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These are some of the friends I have living in my pond. Some were put there purposely, some just moved in on their own. Each have their own personalities and have provided a ton of relaxing moments.
In the spring of 2000, I got the bright idea to put in a pond for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Brother Mark and I went in together on purchasing the set-up, but it was my labor that went into putting it in the yard.
I worked diligently on the project, anticipating the final outcome. With the help of my parents and friends, it was finally in place and full of water. I bought a few water plants and plants for around the perimeter, but there was still no life in the area.
My friends, Joe and Kris Wojewodka, started me out with a few plants and graciously gave me four fish. I was thrilled when I was able to look into the water and see the graceful little creatures gliding through the water! At last, it was truly a pond!
With the bottom pond now sporting four lively fish, I thought the top pond needed some, too. I promptly went to the local pet store and purchased five little 25cent gold fish of different colors and patterns. I released them in the top pond, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
The next day, I came outside to feed the fish and found that I no longer had five small fish in the top pond. Three had gone over the waterfall to the lower pond! I figured if the bigger fish didn't eat them, they would be safe. The two in the top hid from me and spent the biggest part of the summer out of sight.
All during the summer, I sat beside the pond, dreaming and relaxing and enjoying the solitude. I had made friends with the fish in the big pond and had fun handfeeding them. They got to the point of being so friendly I could actually stroke them and pick them up. What a group!
Then came winter. It was cold and harsh, and I hated not being able to spend time with my little finned friends. I was afraid that if I stayed away too long, they would forget me, and I would have to start all over again with the training. Once during a particularly cold period, the waterfall froze, pumping all the water out of the pond. My dad and I scrambled to save what we could by filling the bottom pond back up with buckets of water in 3-degree weather! There was only enough water in there to barely cover the fish. I was sure I would lose them. We bought a heater and had no more problems no matter how cold the weather got. The fish stayed dormant and hidden so it was going to be a long wait until spring to find out who had survived and who hadn't.
Spring finally arrived and much to my amazement, the fish had made it through! They were all shy again, and it took some work and coaxing to get them to feed from my hand again. We had a tough go of it for awhile with cloudy dark water and a bad ammonia build-up. I lost one of my bigger fish, so I completely tore the pond apart and scrubbed it out. What a chore! The fish weren't happy about being put in a bucket, but that was the best for them at the time. The pond was cleaned and refilled and clear as could be. They went back in and were happy again.
I thought the problems had been solved by cleaning the pond, but they weren't. The ammonia built up again and the water became dark and murky. Not only had I gotten rid of the bad bacteria, but the good as well. I had to buy several chemicals to recondition the pond and its water. Unfortunately, I now only have six fish of the original nine. All of them are in the big pond, but the water situation has been remedied, and all are living very happily.
It seems that word got out sometime in the summer of 2000 that there was a new watering hole in the area. Overnight it became home to five frogs of different sizes and colors.
The fellow in the picture is the biggest of the group. I call him "Greenie" (quite original, eh?). He is the vocal fellow of the bunch although he is relatively quiet most of the time. He enjoys sunning himself either in the pond or on the surrounding rocks. When he first showed up, he was very shy and would make a dive under the water whenever anyone came near. Now he sits patiently and watches as I feed the fish or Holly the dog takes a big drink from the pond. I'm waiting for the day he tries to grab her pink tongue!
Greenie seems to be a most regal fellow. He poses whenever he can and really enjoys being photographed. He has gotten to the point of being comfortable around me so that I can touch him and get very close pictures of his big round eyes.
This year, I have only seen three frogs around the pond for the most part. I don't know if Greenie exiled two of them or they just decided to move on to bluer waters. Greenie shares his domain with a middle-sized frog and a little guy that we call "Peeper." Peeper and the middle frog are much more shy than Greenie, and they dive under the water or into the pond whenever they catch sight of you looking at them from the front door of the house. Whether they will become as friendly as Greenie is hard to say.
We thought that maybe this year we would end up with a pond filled to the brim with baby fish and tadpoles. So far neither has been spotted in the water. Maybe later in the summer we will be able to see little swimmers in the pond or tiny frogs sitting on the rocks. Until then, we are happy to have the friends we have, and we hope they will be around to share the pond and the yard for years to come.
This year, 2002, the pond is starting out basically the same way it ended last year. The water is very dark and murky. We do have additions to the pond life, though. Our frog friend, Greenie, is still around, but there are three other frogs joining the living arrangements. They range in size from almost as huge as Greenie to one small little guy that is probably some undiscovered baby from last season! Greenie has also showed some surprising behavior. One day, he allowed me to pick him up, and as I stood and gently held in both of my hands and talked to him, he puffed up his throat and talked back! We had quite the conversation, and it was one of the wildest experiences I've had yet!
Not only were we surprised by the rise in the frog population, but it seems the fish have been quite busy, too. We now have an extreme amount of baby fish of every possible size and color. There are several that have white and orange on them, some with orange and black, some orange, black, and white, and those that are solid white, orange, or black. They also range in size from about two inches to less than half an inch in length. It will be interesting to see how things progress this year. So far, the older fish are still friendly and enjoy being hand-fed and handled. The youngsters are a bit shy, but seem to be coming around. By the time this summer is over, I'm sure they will be just like the older fish!
There was only one disturbing trend that was quickly put to a halt, or at least I hope it was. One sunny spring afternoon, I walked out to the pond, only to catch sight of a striped snake slithering under the lip of the upper pond for shelter. Needless to say, snakes aren't my favorites and this guy had to go! A few days later, he slithered out to take an afternoon walk, and my dad made certain that he won't be returning to the pond area. Nothing personal, but I didn't want him eating any of my little aquatic friends! I hope that is the last of those critters I see!!
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