The pond

Yesterday my friend D came over early and we went down to the pond with some Pond Master and a super soaker to try to get the weed killer on the lily pads that have taken over.  I wouldn't mind so much if they would flower but they don't. Only a small area of the water is visible.  I'm pretty sure the carp I put in there a while back are gone, either by suffocation or blue heron.  The reason for the super soaker is that it will spray 30 feet whereas a normal sprayer only goes about 10 feet.
I have not been down to the pond in quite some time.  The last time I went down there (about 2 years ago) alone, I broke my leg.  That's another story.  Needless to say the vegetation has taken over and needs to be dealt with. My friend D doesn't want me to go down there by myself and, actually, neither do I.  Anyway, she had the day off yesterday so she came over early and down we went.  The super soaker worked like a charm and it was actually somewhat fun to let the lily pads have it.  Hopefully the solution soaked into the pads and started to work.  We did have a brief shower in the afternoon so we'll see if that affected the stuff.
As for the dam, I'm going to try to get the guy who mows for me to go down and take care of cleaning that up.  A number of sweet gums have sprung up and they need to be gone along with the rest of the weeds, which are knee high.  It isn't surprising that things are a mess since it's been neglected all this time.  The overflow pipe is still clear enough for water to go into it even though there is growth around it.  That kind of acts like a filter I guess.  If all else fails I'll make up some non-toxic weed killer and go down when it's a clear day and let the weeds have it.  Would really rather not have to though.
"Owning" property (I really feel that I don't own it, but rather am caretaker) can be hard work.  I'd rather that than rent.  At least I can pass it down to family.
If any of you out there in the blue nowhere have any suggestions as to how to get rid of the lily pads please give me the information.  Thanks!
Y'all have a loverly day and remember:  today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.