Tootfinder

different flag today. 🇪🇸 #poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

and since it is a poolpond day surely that also means SANGRIA
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

The water is surprisingly chilly but on 35°C day, it is absolutely perfect.
SUCCESS
with: @…
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

Feels like a #poolpond day.
But first… need to get Sangria mixings!
#poolpond #backyardproject #pondlife #portalberni #hot #summer

I am usually a windows-open-in-the-car > A/C kinda guy but when it's 36°C outside, 38° according to the car, and also the phone overheats a little too readily causing lost Dashes, then the A/C goes on.
It's also better for the longevity of the IcedCap :)
#dasherLife #hot #portalberni

Going to my 30yr high school reunion like
(Except of course… we’re all that guy, or gal)
#portalberni #imold #highschool

Going out for some pond building parts but had to take a break at the cΓuumaʕas river (su-u-ma-as) to watch the fishers coming in from a morning of sockeye salmon fishing. 🎣
Lots of sounds of Bald Eagles in the distance. Probably in the trees across the river looking for a fish to snatch up.
check out the pro trailer parking with the offset stalls. 😂 🅿️
#portalberni #poolpond

A really nice story in our local news about how a small town musician got to be lead singer for the band he grew up idolizing. He just finished his first tour with Bachman Turner Overdrive ( BTO/The Guess Who). He did a shoot with Rolling Stone.
Lance was in my high school graduating class, ADSS 1995. He played guitar and bass in band. He's a good guy. I am so very happy for him. What an opportunity and honour!
#PortAlberni #BTO #Music #GuessWho #RollingStone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtygrQegVSw

Five days in a row of record breaking temperatures compared to the last 30 years.
#climatechange #endfossilfuels #portalberni https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/115100859229365413

The built-in skimmer is skimming! #poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

I just started up the pump! A short video. Lowest setting (40W)
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject
https://youtu.be/gs3dlFQdtYs?si=BStwWZ1u_fQzwk2X

yup... too soon. pump bay emptied before the flow was enough to replenish the pump circulation.
It'll take a few goes to get the pond up high enough. Will turn it back on shortly.
. #poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

I think we are very near critical mass. The pump bay is only barely emptying itself
now. And the pond is gradually overtopping the main part of the weir.
Now to line the top edge of the pond so surface debris only goes through the little inlet.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

Water off. Level is not 100% full but close enough that the pump can just run. We are expecting rain tonight that might be enough to completely fill it.
No leaks detected.
I’ll leave the pump at 100%/180W for a couple hours just to give it a good run. Then I will turn down to minimum tonight.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

The main pond is basically full now. I have been gradually increased the power of the pump. Now 100% at 160W. I won't normally have it at full power but this is good for testing.
I am basically patrolling the edge of the ponds looking for low points. Have shored up a few but nothing serious. The first round of tests with the filter addressed most of them.
When the holes filled over the winter I actually shored up the edges of the main pond then, so there isn't much to do there.
Just waiting for the pump bay to fill up completely now. It'll probably be about an hour. (the water hose has not been on full blast this whole time, only about 1/4)
Then we will see the full level of the entire system.
The Finger of water closest to me in this picture is the overflow that goes into the storm/sewer system. That is the final arbiter of the fill point of the pond.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

Got my water/utility bill for the spring/summer yesterday. (we get billed 3 times a year as part of our general city utilities bill including water, sewer and garbage/recycling fees).
Figured it would be a big water year this year so I've been wanting to see this. And of course, I have data going back to 2019ish.
Today's bill only goes to August 1st, so it doesn't include when we started to fill the #pondpool!
This was already a dry year in the spring and we were doing lots of watering in the front yard for the new ground cover in the modified driveway and the 3 new fruit trees.
Verdict:
2024: Apr 12 - Aug 7: 122, 200L
2025 Apr 14 - Aug 1 (7 less days!): 136,600L
It will be interesting to see if the August pond filling will add a big chunk onto our summer/fall consumption or if that is offset by both the brief August water restrictions, and the departure of both kids this fall to consume other people's water. ;=)
If you want an indication of how much water people use vs. yards: look at our August 2022 bill, which captures when we were on our cross-Canada roadtrip for 30 days in July/August of the 100 day period.
#water #consumption #gardening #utility #PortAlberni

and then there is the backyard... lol. The hazelnut tree is doing surprisingly well considering the chaos literally at its feet. The far flower garden with the blueberries and the only rose bush we like is also doing OK especially now that I have battled back against the encroaching blackberry vines.
I didnt capture the new plum, or the rhubarb-amazon, but they're ok too.
We are starting to make real progress on the pond/pool now. The inlets for the wetland filter are in the hole and we started placing the large rocks on the bottom... the first layer.
Many yards of rock and pebble to go! Oh, and I have had to peel back some of the liner
in the pool. I've decided I need to make a landing spot for one pump to live in the back corner of the pool so it can circulate water from the bottom.
Uncovered an anthill in the process! 🐜
#portalberni #yard #diy #poolPond

Some blooming closeups. #bloomscrolling #altgrass #portalberni #yard #diy

Fruit is happening! and more
flowers #bloomscrolling #altgrass #portalberni #yard #diy

Time for a walk around the yard as I was watering this morning. It's going to be hot today (30°C)
(see alt text for descriptions)
#bloomscrolling #altgrass #portalberni #yard #diy

lots of flowers now in the alt-grass including a new white and purple one! And the strawberries are ripe under the growing 🍎 tree!
It's weird when the driveway is the most productive part of the yard!
The hope though is that this is a preview of what our backyard will become over the next couple years. 🤞
Also managed to put the trailer back in its spot. The grass seems tough enough now to handle the traffic.
#bloomscrolling #altgrass #portalberni #yard #diy

*tenting fingers*
Excellent.
#freepipe #diy #itPaysToKnowPeople #poolpond #BackyardProject #portAlberni

the plumbing for the bog/wetland filter is nearly complete.
The last item I needed was some 6" PVC pipe for a cleanout. It'll go down through the milk crate so I can send a vaccuum hose down there.
It isn't easy to find this size at stores, but a friend of a friend came through with some free cutoffs. They'll work perfectly. Probably $50 worth of pipe! I only had to buy the plug ($40).
Befriend a tradesperson! 😀
#freepipe #diy #itPaysToKnowPeople #poolpond #BackyardProject #portAlberni

we are now on Stage 3 water restrictions! No fill *or* topping up of ponds or pools! So that definitely captures the #poolpond ;)
I'm going to go get an adapter for my little pond pump hose so it can hook up to a regular garden hose and we'll use all the #pool water for watering the gardens over the next few weeks until the rains truly return.
#Fire #PortAlberni #UnderwoodFire #Water #ClimateChange #Drought #DIY #BackyardProject
https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/115036554816818531

Officially the longest load I have carried with the trailer. 😂 Had to use 0.5 on the iPhone. 😆
#portalberni #poolpond #trailer #ev

The Federal NDP are on Vancouver Island strategizing for the upcoming Parliament.
Interim leader Davies:
""There's an ebb and flow to politics and I view it as an opportunity for our party to regenerate, to reimagine what a bold, progressive NDP looks like on the federal scene.””
I loved Jack Layton too, but I think it is time to leave Jack to the past. They really need to find someone who is here, in this moment, and can present a real vision for Canadians to strive for and achieve that is the opposite of what the Conservatives and Red-Tory Liberals are trying to do.
#CanPoli #CdnPoli #Tseshaht #Hupacasath #PortAlberni #Courtenay #Tofino
https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/federal-new-democrats-meet-with-nuu-chah-nulth-leaders-in-port-alberni-8243469

flowing!!! 🎉 💧
Ill stop filling soon for the night but this is a huge milestone! HAPPY DAY
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

It’s already 25°C and I am dripping with sweat… but a slight modification had to be completed! Made a shelf in the main #poolpond area to hold a milk crate, which will hold one of the pumps.
I decided it was critical to have circulation from the bottom of the pool including taking water from the bottom to send to the filter. But since the main pump area is in the intake bay/skimmer I would have had to bring a pipe up and over the wall and down into pool. (The pumps must be submerged in at least 6” of water at all times)
This would be inefficient and potentially have air lock problems… so I pulled back the three layers of liner and cloth and excavated a little nook in the already semi hidden back corner.
This will have to do. :) the sun was already coming over the house. The rubber liner gets very hot 🥵. Glad it didn’t take too long.
There will be a rock or some sort of wall below and in front of the crate to further support and hide it.
Oh, and now that the liner and stuff is all back, the 🐜 ants can go back to their regularly scheduled ant-ing.
#diy #backyardpond #hot #ants #gardening #homeimprovement #portalberni

ooohh! The water is at the top! Now we'll see where it chooses to go!
Looks like I will actually be taking some pebble *out* if I want to plant in an inch or so of water.
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

Not being on Facebook to see the daily misinformation-fuelled drama unfold in town is a blessing… and a curse, a little… example eleventy-million-and-one.
"When a bunch of American Naval personnel unloaded U.S. Coast Guard vessels at Clutesi Haven Marina in Port Alberni on Monday, social media sites blew up with rumours about why they were on Vancouver Island and why there were armed vessels making their way down the Alberni Inlet.”
😅😂
#SocialMedia #RumourMill #SmallTown #PortAlberni
https://www.albernivalleynews.com/local-news/us-coast-guard-vessels-cause-concern-at-port-alberni-marina-8098472

They’re little copter boats. See their little hulls? They would be adorable if they weren’t meant for deadly purposes.
I am surprised the CAF/USN base at Nanoose Bay (CFMETR) is not testing this tech. Seems like an optimal location. I guess they have enough to do with the torpedo testing.
There are joint Canada/USA/Mexico naval exercises happening off Vancouver Island. Saw some military trucks passing through #portalberni yesterday.
#war #nato #ukraine
https://mastodon.social/@MAKS23/114773098179052838

Time for the first fill and empty cycle. Not sure how many times I'll do this probably a bunch lol. We will see how long it takes to fill it. The hazelnut tree will get lots of water today.
While, it's doing that, I will keep working on the rock liner of the intake pump bay. If I can get that done today, then I can try to direct the overflow from the filter into the pump and set up a circulation.
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

I feel like I disrespected the backyard. So here is some backyard blooming and fruiting love! See the hazelnut!?
#bloomscrolling #fruit #grapes #rhubarb #portalberni #yard #diy #poolPond

Our apples are ready! The northern spys (the pair) are a little smaller and have a few more spots and things but they cut very nicely (in bowl) and they are very tasty. A little dry. Taste like pie. :)
The blushing delight is big and beautiful! Definitely an eating apple. A little sweeter than the N Spy.
Will pick them all tomorrow before the bears come!
#apple #portalberni #northernspy #blushingdelight

I found this in the back as I was cleaning up in case we need to evacuate.
Am I being too subtle?
cc: @…
#EndFossilFuels #bclng #underwoodfire #portalberni #canpoli #bcpoli #cdnpoli #climatedisaster #bcwildfire #ourWorldOnFire

#pondpool #backyardpond #diy #portalberni
Currently turning a very useful and formerly solid box into swiss cheese 🧀 to enable entry of one, and eventually up to two, 2" outlet pipes from the pump(s). This box is both a home for the pump and will act as a prefilter and skimmer. Need maximum inflow from the intake bay of the pond without totally compromising the strength of the box.
I am going to make seven big holes around the top/front and side and then perforate the box with smaller 1/4" holes around the bottom to promote circulation from all parts of the bay.
I will back fill around the box with pebble and 1" drain rock before concealing it with large rocks and flat slate.

Cutting of black pipe complete. Now to fill in the Bay with pebble and drainrock. #pondpool #backyardpond #diy #portalberni

By jove.... by complete coincidence I think the hose will be exactly the right length.
Hole is now made in the yellow milk crate for the pipe to attach directly to the inlet and reach down to the bottom of the pond. The rest of the pipe will attach to the outlet on top running up and out.
#pondpool #backyardpond #diy #portalberni

There's nothing quite like the energy of a small town fair :-)
I've probably been to the Fall Fair 30 out of my 47 years on the planet and I have never had a bad time.
#smalltown #portalberni #fair #home #fallfair #bc #canada #midway

It has been a super busy and tiring week… I took a moment to go outside and admire my driveway. Which is a weird thing to say!! 😂
I can’t believe how many different kinds of bees are buzzing in the flowers! And there are 30 Apples on EACH tree.
The clover is so nice to walk barefoot in, but I do keep an eye out for those bees!
I have reduced the watering now that it all seems established. Only 15min every 4 days. We are also on alternating-day water restrictions.
I am hoping that next summer it will be ok to either not water it at all, or only weekly at most as long as the pollinators are happy!
Reminder that life is good.
#gardening #portalberni #lawnalternative #bees #apples #bloomscrolling

I think I moved about a yard of drain rock into the filter this morning, but I have stopped now due to the smoke rolling in. :(
Probably need 4-5 more cart loads before I switch to the top layer of pebble.
#pondlife #backyardpond #poolpond #bcwildfire #airquality #gardening #portalberni

Here is the seed we used from West Coast Seeds. Look at the tiny white flowers starting to bloom in the new "grass"!
And a picture of last year's planting. It is 99% clover I thibk because we used an old bag and the flowers were no longer viable. But a few poppies did sprout!
#yardwork #diy #portalberni #alternativegrss #clover #bloomscrolling

this was the driveway before.
#yardwork #diy #portalberni #alternativegrss #clover #bloomscrolling

The (alternative mix*) grass is growing in the driveway and the rock tracks are solid.
* It’s not grass at all. Mostly native clover, plus poppies and some small flowering grasses. It looks patchy but the stated goal on the bag is for about 75% coverage so that it can grow, flower, seed itself, and then fill in naturally next year. I will add a picture of our side path that we did last year. The clover has indeed filled in nicely and it is staying nice and green with minimal water. You can see it on the left in the very back of the picture. The clover is about 30cm/1ft tall and is full of blooms.
#yardwork #diy #portalberni #alternativegrss #clover #bloomscrolling

#DoorDashLife
It's hot. The orders are backed up... but at least the hatch is big enough to have a quick snooze. 😆 😴
edit: ended up unassigning, the Walmart folks said they were 150 orders behind on the day. 😬 😆
#gigwork #gigEconomy #doorDash #PortAlberni #walmart

One of the main reasons I got into municipal politics in 2014 was because it seemed all city business in #portAlberni city council was happening “in-camera" (which means a meeting, not in public).
I'm glad the integrity commissioner has ruled against Ken Sim and his ABC Party councillors. It's not complicated. The Vancouver Charter is not different from the Community Charter used by every other municipality in BC. You can't have quorum and discuss business outside a public meeting. Period.
""If Council Members meet with quorum outside of an open meeting, discuss City business, and do so in a way that moves that business along the spectrum of decision making in a material way, there is a problem — they are depriving the public of participation in the policy development and decision-making processes that serve to build public trust and
confidence in local government," Southern wrote.
"Democracy is undermined.””
#BCPoli #BCMuni #CanPoli #Integrity #PublicMeetings #Democracy
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ken-sim-integrity-commissioner-1.7617152

Now that we have had our brief bit of fun with the #poolpond, it’s time to drain it so work on completing it can continue! It took just over 12 hours for my little spare pond pump to empty the main pond of about 80% of its water.
It will be empty by morning. I will empty the filter and intake bay as well just to clean everything out. The movement of the past couple weeks through the system will have loosened up a bunch of the gunk still on the various rocks in the filter so a full pump out should remove all that.
I will then concentrate on finishing the piping in the bottom of the main pond for the intake for the second pond and the “periscope” for the bottom returns.
Then I can work on building the rock wall to line the inside of the pond. Or at least experimenting to see if it will work at all!
If it *does* work and I have enough rock to at least start on the bottom layers of the inside wall, then I’ll be able to achieve another milestone: placing the final pebble on the bottom. Important, because that will prevent any groundwater from infiltrating and causing the rubber liner to bubble out.
Really really want to get past that mark before the autumn rains come! For obvious reasons! ☔️
Other jobs that need to be done before winter:
- finish the manifold for the second pump to distribute water to the sprayers and filter and figure out how and where to house and conceal it.
- Dig the electrical trench from the house all the way around the long side of the pond to the back tool shed so we can start wiring it in.
- Clipping the wires on the pumps and adding extension wire to them so they can reach said electrical supplies.
- permanently shore up/modify the borders of the ponds where they were found to be low.
- make a few other minor terraforming modifications for the stream and some of the edges so the water goes a little more where I want it to and a little less where I don’t.
#poolpond #backyardProject #portalberni #ponds #watergarden

Full thread of my observations of the tsunami overnight here in Port Alberni. I am really glad that I stayed up . once in a lifetime :-)
#tsunami #tsunami #portalberni #tofino #bamfield #ucluelet #earthquake #russia
https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/114941890691974692

Pond plumbing dilemna. Any plumbers out there?
The pond will have two strong pumps moving water through the bog filter and around the pool.
One pump will be dedicated to the filter (long black pipe).
The 2nd pump will split duty between the filter and providing water for 3 to 5 emitters in the bottom of the pool and around the edges.
The main piping is black 2” flexible pipe plus some PVC Sched40.
Plumbing Question: Should I reduce diameter once (as pictured badly lol) when branching from the mainline and then have valves for each and long runs of smaller 3/4 or 1/2" line to each sprayer.
Or keep it to 2" throughout and reduce at the outlets?
I would rather have the valve controls centralized than have them spread about where the sprayers are (obv not an option for the bottom ones anyway)
#Pond #DIY #Plumbing #PoolPond #PortAlberni #Home #BackyardPond

This is not the world I or my children deserved or asked for. #WesleyRidgeFire #ElonMusk #Tesla #ClimateChangeEmergency #EndFossilFuels #BCLNG #Fascism #Capitalism #endstagecapitalism #portalberni

The world is on fire, and the owner of an electric car company is helping fuel the flames of both climate change and fascist capitalism.
#WesleyRidgeFire #ElonMusk #Tesla #ClimateChangeEmergency #EndFossilFuels #BCLNG #Fascism #Capitalism #endstagecapitalism #portalberni

That was a once in a lifetime experience and I am grateful for it, even if I feel slightly bleary eyed!
#tsunami #portalberni #tofino #bamfield #ucluelet #russiaearthquake #pacific #youtube #earthquake #kamchatkaquake #vancouverIsland #oceanography #seismology
https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/114943955863726708