more pond ice

The pond continues to be a source of inspiration and fascination for me. Recently the ice was clear, but a little warm spell followed by some snow and another hard freeze changed that.

The ice is now opaque, white, and very bumpy. I would not get my skates out for this.

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It's been well below freezing for a few days now and normally I'd start getting concerned about the fish.

When ice forms over the water it traps the "bad" gasses, and the fish could suffer and even die from their build-up. So fish pond owners often use some means to melt a hole in the ice that will allow the gasses to escape.

I've done this once already with a pot of boiling water: just set the hot pot on the ice surface and let it melt through.

I don't need to do it now though, as the rocks are warming up enough in the sunshine to melt the surrounding ice a little bit, creating a "release valve" for the gasses.

Plus it's going to be in the 40's F for four of the next five days, meaning the ice will soon be melted again.

It amazes me that the papyrus looks so green still. It's certainly dead -- at least above the water line -- but looks like it's ready to put out new growth as soon as it warms up. This is one of my overwintering experiments, to leave a few pots of plants in the water.

I don't know if they're deep enough to stay unfrozen (and therefore survive), but I didn't want to move them into the deep part of the water as I have no good way to get them back out. There's already one pot that rolled down there during the summer (with the help of raccoons) and I didn't want to lose more.

Back to the ice... I'm a bit anxious to see how the fish did under the ice/snow covering. I expect them to be fine, but until I see them swimming around I'll wonder.

So pot of boiling water, when will I (and the fish) need you again?

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