I took advantage of the weather to clean out the front pond. Part of the process is to muck out the accumulated gunk on the bottom. I do this by taking a good sized net and sweeping along the bottom, pulling out all manner of stuff that has been blown or dropped in by wind and neighborhood kids.
I carefully pile what I bring up on a couple sheets of paper so that I can examine it. You never know what might have taken up residence there. We have in the past had dragonfly nymphs, and it is not unusual for the fish to run the wrong way and get caught up in the net.
Today I was glad that I taken the time to look at what I was pulling out, because much to my delight, we have babies. Flopping around on the pile of gunk was a dime sized cutie of indeterminate breed. I say indeterminate because the fish in the pond have to this point all been goldfish. This fish did not look like a goldfish -- it was the wrong shape. Could be something one of the neighborhood kids dumped in. We have a pretty liberal policy of accepting drop-offs. We took a turtle once, but he only stuck around for about two days before he fled or was eaten.
Nonetheless, I am pleased to see baby somethings in the pond. It is a validation that the little ecosystem is flourishing.
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