Redneck Pond Rakes and Piles of Algae

Last weekend, we decided to take a break from priming, painting and installing carpet tiles, and do somethin' fun. We started raking algae off of the big pond surface.

Here is the Chief Pond Raker Dude with his fine Redneck Pond Rake. (A regular leaf rake with a block of pink Styrofoam Velcro-ed to the fan part, and a floating rope duct taped to the handle. Mucho cheaper than a real pond rake.)

This is the pile we pulled off before our shoulders said, "No More". That stuff is surprisingly heavy.

I guess this is why it's called string algae.

We definitely gotta git us some hip waders at The Wal-Mart.

I Thought the Wind aLways Blew From the North

All my life I have visualized the nasty winter wind blowing from the north. That's just how it is in all the books I've read. So I was very surprised to find in Westcliffe, and now in Cañon City as well, that the wind seems to mostly blow from the south. This is just not right.

 

In these photos, the trees are leaning to the northeast.

OK, so maybe on this Cañon land it blows from the southwest, but still, this is not right. And judging from the degree of lean, I'd say it blows pretty stinkin' hard. This makes me think that maybe we should plant the fruit trees in the "bowls".

The "bowls" are 2 large dirtwork water runoff catchments that the state put in when they expanded the roadways in the area. In a downpour, the runoff initially created some pretty deep crevices on the land. I guess somebody complained, and the state put in these earthworks.

The bottoms of bowls are below the level of the wind, so it's protected down in there. This might be a good place to plant. The only downside is that cold winter air will sink to the bottom and have no way to get out. Those trees could freeze their little tucheses off.

 

Decisions, decisions.