tadpoles

Have three buckets of tadpoles on the go.. one lot in the water barrel which is problematic as it is very dense with green slime in there...every time I try to scoop it out i get the tadpoles with it so plan to leave them and see how they survive.

The other lot in the basin thing are so small. I reckon they have been kept out of the light so have not grown very well. Have now moved them out form under the bush into the sunlight but the bowl is so shallow i have to keep topping it up.

And finally, the third lot are from my mums. Fat little things. I have put them down the end of the garden in the washing up bowl. doing well.

who says cryogenics is a myth?

Tow bits of extremely good news.

ONE - the tadpoles HAVE survived. snow barely touched them. They have put up a sign saying "You cant get me copper" and they are swimming around and feeling goooooood!

Their little characters are starting to develop already.

I feel so excited that they will be around for the next 3-4 months as they grow into little froglettes and then...jump into the pond! NO!

They say that frogs return to the place where they are born to spawn again so I keep checking the washing up bowl at the bottom of the garden. This was where I had moved last year's gang to save them from jumping in to the pond "way hey" only to be eaten by King of the Koi.

SECOND bit of good news - and this IS a good one....THE TADPOLES HAVE SURVIVED IN THE WATER BARREL!

This is the most fantastic news...why? because the water barrel has always been designed to be their natural water garden habitat. If all goes well then they should be born AND spawn in here for future years.

My very own froggery.

Snow in the garden

The heavens opened and the snow fell up to 5 inches thick in Brighton!

Having just found that my spawn had survived and my tadpoles had LIVED I then had to watch the snow and ice freeze my poor boys over in their beds!

Vince loved the snow...went out running and barking and biting at it.

he fish all went under the bridge and decided to stay there till it had gone. It is hard to believe that 24 hours later it IS all gone!

spawn

Good news/bad news on the tadpole front.

This year we are able to start with some actual frog spawn kindly donated by my mother.

You may remember that last year I added a new water barrel, filled it with rocks, plants and stuff. I added some tadpoles last year and they just disappeared straight away. This year I am thinking that the barrel must have stabilised and so added a lump of spawn to that and a smaller lump to this flat water pool container thing.

Anyway, the spawn in the water barrel appears to just sink straight away. Very dissapointing. I feel like i have committed a frog massacre. Same with the other container. ho hum.

My mum is a bit of a frog whisperer it would appear.

We were fiddling about with her pond when she lifts up some plant in a pot she has floating and it was pandemonium – we counted around 14 frogs on all shapes and sizes and colours. I don’t know how she does it. The smallest one was not much bigger that the finger nail sized babies when they first leave the pond.

Welcome to the Pond for 2008!

Today was the official opening day of the pond…..I cleaned out the water filter and seriously cut back all the grasses and rushes. Stupidly tried to burn the rubbish in the chiminea and smoke went everywhere.

Pond is looking goods. It would appear that everyone has survived. It really was like welcoming old friends as they all came out one by one. Took them a few minutes to realise there was food to be had but slowly and surely they all came out and started to have a nibble.

I have started with the flakey stuff as it is probably easier to digest after the long winter.

roll call

1 x white comet with red spots 5-6
1 x shebunkin – 5-6inch
1 x red and black goldfish – 5-6
2 x blue orfe 9-10 inches
1 orfe – 9-10 inch
I large ghost koi – 12 13 inche and 2-3 round the girth
1 x orfes - stil quite slim. About 4-5 inches
2 x silver koi 5-6 inches
2-3inch. orange with a black stripe along the top
1 x shebunkin.. 2-3 inch...
1 x 3-4 silver koi