Mystery Solved!

Say hello to my babies!  The water is very clear now, and you can see all the way to the bottom.  The fish are probably not too happy about this, but usually there is no one to bother them.  You can see that my plants are still submerged.  Soon I will pull them up, and drain about 10 percent of the water from the bottom drain, to try to get debris and any sludge off the bottom.  That combined with beneficial bacteria that I add will keep things healthy.

Here are some more pics of my babies. (well, they're not babies, but you know...)

Guess what?  I already had my first mystery, and yes, it was"Why is the water level falling so fast?"  The water level had dropped about five inches since I started up the pump.  I filled it way up, actually till it was overflowing because I forgot to turn off the hose (Happens more than I like to admit).  The next day, water level has dropped another two inches.

 Interestingly, an employee at Blue Ribbon Koi said to think about the possibility of the liner getting punctured by the weight of all the heavy snow and ice over the winter.  This is not a happy prospect.  But I was hoping it was just the usual--the sides of the upper pool and waterfall sinking. I spent the last couple days poking around the edges, trying to find an obvious breach but to no avail.  Was going to enlist the help of my husband Doug to move some of the bigger rocks.

Well, you know how when you just go about other tasks that also need to be done, you sometimes solve the previous problem?  That's what happened.  The large ornamental grass, I think Maiden Hair, needed her haircut badly, so this afternoon I gave it to her.  This brought me closer to my filter and there it was---the water is leaking out between the fitting from the hose to the filter. Mystery solved!  But Hubby still has to help me repair the leak.  Probably just use teflon tape, or silicone gel, but sometimes I just like to have company.  You can see the water leaking out pretty fast.

The other task I did today was clear away some more dead plant material, especially from the irises.  I found that their rhizomes were indeed damp from leaves and dead plants, so I think it was a good thing to do, even though we are likely to get some frost still.  I hope I made the right decision.

I have a new theory about clearing debris.  If it comes off from the base of the plant easily, then it is definitely time to remove it.  For my native Daylilies, I am feeling like I need to leave the dead leaves on a little longer.  They will act as a naturally occurring mulch to protect from frost, as they are already sprouting too.  But they bloom later than the irises, AND their dead leaves are still firmly attached to the base.  I do a lot of cleaning up in the fall, so it's a little confusing to know what to do, especially since I did not want the Irish Potato Blight to overwinter in the debris.

These irises will grow into healthy, purple-blossomed beauties by Mother's Day.  And here you can see their rhizomes that like air and sun.