BUSY FROGS

These were last year, haven't seen any yet this year, too early may be.

A,that is just a lovely photo Shirlwhirl.

I thought you have thermal water spring in your garden at the first glance :))

They usually start crossing the roads in March round here to reach their breeding site , we sometimes go on frog patrol where we help them across the roads in buckets , a lot of them are run over .. poor things !

Yes Amy, I know, awful.
They use the Dowdeswell Reservoir near Cheltenham and they were always getting squashed on the road there.
Volunteers used to help them to cross the road there too, carrying them across every night. But then a few years ago the highways company made special little tunnels under the road for them to get over to the water & I do believe it has been a very successful scheme.
We don't get half so many stories in the Echo these days about squashed frogs there anyway!!
I love having them in our pond, but it has become very bad in the last couple of years and I don't feel able to clean it out and get it right again, so I don't know what will happen if I get rid of the pond. I can't cope with it any more!
Sorry frogs!!!! :((

Do you want some help with your pond? I had to clean mine 2 springs ago...have since bought a pond vacuum!!

Does it get the silt out of the bottom? Mine must be a foot deep I reckon!! Also the slimey weed is very persistent. How much is a pond vac Lulu?

about £99 I think. Silt is good for frogs and newts though....but it sure gets the silt out!

Thanks Lulu, but I suddenly thought - maybe I had better wait now, because the frogs will be hibernating in the silt , or whatever they do, then later they will be mating!! We also have some common newts in there.
When would be the best time do you think?
If I use a pond vac, does it harm any of the creatures?!!!
Can they be removed from the bag, or whatever collects the silt?
When I last cleaned it out - QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO!! - I got on hands & knees and scooped it all out after emptying the pond as much as possible!
Any frogs or newts or anything else I then removed safely.
What happens with a vaccuum? I certainly won't be getting on hands & knees any more!! Ha! Couldn't get down - or up again!!!

I came to the conclusion that the vacuum was a bit too powerful for the wildlife....so it's a bit obsolete now! By hand is best by a long way!
How big is your pond? I'm more than happy to help, while I can lol!

Actually thinking about it, the vacuum doest still come in handy for sucking up the water before going through the silt by hand. But fish really don't like going up the tube as I found out last year :( By mistake my favourite little fish got sucked up and she died..

Well thank you very much Lulu for the offer, but I wouldn't expect you to do that!! It's a horrible, filthy, smelly job! Maybe I'll see if my son will help, later on in the year!

Best of luck!!
Funnily enough, I don't mind the smell. I did mind the dozen or so dead critters I found after the big freeze 3 years ago :(

Another lass to borrow the pond vacuum!!

I could go on a pond vacuum round! In tractor if I must! A bit slow though..