots of string algae in our ponds with bogs. We just keep feeding bacteria and low doses of algaecide only when necessary. We've limited the fish feeding to once a week so they can help us by grazing on the algae.

As I've said, partial water changes can be your best hope right now. You are not worrying about evaporation but rather having to remove some excess water from you pond to keep it from overflowing. Remember from your 7th grade science class that raindrops form around a particle of dirt or dust so those raindrops are depositing some dirt in your ponds that eventually will accumulate to the point that you'll want to remove it along with the fish waste, excess food and other organic materials. That can be a chore.

We have Pondovacs from Oase in stock right now but they come and go so check that we have some. They're constantly in the pipeline, always on order, but ship out almost as fast as they arrive. Although some consider it a major investment ($380-$465), a pondovac can be the pond-keepers best weapon against losing control of the pond environment and with regular use throughout the season means you're not having to have a major clean out as often if ever. I'll be glad to show you how they work.

I am sitting here laughing. As I was writing this, a customer comes in, interrupts me as customers will, and says in the course of our conversation, "I'll bet you're like all us old people and hate this dreary weather." I laughed out loud, agreed and explained what I'd just written. On the way out I said to her, "Have a good day!" She responded, "If the Sun would ever shine, I will." Good to know I'm not alone. We know the Sun will shine again.

Always be humble and kind,

~~~Mike