Hello from Cheshire

[MarkN]

Hi Nature lovers

New member here. Started my wildlife pond last year, with great success This year I prepared much better, with making it not so overgrown but still retaining a natural look!

However, this ridiculous weather means the pond has frozen a few times with frog spawn in it. I'm not sure if any will survive AS I speak it is snowing down! So fed up!!

Here's to an improvement in the weather

[MarkN]

[kata]

Welcome to the forum Mark,

(Weather) is cruel at the moment but hope it changes soon to warmer (weather) I heard if you put in a ball into the pond (before) it freezes it prevents a freeze.

[MarkN]

Hi Kata,

Thanks

I tried the ball thing..it just froze around it lol. I just worry that the frogs won't lay any spawn once the weather improves as it will be past there 'time'..not sure if it works like that though!

[tropicalwon]

Welcome Mark

Great pond area ...especially the pebble beach

I have a wild life pond as well which has been left to it's own devises for a few years and is normally chock-a-block with frogs & spawn at this time of year but due to this very cold spell we're experiencing at present I've only seen a few frogs, that's when the pond ain't frozen. also there's no sign of frog spawn either......

A couple of pics to show:

Pond June 2012

Frozen Pond 27 March 2013

[MarkN]

Hi Tropicalwon

Thanks - i love your lily pads! We moved our litle lily from the fish pond into the wildlife pond last year and it really flourished, hoping for better this year..once it reappears hopefully!

I'm a bit concerned about the pebbles as froglets can get stuck on them in warm weather..indeed i found one last year stuck on one (yes we had at least one decent day last year!!). I'm looking for something to provide a gradual slope out of the pond to allow the froglets to come and go, hopefully into something under cover to hide.

[grub]

Welcome to the madhouse Mark

[fern Rob]

Welcome

[Dave Brown]

Hi Mark, and welcome

My Frog spawn has also been frozen and doesn't appear to be growing now, so ether wasn't fertilised, or the frost has killed it

[MarkN]

Hi all, thanks for the welcome,

My original spawn which has freeze/thawed several times looks ragged and is getting mushy..no idea if any taddies survived it was froze again this morning

However, we had new spawn yesterday but layed in the fish pond. So rather than letting the fish eat it, i've put it in a fish bowl and stored it off the ground on a shelf with the potted plants. Hopefully when it warms up a bit I can put it in the wildlife pond. Do you reckon it will ok in this bowl for a few days?

[fern Rob]

I should think aslong as it does not freeze it will be ok.

[MarkN]

I should think aslong as it does not freeze it will be ok.

Thanks Rob. Blinking weather!

[MarkN]

Well, for all my worry, loads of the spawn survived despite the pond surface freezing and thawing a dozen times! Lesson learnt My pond is now teeming with taddies

[kata]

Brilliant news Mark