A Good Time Was Had By All

Well, by me. I like watching someone else work. And occasionally bossing someone else around.

We have a small pond, about 350 gallons, we think. DH put it in 15 years ago. Since that time we have gone through lots of fish, snails, and frogs. The frogs or toads, whatever they are, last the longest. But in those 15 years, we have never taken out all of the water, cleaned the pond, and put in new water. We relied on rain, chemicals (bad, bad, bad, I know) and occasional additions of fresh water to keep the whole thing going.

However, this year we couldn’t even see through the water to determine if we had any fish left after the visit from the heron. The water was pretty solidly green, and actually, pretty solid. Sort of thickish. A friend who has a pond told me that she removes the water, cleans the pond, and has new water put in, EVERY YEAR. (Really, she hires someone to do it. Cheater.) So yesterday, in frustration about the lack of clarity in the water, we went to the pond store to see what to do, assuming that they would have a chemical solution. Enzymes! Water-purifying magical elixirs!

Nope. Empty the pond. Clean it. Put new non-chlorinated water in it. Rats.

This is what followed. For about four hours:

Gross......

Kind of embarrassing, really. But in our defense, walking in the pond stirred up a lot of crud.

On the other hand, it was a gorgeous day.

Anyone know what this is?

Today, the pond is clean and beautiful. And we discovered that we have six fish.

Until the heron shows up, I suppose.