On Frozen Pond

Or perhaps that should be One Frozen Pond.

This week has been the big moment that I have been waiting for. .

prolonged cold weather.

I've been wondering how the pond would do with extended Cooooooold.

With our waterfall, we could leave it running all winter long. But, if we had more than 3 days straight where the temperature didn't rise above freezing, we had to turn it off.

By the third day, the waterfall had iced over itself and though the water still ran ever so slowly under the ice, the resevoir was usually pretty low by then.

This past week has been really cold here!  This picture was taken Monday morning during the snowstorm that provided us with a couple inches of much needed moisture.  Sunday was the last day of above freezing temperatures here until today. 

I have been tickled to watch the birds step out on the ice and walk on the frozen spots. They peck at the ice a little, and sometimes walk up to the edge of the ice and water to get a drink.

The far edge of my pond is just a couple feet from a sunflower feeder that the finches, juncos, and sparrows have been swarming the last few days.

They are pretty entertaining to watch.

Tuesday morning the thermometer said -4 at 7 am.  The pond was completely iced over. 

The falls continue to push water under the lip of the ice and the skimmer at the far end is recirculating the water back through the waterfall.

Wednesday morning the ice was a little thicker.  Some of the water is running across the ice from the falls and is icing over the TOP of the ice layer, making for some interesting ice patterns.

I could see steam rising off the water in the falls Wednesday morning, which was an interesting site!

It warmed up to mid 20's yesterday. .which was nice

And these guys appreciated the sunbeams too!!

And the evenings have been creating beautiful pastel sunsets. . which have been striking with the snow!

Here's the pond this morning. .Looks cold!! The last 3 nights have been in the single digits. .and in the 20's during the day time.  Today's forecast is mid 30's. .and in fact, 43 right now.  The ice is melting away nicely. Maybe by tomorrow, I will be able to see the state of the goldfish, though I expect to find them well!

We're glad to see forecasts for the mid 40's for the next several days!!

And I'm sure that these little jewels are even happier than we are about it!

The moral of this story has been that I am SURE glad with the pond's performance in the cold thus far. .and since we do not regularly have that many days in a row with sub-freezing temps. .I am relieved that the pond should continue to function well throughout the winter months!!

Hope you all are enjoying some warmer weather where you live too!

Have a great weekend!