Thank you plantman. The deepest part of my pond is just 28" so I think that I'll be going along with the heated tank in the garage. The weather forecast for the winter in this part of the world is supposed to be especially long and bitterly cold - so what else is new in Canada? Like saying that it's dark at night followed by lighter in the morning...

Newgen, just offering my own experiences. I have had both tropicals and hardies survive in my pond here in Zone 6b with a little help. I built an inexpensive frame out of wood to cover the pond and stapled 3.5m plastic to it. Left it on all winter, and even my blue beauty tropicals survived, so I think some species are a little tougher than they're given credit for. This year, I put a Dauben tropical in a patio pot with an aquarium heater and a little plastic over the top, and the water has stayed amazingly warm. I had a blossom over Christmas, with snow on the ground! So, tropicals can be wintered outside with a little help. Hardies, as mentioned, will come through all kinds of winters like little troopers. You may want to try one tropical and see how much trouble it is for you, or you can treat them as annuals and replace them every year. If the water stays above 50 degrees, even most tropicals should overwinter. A two foot deep lily pond is adequate. I have lilies in a two foot deep section of my pond, and they bloom all summer. Don't forget to fertilize with either pond tabs or you can make a small bundle using Osmocote or similar, or you can even use plant food spikes. For mosquito control, you can simply put in a couple of comet goldfish or shubunkins

I'm looking for some pond plants that would go well in small containers. I'd love a dwarf lotus and/or waterlily, maybe some dwarf papyrus. Basically anything that'd be OK in a bucket on my porch that has pretty flowers. :) I don't have a lot to trade so I'd love if this could be for SASBE but if that's not kosher we'll see if we can work something out. Please note that I'm a sloooow trader, but can get your stuff to you faster if it can be mailed out of my mailbox at home. Thanks! -kettish

While I was refilling all the hummingbird feeders around 5 of 5:15 or so, it clouded up from the south and -- woo hoo--actual moisture fell from the skies! Nothing for most people to get really excited about, only about a quarter-inch, but it was our first rain in about 2 weeks, and any rain is better than no rain. Parts of Love County and Carter County got a lot more than we did, but I'm just relieved that some rain fell. We had a couple of little windy microbursts within the two quick showers that passed through, and I know at least one tree is down in Marietta, blocking the road. The rain has left us and is headed for the Madill and Tishomingo area. You should see the wet guineas and chickens running around, with their little wet feathers all fluffed up and sticking out so they can dry out. The temperature dropped from the mid-90s to the lower 80s which might be the best part of all! I wonder if it would do any good to hope for more rain? Dawn