I received the greatest early Christmas present this week. The delight of my summer has been my water garden, with fish, frogs, hummingbirds and pretty plants to look at. Listening to the music of the fountain and enjoying its tranquility has been a saving grace for each and every day too. However, now that fall is here, the water will soon freeze. The only plants left growing are a big English ivy in a steel bucket and the water cress. It has been very depressing to know that it will soon be encased in a coffin of ice. Spring is an awful long ways away.

However, I was talking to Ralph about wanting to start feeding the birds, but not wanting the sunflower seed hulls to contaminate the pond and he had a brilliant idea. He and Alan immediately put it into action. He ordered a nice, heavy mini-greenhouse from Farm Tek and they set it up right over the pond.

I will still have to run a small deicer all winter for air exchange, and of course everything will still freeze soon enough. However, for now I can put my lettuce plants in there and get a few more weeks out of them and I can start filling the bird feeders too. The blue jays have been screaming at me for weeks to get busy and feed them.

I suspect the pond will thaw much earlier next spring with the greenhouse in place, and as soon as the season warms a bit, I will move it and use it as a big cold frame to harden off my seedlings. I am so excited about the whole thing.

Thanks guys!!