a sad day

so I come downstairs to feed the fish, check on the tadpoles and guess what. Yep, little tails have been shed and they have left home.

I felt quite bereft. They are only frigging tadpoles but i have nurtured them soince they were spawn! emptying out their bowl when the water got to high and trying to pick up tadpoles off the decking with my fingers (yuk!).

there are 3/4 left now.

It makes you wonder...I WISH I had had a web cam fixed on the bowl... at what point in the last 24 Horus did they go "Right guys...time's up...time to face to big wide world..." and then they climbed on to the rock and jumped for it ..into the unknown. How brave!

and so they are gone...teeny weeny little .75 inch tiddly frogs....I understand they burrow into the ground.

should find out really.

Life in the water barrel is looking good. The tadpoles I added last week all seem to be thriving.

The new little babies I added about six weeks ago are FINALLY starting to get the guts to show themselves. Saw two of the shebunkins together today. keep getting glimpses of the little white koi and saw one of the golden rudd as well.

No sign of George or Caroline's new fish.

The water garden

I have wanted one of these for ages. It's a genuine old sherry barrel which i have filled with various plants as a home for the new tadpoles. With any luck these ones might just return next year and leave some spawn

Tadpoles

A far better showing on the tadpole front this year. I have been keeping them in a bowl by the pond although I have just bought a new water tub to put some more form my mum's House in. Anyway....I appear to ahve kept around 8-10 and they are now starting to sprout little legs and arms on a daily basis. there are quite a few looking like little baby frogs with long tails. These tails will now gradually shorten until they are ready to go and then - poof - gone!

New fish

Another wet and boring and rainy bank holiday so me and the team @ 310 (Vince, George and Caroline) set off up the a23 to the garden centre. of course we did. the lodgers purchased their own fish. A very white koi for CP called Bob and a dirty silver colour called Steve for george.l

To be honest, i was slightly disappointed in their choices as I had been hoping for a couple of comets to brighten up the place. the koi get all the food and attention.

So we have to add

1 x 3-4 silver koi
1 x 3-4 white koi

to the roll call.

still waiting for the new boys

The shebunkins have put in an appearance but no sign of the others....hard to beleive a cat has got the really golden ones already, particularly as the big fat ones ar still smooching around the pool.

If you pop by my house and see someone with their arse in the air and their head under the bridge, that'll be me tryign to spot the new boys.

where are the new boys?

Whenever I introduce a new fish they disappear for a week or so. Having a swim round and getting used to the new environment I guess. Today the two baby shebunkins put in their first appearance. Everyone else is all present and correct so i don't know where the others are. Vince saw off a cat who was hanging out by the pond.

my wonderful wisteria

it must be at least a 100 years old...stretched all the way from the back of the house down to the summer house...blooms twice a year april/may and September...smells wonderful

New fish

Drove up the a27 to the garden centre yesterday and found some new fish.

2 x silver koi (1 about 2-4 inch and 1 about 2-3)

2 x goldeb rud...never had thesde before..about 2-3inch

and 2 x shebunkins... 2-3 inch...

The shebunkins are always my favourite.

bought a new filtering system for the filter. seems to be working well although the pond is a bit mucky. it really needs a uv filter but this woudl need to be wired into the existing pond pump. the guy at the garden centre has reccomended a pond doxctore bloke so woill prob get him in.

got hold of a catalogue with various water fall systems and really fancy something quite dramatic.

the pond today

life in the summer house

i like to sit here and read the papers. Frineds come round for barbies.

excellent weather

We have been having excellent weather and it is wonderful to see everything gfrowsing so well. here are a few pictures

pond life

the lily is staring to spring into action with 2/3 leaves starting to show their leaves. I had previously separated that annoying basket of grasses which kept falling over and that seems to be settle down. Down the dark end the grasses are all well entrenched.

Mum also gave me some frog spawn and this is starting to turn into tadpoles. Really teeny little ones. A few months ago there was a forg in the back garden. I like to think this was the home grown boy form last eyar. Don’t understand why there I no frog spawn in the pond though..

New Season April 9 2007

Welcome ot the new pond season and plenty of aciton in the pond!

Fish did well during the winter with very few losses.

This is how they roll up at the start of the season.

1 x white comet with red spots – 5-6 in
1 x shebunkin – 5-6inch
1 x red and black goldfish – 5-6 in
2 x blue orfe 8-9 inch
1 bendy tail orfe – 8in
1 orfe – 9-10 inch
I large ghost koi – 12 13 inche and 2-3 round the girth
2 x orfes - fairly sure the smaller of the two is a pond born
1 x goldfish – about 3-4 inch
1 x black shebunbkin

so that's 12 then

Roll call update

End of the year roll call The state of the nation

April 2006
1white comet red spots - 4in NOW 5-6in
1 goldfish - 4in RIP
1 shebunkin – 5 in NOW 5=6
1 small shebunkin mainly red around neck – 4in MIA
1 red and black goldfish fungus on fins – 4 in NOW STILL ALIVE!!! 5-6 in


1 large ghost kopi - 10 in NOW BIG FAT 12-13 and 2-3 inc wide! how some cat has not got him is a miracle!!

1 ghost koi – 6in NOW 7-8in
1 ghost koi – 4 in NOW 7-8in

2 blue orfe – 7 in NOW EASILY 8-9 inc
1 orfe bendy tail – 7 in Both now about 9-10 in
1 orfe - 8 in

Update

New fish added 19 May

2 x orfes – 1.5in NOW 3-4 inch
2 x goldfish – 1.5 in ONly one about 2-3 inc
1 black gold – 1.5 in ONly one same size...

PLUS a teeny weeny gold fish tiddler from somewhere!!!

another new goldfish spotted

Been quiet in the pond for last few weeks and I have been away as well.

We now have the 2 baby orfe grown up quite well...about 3-4 inches now....the baby goldfish and black goldfish both had a good summer and now slightly smnaller.

And then...just now! hiding in the depths, a teensy weensy goldfish about an inch long! I am SURE he is new and not been in there before.

Will do an end of year roll call as soon as I get the chance.

Tiddler Update

Balck tiddler doing very well...he has a magnificent tail more like a shebunkin than a goldfish...the organey one is doing fine too..

It is so much fun to watch them dart out from the Dark End when it is feeding time, grab one tiny crumb of food and rush back down the end with it...one half expects a gang of baby fish to be hiding in the alleyways greedily waiting for the morning's rations.

baby orfe is growing wlel..they gorw so much fatser than the other fish....and eveyrone else seems alive and well!

keep getting dragon flys flyign into the house...have rescued one this morning and 2 during the week.

Black tiddler spotted

Feeding the fish this morning and there it was - the little black goldfish I had introduced in may....I thought he was long gone.

If you rememebr I introudced two red, two orfes and a black godfish. The two orfes have already grown to about 4 inches each but the gold and the black are still only about 1.5inches...growing so slowly...I wonder if the other ones are still in there somewhre....

the chicken wire protection at the end has worked brilliantly and I will def get more for next year

a toad in the hole

How good! Came home late last night and was kickign the ball about with Vince when I heard something move in the bushes...Further investigation revealed...a toad!

now when I first moved into the hosue 3 years ago I wa sown in the hut one night and came up to do a wee and there, sitting on the bri9dge was a dirty great big toad! I know it was not the drugs as George saw him as well. But never to be seen again.

until last night.

another new fish!

Oh yes....I could barely beleive it when i saw it...

a little orangey fish swimming around the Dark End....def darker richer colur than the orfes!

I have no idea where he is from....he is only about 1.5 inches long...could it be the goldfish I bought in May? if so he has grown far slower than those 2 new orfe which must be double his size.

so the nursery now houses two baby orfes and a baby goldfish.

I have taken a roill of chicken wire and stuck it donwe the Dark End to hopefully put off the Monster Koi Fish from eating the babies...it is such fun watch them all dart about.