I got an Internship at a Refuge! (HUGE DUW)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

You are a 22 year old with a vision! That's amazing work on that pond already! You deserve to skate it after all that back breaking bucket work. Can't wait to see the finished product (please take pictures along the way...and keep copies...this sort of stuff is GOOD on the resume!). Big hugs on your dedication to the refuge and it's critters. :)

---

I totally second what Jo says here!! Awesome work on that pond!! I think a waterfall will be very good for it. It definitely needs some sort of circulation of the water to stay healthy. Probably some sort of filtration as well...I'm not sure how outdoor ponds work.

Keep up this sort of hard work, and you'll earn a great deal of credibility with the "powers that be" and in the future have a lot more influence on other positive changes needed there. :gj:

(SUPER-cute fawn, too!! What a little heart breaker!)

thanks guys. i know it sounds weird, but when i wake up at 7am (which, ask any college student on his day off from classes, is UNHEARD OF haha), i think of the people that support what im doing and it really helps me get out of bed. that, and toasters strudels.

If someone said to me wake up early and you can spend a day helping animals I would be up and out the door by 7!

p.s. Now I want toaster strudels:P

Gonna need to be some tree clearage for basking, but its lookin real good!

thats gonna be a little difficult, as all the trees are probably 20 yards tall, but ill see what i can do. good lookin out

Wont need to cut them down, just some limbs, it will give them basking light, and keep leaves out of the pond. The down side may be algae growth promotion.

nothin much goin on today. finished up cleaning the pond, skated it for a few minutes, and raked raked raked. my next, and probably most painful task will be weeding...lots of weeding.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1307.jpg

so many leavesssss
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1308.jpg

you can see where i started weeding, thats about an hours work..nothing but vines that never enddddd
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1309.jpg


and heres a squirrell that i think we are letting go soon...just hanging out.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1313.jpg

hopefully ill get more done on friday. ill need a hatchet...and gloves. whew

thanks for looking.

:D Cool! When i was scrolling down I only saw the top of the squirrel pic and was like Yeah let him go hes drowned!! But its ok now I've figured it out :P :rockon:

I wish i could do that

update

today i weeded. the one thing i have been dreading since day 1. armed with a hatchet, i went to work.

went from this:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1309.jpg

to this:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1314.jpg

and finally:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1315.jpg

oh man, what a relief.
the turtles will now be able to walk around without being caught up in all those vines. i tried to pull them up from the roots, but realistically, i know that it will take weekly maintenance to keep this thing from going under.

ill be going to home depot this week and getting some cheap, native plants that i can plants around the pond and landscape, as well as some rocks to make the waterfall.

oh, and im going to try to make a cheap, floating island in the middle of the pond...maybe tied down to a cinderblock or something, so they turtles can feel safe, yet still bask. any ideas?

oh, and i found this frog- released him in a lake down the road. pretty cool looking.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1318.jpg

thanks for looking.

Can I have you give me the grand tour of this refuge?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nathanledet

Can I have you give me the grand tour of this refuge?

---

haha thatde take about 15 min. its a small place. but sure haha

Wow! What an amazing job you've done! I worked at a refuge but it was no where in that much need of help! I just worked with their many deer that came through the doors. You are one dedicated and giving soul! Great job with the pond and helping this place out!

Wendy

Great work! Looks like you've accomplished quite a bit!:sweeet:

Ohh my gosh! What an awesome job you're doing!

Since I bought the rack from a local guy, I now suffer ETS....lol and would love to give a couple of your snakes a home.

Keep up the great work. < Wished I had YOUR energy! :rolleye2: >


RuLyn:salute:

Well I did a bit of Googling (don't I always) and came up with a TON of sites for you about pond building...too many to even link them all here. What I did was Google using the words "building a natural concrete pond" and boy do you get a lot of info on waterfalls, shade, etc. (yes I know natural and concrete are sort of opposites but I wanted to pull information about making a concrete pond look natural). I also Googled using "maintaining water quality concrete pond" and again got a lot of great sites. This site in particular seemed very helpful as far as all around information on pond building and maintenance...

http://www.squidoo.com/pondlady/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

Well I did a bit of Googling (don't I always) and came up with a TON of sites for you about pond building...too many to even link them all here. What I did was Google using the words "building a natural concrete pond" and boy do you get a lot of info on waterfalls, shade, etc. (yes I know natural and concrete are sort of opposites but I wanted to pull information about making a concrete pond look natural). I also Googled using "maintaining water quality concrete pond" and again got a lot of great sites. This site in particular seemed very helpful as far as all around information on pond building and maintenance...

http://www.squidoo.com/pondlady/

---

Wow. im looking at this site right now. thanks alot! i googled alot as well, but never saw this site. thanks!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

It looks like they sure need help and maybe have gotten overwhelmed (hopefully this is not hoarders masked as a refuge but only you will figure that one out).

---

That is my concern as well.

I love the fact that he is willing to put in his time to make very necessary changes but I wonder if he leaves will it go back to the way it was?

I hope the people are just overwhelmed and his efforts will really make a long term difference.

Awsome work, how can I find a refuge local to me?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Subzero

Awsome work, how can I find a refuge local to me?

---

phone book maybe? or ask your vet. most of our animals come from people who dropped them off at their vet

First day Ive been able to work in a while. Finals week is comin up, blah blah blah. anyways, i went to home depot last night and bought some cheap plants. i wanted natural ones that grew here in north florida. they needed to have alot of shade and no "watering". I spent like $20 on 8 plants, then went around the refuge and picked out some nice small ones and relocated them. hopefully they will make the turtles feel a lil more like home.

it was dark out- sorry for the crappy pics.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1326.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1325.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1324.jpg

and a baby armadillo that we received! he's eating really well and gettin fat
editwhy do i always have to kiss everything? whata nerd
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1321.jpg

thanks for lookin.

i wont be able to come out again for another 2 weeks cause of school, then i have to go to ohio to visit family. prolly see yall back around may 8ish. :(

Armadillo!!!! :carrot: What a little cutie!! I'd wanna kiss it, too! :P :D


The pond looks like it's coming along amazingly! It'll be turtle-heaven!! I'll bet the folks who run the refuge must be pretty impressed with how much work you're willing and capable of doing!

i dont know if they are impressed or not. the pond is out-of-the-way and no one really stops by and looks. some people who work there didnt even know we had a pond.

besides, im doing this for the ones who CANT say thanks ;)

That armadillo is a doll!!!:D

Awesome! With the rampant land development (at least around my area) it is always good to see new ponds going in.. poor frogs and toads need somewhere to breed..

yea for real. some guy just donated ALOT of land to us (over 1000 acres). so i hope we can put some of it to good use. right now, we only use about 200 yards of it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NotAnotherHonda

i dont know if they are impressed or not. the pond is out-of-the-way and no one really stops by and looks. some people who work there didnt even know we had a pond.

besides, im doing this for the ones who CANT say thanks ;)

---

Thank you! (for the ones who can't say thanks!)

I gotta tell you, I really look forward to seeing your updates!

Steve

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NotAnotherHonda

yea for real. some guy just donated ALOT of land to us (over 1000 acres). so i hope we can put some of it to good use. right now, we only use about 200 yards of it.

---

WOW, 1000 acres? That is stunning; I am so overjoyed when I hear about things like this.. those are 1000 less acres to be built on and ruined by man :)
I was happy to find that my LLord wants to donate the land here for a nature reserve (about 300 acres.) when he dies.

went to home depot today with $40 and got some river rock. only could afford 10 bags. but i wanna make the rocks go all around the pond. ill need anout 20 more bags! anyways, i forgot my camera so i could only take 1 pic with my phone.


went from this
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1326.jpg

to this
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rhonda/tom.jpg

ill finish it when i get time. this is finals week!

I love these updates! Keep it up, please. :-)

my friend donated like 11 octagon stepping stones tonight, so im goin out there tomorrow and making a pathway from the dirt road to the pond. itll look sweet. plus, im gonna tryyyy and make the gate tomorrow. if we have all the materials, which is of course a NO haha.

Man I gotta get involved in something like this. I wanna donate some money to you guys. Wish we all could donate like 5 dollars to you guys!

Whattya say everyone?

You know if you need that many bags from Home Depot, I'd talk to the refuge owners about writing to Home Depot Corporate and asking for either a donation or a discount on supplies. It can't hurt and a lot of corporations do quite a bit of community things...the worst they can say is no. Maybe do a small write up with your photo's to show the bad condition of the pond, what you've done so far and how a donation from Home Depot would move that project along. List or show photo's of some of the rescued turtles that would live out a wonderful life in that pond when it's done. Heck offer to post a nice "this pond adopted by Home Depot" sign once it's done or something like that. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

You know if you need that many bags from Home Depot, I'd talk to the refuge owners about writing to Home Depot Corporate and asking for either a donation or a discount on supplies. It can't hurt and a lot of corporations do quite a bit of community things...the worst they can say is no. Maybe do a small write up with your photo's to show the bad condition of the pond, what you've done so far and how a donation from Home Depot would move that project along. List or show photo's of some of the rescued turtles that would live out a wonderful life in that pond when it's done. Heck offer to post a nice "this pond adopted by Home Depot" sign once it's done or something like that. :)

---

thats a good point. cause Im also gonna need some (expensive) slabs of rock to make the waterfall...Im just worried about how ling something like this might take. I wanna get these guys out in the sun asap.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 8b8ll

Man I gotta get involved in something like this. I wanna donate some money to you guys. Wish we all could donate like 5 dollars to you guys!

Whattya say everyone?

---

that would be rediculously awesome. I cant ask anyone to do that, but If you wanna throw some money my way, Im all for it ha.

Well start out with talking to the refuge owners, then maybe you can put together a proposal with pics and a short write up and make an appointment to sit down with the local Home Depot manager (also Lowe's...double up the chances someone will say yes to you). Explain the timeline and how you need to get this pond up and running for the poor turtles (lay it on a bit thick....poor poor homeless...errrr... pondless turtles :( ) If by chance they both say yes, then you have an abundance of riches and can have one company sponsor the pond and the other sponsor another worthy project at the refuge.

thanks alot joanna! ive been thinkin about this all day and i think im gonna do it. i cant afford this anymore.

on a lighter note, i got serious work done today. i used my friends donated bricks to make a pathway, and finally got that dreaded gate done! took alot of work-its not the prettiest but it works perfect.

pathway before (aka "the ankle sprainer")
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...onda/path2.jpg

after
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...honda/path.jpg

and the gate. theres wire that goes under and curls in about a foot down so no one can escape
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...honda/gate.jpg

You know you might want to consider landscaping as a career. You've got a real eye for it.

If there's anyway I can help you as far as writing a proposal or a letter of support when you approach Home Depot/Lowe's please just let me know. I think your committment to this project is just wonderful! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by frankykeno

You know you might want to consider landscaping as a career. You've got a real eye for it.

If there's anyway I can help you as far as writing a proposal or a letter of support when you approach Home Depot/Lowe's please just let me know. I think your committment to this project is just wonderful! :)

---

thank you so much. ill keep you updated. i need all the help i can get! haha

I love all of the work you're doing, it's great there are other people out there tat care. I have looked for a place around here for the same reason but haven't been able to find anything!

thanks! i just got back in town from jacksonville today, and im gonna try and find time to go out there tomorrow and see how messed up the pond got in the 2 weeks i have been gone. wish it luck! haha

i forgot my camera again, so i had to use my camera phone! grrrr

i used some cypress mulch for the rest of the border (boss wanted me to use it), but i only get mulch that is recycled or uses only scrap wood. (did you know that most cypress mulch comes from cypress trees that are torn down SOLELY for mulch?) pay a lil extra and get the stuff that only uses byproduct wood.

anyways, here are some crapppppppy pics. sorry
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rhonda/4-1.jpg

filled in the pond too!!!!!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rhonda/3-1.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...rhonda/1-1.jpg

beautiful, huh?!?!

turtles should be going in this week, after i get the waterfall taken care of!!!

well today was just another day, kinda

i completed the pond, officially, i think. made the waterfall-its not 110% done yet (still need to hide the top of the hose), but i wanna make sure everythings cool with the boss before i do all that.
we have visitors already, and the turtles havent been in yet!
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1449.jpg

to recap:


before-
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1286.jpg

after
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1448.jpg

before
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1287.jpg

after- not exactly the same shot, but close
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1450.jpg

the waterfall-im just gonna make it trickle so the turtles can chill on the rocks.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1453.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1454.jpg

buried the hose (which was put into a 1.5" pvc pipe to prevents gnawing/biting through
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1455.jpg

another view
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1451.jpg



aside from that, we have a HUGGGGGE mite infestation. we are treating them with "CVS Bedding Spray", but a friend of mine who i got my snake from (Susan at SSNAKES.com) gave me a can of provent-a-mite. hopefully itll work better. here is a pic of an albino burmese that keeps getting worse. what should i ask to do? soak him (in that solution that starts with B. Bactynine or something?) every snake we have now has mites, no matter how much we spray there tanks. this is another reason i wanna make a rack- these things are THRIVING in the wooden/screen setups we have

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1447.jpg

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1452.jpg

and here is me feeding Delilah
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e1...a/HPIM1445.jpg

take care guys. let me know what i can do about the mites. we dont have space to quarantine them anywhere. :(

When you spray the PAM, spray the whole enclosure, not just the snake. While you are at it, if the snakes are in a room by themselves, spray the whole room. A snake I got off KS had mites and I did not catch it for a few days and by then the mites had spread a good bit. I sprayed PAM through each enclosure and on the wood that makes up the rack and in the surrounding area on the floor.

the directions say to do a "one second spray" for every square foot of the enclosure. it says to NOT spray the snake or water-even take them out before you spray the tank. i only sprayed in 1 spot for 1-2 seconds, as per the instructions and the breeder i received the can from.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NotAnotherHonda

the directions say to do a "one second spray" for every square foot of the enclosure. it says to NOT spray the snake or water-even take them out before you spray the tank. i only sprayed in 1 spot for 1-2 seconds, as per the instructions and the breeder i received the can from.

---

sorry, i didn't read before I posted. I didn't mean to physically spray the snake. I meant to spray more of the enclosure than just the bedding.

Awesome man!! Wish I could be down there with you helping. Keep up the good work and keep posting pictures!!


Mike

Good luck with the mites!

You are doing amazing! All of that work you put in you will get back 10 fold I promise! That's a great thing you did and the animals will appreciate it. Keep up the awsome-ness! :rockon:

thanks alot guys. i really appreciate that!!!