P2 DECEMBER 2018 PEAFOWL

Just the other day we were discussing "where are all the peafowl this year".

Cold weather brought them all out because there's no lizards ANYWHERE! It's too cold for lizards to come out, they're all cowering somewhere frozen by the cold 57 degree weather we've had.

So the peafowl are on the hunt for food.

Yesterday we had at least 22 peahens and peacocks visiting our food bank. They love black oil sunflower seed, dog food nuggets and white bread.

Our two little "teeny" peafowl kids have grown up so big they are barely recognizable any more, they just look like young adults.

Note the little boy head peeking thru the concrete block, eating seed from under moms nose, (daughter on left)

Here's the kids with Mom. We had three kids but one got lost somewhere along the way. Fortunately we have a young male and a young female to enlarge this years flock.

The flock grows every year but some of the birds move away to lord over their own turf and be boss.

Fortunately each Spring, at the end of May, we are rewarded with new baby peafowl.

This keeps the flock growing and vibrant, well, certainly vibrant.

Happy Birthday P2!

Mark and I did a walk around P2 this morning capturing all of the amazing changes and evolution that have taken place in 2018.  Pictures to follow!

Happy Birthday Noel!

From July 2012 in Vegas for Andrew's 21st Birthday :)

BAMBOO MANIA, SEABREEZE BECOMES GREENLAND ON SOUTHERN BORDER

MAKING $229 POTS OF BAMBOO

At Rockledge Gardens they charge $229 for what they call "15 Gallon" pot of bamboo. With that as our guide we manufactured similar sized clumps from our nursery inventory. With Steves help digging the initial holes we were able to create seven new clumps from our stash of Seabreeze.



Mary questioned my move at first, "you want to move ALL the Seabreeze?" was the question. After a moment I said YES, lets do it.



I ran two 10 gauge extension cords to provide power for the 13.5 AMP SunJoe tiller. The tiller breaks up the sandy soil and makes it much easier to dig out the bamboo plants with minimum damage.



STEPS TO BAMBOO TRANSPLANTING

#1 Tie off the clumps with twine. Separate clumps into individual items to be moved.

#2 Put a long strap around each clump and draw it tight so the limbs are not trying to poke you in the eyes.

Bamboo Update 12/1/2018

It's December 1st!  And time to update what we've done with the bamboo forest here at P2.

The "Southland" has made major strides this year toward becoming a massive bamboo wall between us and our neighbor to the south "Sean".  Between strategic purchases of our favorite Emerald bamboo from Rockledge Gardens and the propagation of the Seabreeze bamboo forest clumps, we're well on the way to the impermeable bamboo wall we dream of.

I'll update with pictures soon, but for now, here's the lineup (starting from the southeast corner moving toward the southwest corner of P2).

1. Big Mike (banana plant at the southeast corner)
2. Queen palm (new, planted Nov 2018)
3. Calamondin (one of the few remaining citrus trees from when we moved here)

and now the bamboo...

4. Angel mist
5. Original recipe (propagated cane turned monster clump)
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Boating at P2 10-26-2018

Mark embarked on a high seas voyage yesterday to anchor Duck Island III.

MELBOURNE FALL WEATHER

FALL WEATHER 2018 MELBOURNE FLORIDA

It's October 22 and this morning was our first sub-70 degree morning. At 6 AM when we arose from our burrow it was 68 degrees F and 78% humidity. This was also the first Fall morning when the humidity was not 99%.

Outside it felt wonderful. Our morning exercise routine out in the screened-in porch was a joy in the more comfortable temperatures.

That magical time of the year is almost upon us when the bugs die off and it's actually nice outside.

**NOTE: All readings contained in this report were obtained from our own "tomato cage" weather station location.

DUCK ISLAND VERSION 3

VERSION 1 AND 2

For the last three months I've been experimenting with floating islands in our big pond.

Some pine boards were the first test pieces, they were used in a construction project. I set them afloat when I discovered they were covered in ants. I left them floating in the pond because the turtles and ducks liked climbing on them and floating around in the afternoon sun. Eventually these boards became so water-logged they are no longer able to support an animal, the boards are scheduled for removal.

This led to the construction of our first larger island project made from a used pallet that came to us filled with concrete blocks. The pallet was stuffed with pool noodles for extra floatation and set adrift. It was an immediate success, almost all of our wading birds and ducks loved the floating pallet.

Pool noodles have proven to have a short life as floatation devices, I'm not sure what happened to them but they were severely eaten away and shrunken after a month of exposure to pond water.

The decay and subsequent sinking of the first pallet island led to the construction of a second model which was very similar to the first. The second island was just like the first with the addition of pine boards on each side to provide boarding ramps for turtles and ducks plus a piece of plywood on top to make it smooth. This island also proved to be very popular with the ducks and our large heron named Huey. The anhinga also likes to ride this island. Just like the first pallet island it began to sink after the pool noodles were exposed to the water for a month.

ISLAND VERSION THREE, THE BOAT - OCTOBER 15, 2018
The third version of the island project much more closely follows the design of a traditional boat-like barge water vessel. The interior is design is intended to be dry. A combination of pool noodles and empty water bottles is used for additional floatation buoyancy. These are all held in place by four cans of sprayed-in construction foam. The pool noodles (nine total, cut in half) are contained inside the brown center section.

For the third version of the duck island I constructed a ring made of 2x4 pressure treated wood. Using corrosion resistant construction screws I attached a half-inch sheet of pressure treated plywood for the vessel bottom.

In the center of the vessel hull is a package of pool noodle pieces that are wrapped in a thick contractor trash bag and sealed on top to prevent water entry. This package of pool noodles is very light weight and displaces quite a bit of space in the hull.

WATER BOTTLES EMBEDDED IN CONSTRUCTION FOAM

Around the hull interior my beautiful partner helped me glue in water bottles we collected for the last couple of weeks. These are glued in with construction foam and fully foamed-in to prevent them from moving around. Additionally I'm hoping the foam will help displace water should the vessel leak.

All of the joints and seams are sealed with 100% GE Silicone, the good stuff. All the joints were aged for over 48 hours before exposure to water.

THE TOP LID IS HALF-INCH PT PLYWOOD WITH TWO COATS OF KILLZ ON BOTH SIDES

The entire island is painted with two coats of latex based Killz to help seal in the pressure treated wood and to prevent rot from long term exposure in the pond.

The anchor points are sealed with silicone on the inside and the outside, stacks of washers help hold the eye bolts in place and seal the hull from leakage.

I planned on anchoring the new island with two anchors to hold it in position but upon reconsideration I've decided to try a single anchor point and allow the island to swing around it.

The anchor is a 16-pound model I bought at a local sporting goods outlet. I'm testing 3/8" poly anchor rope to connect the anchor and the island.

I purchased two anchors but will start with one at first to test the island for floatation, leakage and general construction integrity.

DUCK FUN

It is such a great feeling to look out and see little wild ducks and birds of all shapes and sizes landing on the floating island and enjoying our big pond. It's so much more than just a big bowl of water, it's a universe and home to all manner of fresh-water fish, frogs, turtles, snakes and birds.

Orangey

I love colorful bugs... this orange tipped oakworm moth made an appearance tonight.  See his eyes and smile?  LOL

BEAUTIFUL OCTOBER FLORIDA DAY, DUCKS, PEAFOWL, EGRETS AND RACCOONS CHILLAXIN

Another beautiful day in Paradise

Ducks riding their platform, enjoying a leisurely day of nomming corn and tanning :-)


Peafowl dust bathing by the pool cage

Two friends relaxing together

Big Dennis the big white egret, hanging around with his buddies, the Sneetches :-)

Raccoons nomming dog food, everyone getting along.

A view of the "Raccoon Force Field" electric wall of doom, instantly stopped raccoons from breaking in to our porch through this screen (sly chuckle lol)

We actually love the raccoons and would never do anything to intentionally hurt them, the electric fence charger is totally safe and UL approved.


We love all the animals at P2