The reflection pictures I posted were all of my pond, which is just behind my house, tucked into the edge of the woods. These pictures were taken during one of our walks, at a pond about a mile from here. It belongs to an old gentleman who has a little cabin in the woods and a pond with some fish that he feeds. How do I know that he feeds them?
Because, when I threw a stick in the water for Tanner, they all swarmed up after him looking for hand outs.
My camera was too slow to catch it, but the fish were swimming after Tanner. As in...trying to decide if Tanner might be edible. A few of the faster and braver souls even tried to grab a mouthful of his fur as he swam by. I didn't throw the stick again because I didn't want Tanner to get freaked out by a bunch of piranhas attacking him from below.
As for my fish, I have no idea. I know that I had one casualty, as I found a dead fish a couple of weeks ago. It looked like it might have gotten attacked by a snapping turtle. I don't know, but that is what it looked like to me. On the positive side, it had survived up to that point and looked healthy otherwise so I am just hoping that the other 29 catfish are still alive and well. And watching out for snapping turtles.
The water in my pond is fairly clear, but the pine trees around it leech tannin into the water, making it the color of black tea and impossible to see down into. I think the only way I will ever see any fish in my pond is if they come up near the surface. The only way they are likely to do that, is if I start feeding them.
If I ever mention a desire to start feeding my fish, please remind me to visit my neighbor's pond for a reminder of why I should NOT do that!
Friends of ours have a very large pond/pool which they populated with a total of 30 fish initially. Read what happened here (it's worth clicking through, I promise!)
ReplyDeletehttp://talesandtravel.com/2011/07/21/a-fishy-tale/
I've had several people offer me some gold fish for my pond, this is exactly why I keep saying no thank you. Loudly and repeatedly:)
DeleteThe catfish I put in my pond probably will never reproduce because the water is too cold. There will be no swimming pools in their future!
What a hilarious tale! Not so funny, though, for your hard-working friends. Love the photos of the bassin and the goldfish.
DeleteThanks for the explanation, but I think I will let my imagination keep the image of giant catfish swimming in your pond! I understand about the tannin - I hiked along the Suwannee River in Florida and the water there is very dark from it. Now I have to go check out the "fishy tale".
ReplyDeleteNancy in Iowa
I'm with Mom L....in my mind that was your fish and they are thriving wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteYou do the right thing to not let Tanner take a swim. It must be better to know what kind of fish it is.
ReplyDeleteNice pictures.