We always turn off our little water feature when we go away for fear that the pump will burn out due to lack of water. So it is one of the most important things to do when we get back home. Yesterday D worked on emptying out the old water , giving it a good clean and plugging it in. Voila! This simple water feature was made from an old planter with the drainage holes sealed up and a rock we found on our property with a nice hole. The hardest part of the whole job was digging that hole for the sump. The pump has been in action for 8 years which is pretty good going. We love the sound of the water trickling over the edges of the stone and so do the dragonflies.
Yesterday evening this little guy came to visit. I might tentatively identify him as
Erythema vesiculosa, a great pondhawk, but I could easily be wrong. I think he was trying to chase me away because he kept flying around me and landing and taking off and coming back. I think he wanted to say thank you.
The drip system on the bird bath could not keep up with the unrelenting temperatures so it too was dry.
I have to fill it by hand every day.
This birdbath also relies on hand watering, but it is not a favorite place for the birds because there are no trees around. There is, however, plenty of food for them. They love the seed heads on the native cosmos, cone flowers and mealy blue sage.
We always turn off our little water feature when we go away for fear that the pump will burn out due to lack of water. So it is one of the most important things to do when we get back home. Yesterday D worked on emptying out the old water , giving it a good clean and plugging it in. Voila! This simple water feature was made from an old planter with the drainage holes sealed up and a rock we found on our property with a nice hole. The hardest part of the whole job was digging that hole for the sump. The pump has been in action for 8 years which is pretty good going. We love the sound of the water trickling over the edges of the stone and so do the dragonflies.
Yesterday evening this little guy came to visit. I might tentatively identify him as Erythema vesiculosa, a great pondhawk, but I could easily be wrong. I think he was trying to chase me away because he kept flying around me and landing and taking off and coming back. I think he wanted to say thank you.
The drip system on the bird bath could not keep up with the unrelenting temperatures so it too was dry.
I have to fill it by hand every day.
This birdbath also relies on hand watering, but it is not a favorite place for the birds because there are no trees around. There is, however, plenty of food for them. They love the seed heads on the native cosmos, cone flowers and mealy blue sage. 
