"Pond"ering And A Video Peek At Our Home

Glad you all seemed to like the video of our fish feeding.  It was while they were being fed that we were shocked to see just how many fish we had.  My fault.  When we extended the pond two years ago as we really wanted a Koi pond, I did not have the heart to let my goldfish go.  So they all went into the pond and the inevitable happened.  The goldfish bred with the goldfish, the Koi bred with the goldfish and what was originally twenty fish turned into around one hundred and fifty.

There is nothing that will bring disease into a pond quicker than overcrowding so we had to make a decision.  Some of them just had to go.  So, since I last posted we have had to drain out the pond to around four inches and then Mike has had to lay on a grill laid across the pond and catch whatever he could, trying not to stress the fish too much.  Believe me it was a long and difficult job and we have both hurt our backs in the process.  He had to keep passing the net to me so that I could transfer the fish into a container full of water and I had to keep leaning at full stretch across to try and "herd" the fish to where Mike had the net.  So now around thirty five fish have gone to a new home.  That is still nowhere near enough and we will have to do it again maybe before the winter comes but if not then certainly in the Spring before they start breeding again. We had intended to try and catch more but we had had enough by then and we are sure the fish had as well.  It then took seven hours to re-fill the pond during which time Mike got  the filters  and waterfall going again.

It was difficult deciding which ones to pick. I hated to see any of them go but you have to be sensible.  Also, for a long time we had tried to catch a fish that had a huge growth.  He/she always eluded us but this time we were successful.  No sooner had we lifted it out than it expired, just like that, so I think its time had come anyway and it was relieved to go.

So, some of those fish you saw on the film are no longer living here with us.  We also removed one of the water lilies.  They had grown very rampant and were taking up a good deal of the pond.  We kept the yellow one which is our favourite.  So, although there are still too many fish in the pond for the area or water and the depth, they do now have much more swimming space and as we have good filtration they should be o.k. for a while.

We did have some much needed rain  during the night and this morning.  Nowhere near enough but it was nice to see it.  The only problem is that the sun is out again now and there is a strong wind which will dry everything up again.

I have spent the last couple of days resting my back and reading.  A job like that will give anyone back ache but as I have problems with mine generally, I should have known I was asking for trouble!

Anyway, at the moment, I am limiting my computer time until it eases off but  I will try and get around to your journals as soon as I can.

Mike took another little bit of video for you.  A little peek at the outside of our home (the front) and the road we live in.  Hope that you enjoy viewing it.  You will see the new side gate Mike made on the extreme far left of the video, towards the end.

 

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Sugar has now posted the J-Land Anniversary Tribute to all our pets.  Please visit her and see what a beautiful, touching and loving job she has made of it -  

  MEMORIAL FOR THE BELOVED PETS OF J-LAND