Tous les Poissons sont Morts

Yesterday we finally got around to cleaning the pond at Chez Sarge. Spring has been late in getting here and on the few nice days over the past couple of weeks we were busy doing other things, important things. But Saturday was marked as "The Day" to actually get out there and do it.

We pumped out some water into the old pond liner (it looks like a black plastic bathtub) to prepare to place the fish while we cleaned out their digs. The water level in the pond kept dropping to reveal an appalling lack of fish. No remains, no fish.

My guess is that they were all predated, we've been lucky for a couple of years with that, this year, not so much.

All we found was one frog, hibernating (I guess) in the covered hole where we place the pump in the summer. He looked a bit shell-shocked. I airlifted him out of the hole, he moved so I know he wasn't dead, he seemed annoyed that I had brought him into the sunlight. But he eventually ambled on to go do frog things. I suppose.

Pump went in, everything still works. Had to adjust the stones for the waterfall as they were starting to lean rather precipitously out over the water. Took us a while to get that squared away (rock is heavy, in case you didn't know) and then the water itself didn't want to fall properly. It comes from a hose off the filter unit and without some artistic endeavors, it just sprays. Most of the artistry is done by The Missus Herself, I'm a bit of a non-artist in that respect - "Hose works, water issues forth and falls into the pond. Voilà! Gravity does it's thing, it's a waterfall."

Yes, I believed she mumbled something about idiots.

So the pond is clean, we just need to restock the fish. Again.

Though the day started with heavy rains, turning to fog, it did get nice in the afternoon. Then the fog returned.

Coastal living, fog is all part and parcel of this season. Perhaps I will be able to hear the bells on the navigation buoys out on the Bay tonight, that's always kinda neat.

Poor fish.