The “little pond” here at Little Pond Farm was built six years ago. At the time, I imagined beautiful koi gracing the serene water feature. Koi are expensive and I had no experience with them. So, I bought a 2-inch koi for only $3.00. I liked that it was white with a big black spot on it’s head. Distinctive, like a paint horse. It grew and grew, but the spot didn’t. Now, that koi is huge and all pale peach in color and looks like an ugly, plain catfish. 

I also put a few cheap goldfish in the pond. They haven’t gotten as big as the  koi, but they have kept their pretty markings. They’ve been breeding, too. Last year, a neighbor’s fancy goldfish were all eaten up by a Great Blue Heron. It took some doing, but we managed to catch several of our biggest goldfish and restocked our friend’s pond. We still had plenty of small ones that were sure to get bigger soon enough. They have.

We’ve had a Heron here, too. I don’t mind, we have too many small goldfish in the pond, anyway,  and the Heron is a gorgeous, shy bird that I’m happy to feed. I’m not worried about the koi. If that fish were a trout, it’d be the one that the fishermen tell tales about. It’s wily and sure to outlive us all.

The lily in the pond bloomed today. Isn’t it a beauty? Next to it is the beast.