Michelle is a fellow bunny-lover (remember pics of her French Lop, Tink?) and we've been chatting about our fish ponds lately. She lives down south so her pond plants are way ahead of anything happening around my pond. I've been wanting to post some current pics, but it looks so barren out there, still. The perennials on the pond's edge are up and growing, but other than a few volunteer water lilies (yay!) there is nothing but algae. Well, no more algae, actually. We turned on the filter and uv light last weekend, just before we got to the *pea soup* stage after the complete water change we did a few weeks ago. My tiny little goldfish look so lonely and vulnerable out there!
Michelle's koi look very robust, don't they? And look at the size of those lily pads! I'm jealous. The plants she calls weeds are Parrot's Feather and provide cover and spawning surfaces for fish. Parrot's Feather is tender, so I have to buy it new every year, whereas Michelle thinks she is overrun with it because it doesn't die back in her warmer climate. I have that problem with mint around my pond; it finds its way into every nook between the rocks and grows with abandon. I yank it out by the handful, which only seems to make it even more vigorous.
Michelle says that she has one koi that she can pet! My little guys are not quite that friendly, but they do like to swim around my legs and nibble on my toes when I'm in the pond cutting back the plants. Mostly I think they're interested in whatever I stir up along the bottom as I wade through the water. Silly fish.
Thanks, Michelle, for your email and sharing a pic of your waterbabies! I needed the distraction from my bunny-worrying. You're the best!
2 comments:
Great photo - my small ponds are being cleaned -- the large one in the digging stage but my waterlilies are putting up leaves even though we are likely to have another freeze before the end of may --- I put the waterlilys in a bucket of water in the basement - no fish yet =)
Good grief Laura, if you want some Parrot's Feather don't buy any, I will send you all you want! My fish have dug it out of the pot and it grows like crazy free floating on the water! The aquatic mint is so nice, we have some too, it's supposed to help clarify the water (or so Morgan's swim team coach who has the nursery says) but I have yet to notice any real difference since we put it in.
Fighting off a blue heron this morning. Clearing up the water makes for better fishing I guess.....
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