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frozen bird bath-winter is here
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Posted by Chris_MI z5 MI (My Page) on Thu, Nov 11, 04 at 10:00
| Nov 10, in Ann Arbor, MI I found the water in my plastic bird bath completely frozen, and a 1/4" layer of ice on the inground preformed plastic pond. After it melts I will try again to capture those 2 gold fish so they can live in the garage with the water lilies. My last chore will be to turn the compost pile, put the wooden planters in the basement for a few coat of paint, and put up christmas lights. The neighbor put their lights up last weekend when it was warm, and already has them on!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: frozen bird bath-winter is here
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| The Tacky Police should issue your neighbors a citation! Christmas lights before Thanksgiving... baah humbug! |
RE: frozen bird bath-winter is here
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May I suggest you not turn the compost pile....at this time.
Your pile, if it has some fall gatherings.....grass clippings, leaves, dead annuals....etc....is trying to generate some heat in there.....especially from the grass clippings if you have wetted down the pile. Turning it may indeed put some oxygen into the pile but not much anything is happening in there without heat. Over winter the pile is resting....unless there is still latent heat that has been allowed to be generated from what we've added before the low temperatures arrived. I would further suggest you cover your bin/s to prevent snow/rain/snow/ice/rain from inundating your bin and freezing over. The earth there will freeze in its own time but you may have still some latent heat down there for a while. You could leave a corner open for putting in there additional kitchen scraps. And the bird bath; you are advised to remove the bowl from the pedestal and avoid possible ice thawing/freezing/thawing.....leading to cracked bowls.
Instead, remove the bowl and place it on a wooden pallett...of sorts....a piece of 2 by 4 will do...as long as the bowl doesn't rest on frozen ground it will survive deep freezes. Wood is a very good non-conductor of heat and cold....so the bowl will never feel the cold, yet will be ready and able to be put back onto the pedestal when spring arrives. You should also ensure the pond does not entirely freeze over.. the fish will then be able to gain some oxygen. |
RE: frozen bird bath-winter is here
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| Thanks DianeK for the hints. I needed to dig out the quack grass growing into the sides of the pallet compost bin, not really turning the compost pile over, just trying to neaten it up and get the grass out. I forgot about putting a tarp on it. Yes the bird bath even though it is plastic and wired to a hyperturfa toad house that I made, gets layed on its side, ready for spring. I have seen too many concrete/clay bases with split tops in the garbage to spend my money on them. The tiny fish pond is only a 50 gallons (got it free), so it freezes solid so the plants and fish live in the garage over the winter, where it never freezes. As I hurt my shoulder yesterday, I'll get my son to put the lights up and I agree, mine will not go on until after Thanksgiving. Why do people rush all the holidays? |
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