Sea fog has been present over Central Florida for days since temperatures climbed back into the mid 80°s (29°+ C). Above a lone boat is barely visible in the distance on Lake Monroe near Sanford, Florida. The horizon completely disappears into the fog.
Above: Looking south toward Sanford, Florida in the thick sea fog.
Sea fog is a type of advection fog that occurs when a warm and moist air mass passes over the relatively cooler surface of the ocean. This week the sea fog has been rolling in from the west (from the Gulf of Mexico) which is somewhat unusual in February. . . but it is also unusual for daily high temperatures to be 85° to 89° F.
Above and Below: The fog bank rolls in from the west and is illuminated by the lights of Orlando until it becomes so thick that nothing can penetrate the water droplets. The lines of light to the sides of the fire are a tractor moving back and forth stoking the massive bonfire in these long exposure shots. The Live Oak tree above the fire pit is about 60-feet tall (18 m).
Below: While the calendar says early February the trees say early spring. Here a Common Persimmon Tree (Diospyros virginiana) is in full bloom with the setting crescent moon in a long exposure.
Click on this or any other image for a larger view
Above and Below: It has been a very warm winter with only a couple of light frost episodes. Here the giant philodendron (Philodendron giganteum Schott) with their massive green and yellow striped leaves reach toward the canopy of this stand of Live Oaks. In a normal year the philodendron would have frozen back.
$32,000 Koi Pond Repair
We've been trying to repair all 5 of the koi ponds before temperatures become really hot. This pond had sprung a leak in its upper portion and needed to be resurfaced. Large cracks appeared where the roots of oak trees and bamboo had forced the pond upward. As drought persists in this part of Florida it is important to try and keep as much water in the ponds as possible.
Vast networks of roots climb over the concrete toward the water. . . everything searching for that little bit of moisture in order to survive.
We had to remove all the water, fish emulsion, etcetera from the pond before
patching. It is a dirty, hands-on job.
I used only plain Sakrete Mortar/Stucco Type S mix.
This mix has no rocks or other obstructions and is good to
resurface concrete ponds.
I always use my trusted Ames Easy Roller Lawn Cart
I bought this cart for $25, 15 years ago and have mixed at least
50 tons of concrete in it. It only has one small crack from
all that abuse. It is made in America and made to last!
Today you can buy one of these indestructible lawn carts for
about $100 at Amazon.
To mix mortar one makes a depression in the center of the mortar mix and slowly adds water and mixes. . .not unlike making pasta flour. On this scale, however, I use a shovel to stir the mixture and throw the finished product into a bucket for transport to the work area.
I smoothed the mortar out and let it dry for a couple of days, making sure to press it into all the cracks in the pond. This repair should have cost about $15. . . using 3 bags of mortar mix. . . however, I fell into the pond in the process of smoothing the mortar and smacked both shins rather hard against the concrete.
After falling I continued working for several hours.
The initial pain was unpleasant but nothing extraordinary.
Later, when I took off my jeans, gloves, shoes, etcetera I found that I had bruised both knees and had many cuts that had occurred through my jeans. Still, I continued to work. Later that evening when I sat down I experienced massive pain in my left knee and decided that it was surely broken. I went to the emergency room and ended up staying a night in the hospital. The bill so far is about $31,950. Thankfully I have excellent health insurance!
Despite the stay in the hospital, many x-rays and blood tests and consultations it was found that nothing was broken, and a few days later we were working on the Gazebo Pond. The Gazebo Pond, below, had far too many koi and needed to be cleaned and the fish dispersed to some of the other 4 ponds.
I moved about 250 koi to the newly repaired Pergola Pond. See photos of that repair at:
These magnetic drive pumps are extremely energy efficient and last forever. However, they are prone to clogging and the filters are ridiculously ineffective. Above: I've tried many fixes for the inadequate Pondmaster filter over the years but this seems to work best. I tape the filter with orange duct tape to make it easier to see in the water should it separate from the pump. Then I tie the filter to the pump with bright green floral wire. Still, these filters have a way of disappearing into the pond. Next I put the filters into several baskets to keep smaller fish away from the pump and to keep the filters in the general vicinity of the pump should they become dislodged. If small fish are sucked into the impeller they die, and the pump clogs, so I check the pumps several times a day. It is a time-consuming hobby.
It shouldn't be this hard. . . but this fix works. The pump's baskets sit atop hollow concrete blocks which work to both protect the koi from predators and keep the pumps high enough in the water so that I can reach them when they need to be cleaned.
Despite all the work, I think these pumps are the best I've ever used and most energy efficient. I only buy from pondliner.com. They have both amazing service and fast and reliable shipping. Everything is packed in foam and paper so there is never any breakage in transit from their warehouse in Oklahoma.
Above: Thankfully the biggest pond (aka The Big Pond) has been holding water this year. It is the home of all my currently brumating (hibernating) turtles. I would not like to have to disturb them until they decide to awaken on their own. . . usually around the first of April. I last saw Redneck, my favorite turtle, around the first of October. See the turtles at:
Above: Refilling the deeper-than-it-looks gazebo pond after cleaning and moving 250 koi. This has all been rather unpleasant work in the heat and humidity. . . but it is better than waiting until the temperature is in the 90°s (35°+ C) and the bugs are thick. . .that will occur soon enough.