We had 7 large goldfish going into winter. We now have two. About a month ago, things were stirred up in our goldfish pond and water plant pots overturned. That means one thing – raccoons. Obviously, one got in the pond and caught most of the dormant fish. Last summer, coons raided our pond and ate all our large snails – and at about $5 a pop. But no more, or at least we hope there will be no … [Read more...]
Fire Pits and Dry Wood
Last summer and fall, Nancy and I bided our Covid-induced leisure time by sitting beside our goldfish pond sipping cocktails and watching the frogs and goldfish enjoy their new digs. But for the past 2 months, the frogs have vamoosed and our goldfish have migrated to the deep part of the pond and out of sight. That’s when we decided to spend our evenings beside the fire pit, or should I say the … [Read more...]
More Baby Goldfish
Within a few weeks after installing our new goldfish pond this spring, our 8 original goldfish grew to 16, then 24. Our 4 year-old fish had spawned at least twice. I read that goldfish could actually spawn once a month between May and August and we wondered if the goldfish stork might deliver even more. Well, he did. There is one (that we can see) tiny little goldfish, born in the last … [Read more...]
Frog Watching
This is pretty sad, but the highlight of my day comes each afternoon after work as Nancy and I have cocktails beside our goldfish pond. The cocktails are nice, but they aren’t the highlight. The highlight is watching our frogs and hoping they catch a bug in midair. For us, this is exciting , and yes, it’s sad. But frogs are truly amazing creatures. I think we have three now in our … [Read more...]
Snakeskin Skirmishes
Last week I found a snakeskin in our flower garden, the same garden with our small lily pond, which happens to have a baby frog. Snakes have gone for my resident frogs before, so I was concerned about the snake, not for myself, but for my frogs – I have others in our new goldfish pond. Discarded snakeskins are the result of molting, which occurs regularly in snakes. When the old skin … [Read more...]
If You Build It
Fish will come. Beautiful water lilies and hyacinths will come. Frogs will come and you can look forward to many pleasant hours sitting beside your goldfish pond. That is, if you build it. We did, obviously, and I’d like to share our experiences just in case you’d like to put in a pond in your yard. The hole is the hardest part. If you or a neighbor have a small backhoe, then you’re … [Read more...]
Pond Update
What would an issue of CvilleBuzz be without an update on the pond in our backyard? That would be like the NY Times omitting its Op Ed page. But to tell you the truth, I don’t know what we would have done for entertainment for the past few months were it not for our fascinating goldfish pond beside our patio. Afterall, you can’t go to the movies or plays or concerts. Fortunately, our little Golden … [Read more...]
Frogs in the Pond
I put a dozen tadpoles in our little goldfish pond about eight weeks ago, hoping at least one would make it to frog-dom. One did, and there’s another tadpole soon to become a frog. There may be more, but we have so many water hyacinths, it’s hard to tell Truth be known, I wanted a frog pond all along. The goldfish just gave me an excuse. For the past several years, we had frogs in Nancy’s … [Read more...]
Now We Have Black Goldfish
I always thought goldfish were, well, gold. But since we installed our small goldfish pond, I have discovered that goldfish can come in a variety of colors - white, gold, mixed white and gold and even black colors. Our 8 original goldfish (now down to 7, the funeral service was last week) have started to reproduce in their new pond. A couple weeks back, Nancy saw several tiny, white fish, probably … [Read more...]
Fish From Heaven?
Our goldfish pond continues to amaze. Last week, Nancy said she saw some tiny minnows swimming in the pond. I suggested that maybe they were her little imaginary friends, like Harvey the Rabbit. She gave me one of those looks that said, “You are treading on thin ice, buster.” And I said no more. But tiny minnows in our pond? Where did they come from, heaven? Then she called me over. … [Read more...]