metanoia's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A fish is sometimes a friend I dug a pond in my garden a couple of years ago; nothing big or anything, just about 4 foot across and a couple of feet deep. I lined it with some cheapie black plastic, put some rocks around it and filled it with water. I was so excited. Made the long trek to Home Depot and bought some aquatic plants; water lilies, water �cabbage� and a friend gave me some water iris. I was all set. And, really, it looked pretty good. But it �needed� something�. Ah yes. Fish! They would help stabilize it, and eat the mosquito larva. Good deal! I was going to get koi, because, well they are koi. But, Wal Mart did not have any koi left so I got three comets instead. They were cheaper, anyway. I was worried about leaving them in the pond over the winter, but I did some reading and found that they overwinter pretty well if the pond does not completely freeze over. Some people put a pipe on the surface to stop the complete freeze over. We don�t get that cold here so I just let it be and forgot all about it over the winter, just checking on it when we had long periods of cold. Spring came and the fish were alive!!! In fact they spawned and I had lots of little tiny fishes!!! Of course they ate most of them but a couple of them survived and one of those was Goldie. The only home he knew was that pond. He knew me. When I came to feed, I would put my hand in the water and he would come over and rub on me. I would cup him and push him and he loved it. We played together. This spring,he was the only one that �made it� through the winter. He seemed lonely to me. I went back to Wal Mart and bought him three friends. Spotty and Red were koi. I bought one comet � Sparky � for Goldies special friend, you know one of his "own kind". He seemed so happy � jumping and playing with them. Then a couple of weeks after the new guys came in, Goldie was floating. I buried him next to the pond where he had lived his whole fish life. I went out last weekend and could only see Sparky. I don�t know if the koi are already �hibernating� or if a raccoon got them. They seem to like to hide in the muck at the bottom of the pond, under the leaves and just, well, muck, so they could still be there. They are fine fish, and I have enjoyed having them, but... the special connection I had with Goldie is not there. I miss that damn fish. There will never be another Goldie. 9:07 p.m. - 2007-10-25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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