The little goldfish in the pond are receptive to me now. As I approach, they swim toward me and school around that side, waiting, I'm sure, for me to turn on the tap.
Bath time for the fish.
They struggle and swim into the little current the showering water creates, then go 'round the pond following the current as it moves the water. I try to do this twice a day to make sure it's aerated / oxygenated and fill it to the brim. It's this last act that makes them such smarty-pants - the goldfish can now swim over the plant leaves and rest there. Something new to them, it looks like a game of chicken to me; one rests there, looking like a kid saying, "I'm the king of the castle..." and all that goes with the taunting, until another comes along to push it out of the throne.
The rest of the time the fish go low and use the plants to stay out of the sun.
They are goldfish; research shows they are not koi, which are less hardy and more susceptible to disease. That's why you probably had a goldfish in a little bowl when you were a kid; they didn't die easily when you forgot to feed them. As well, the goldfish are adaptable to less oxygen in the water, which happens in a pond. And also why I bathe the fish. Puts little smiles on their faces.
The Haig-Brown's had the pond put in many years ago when they returned from a trip to Italy. Quite taken with terraces and all things terra-cotta, this grassy corner became the terrazza; squares of concrete for the floor outlined with moss or gravel, then the pond (apparently with a slope to create a deep end) surrounded with terra cotta bricks embedded into the concrete, upon which are more terra cotta pots full of flowers. It's quite lovely at just about any time of day, even in the dark with candles lit.
Sandra
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