Due to the devastating attack of the great blue heron, I have no idea of how many koi, goldfish, etc. are left.
However, the heron decoy is standing guard. I have recently seen my beloved couple, Sidney and Melba,
swimming side by side across the muddy pond. I could have cried with relief. I am not feeding them now because I don't want them to get used to coming to the edge of the pond or to the surface of it either. But
they are still here!
all is not lost after all
Glad to hear your good news about Sidney and Melba. Hope they have other friends left in the pond.
I was so profoundly sad thinking all were lost. I even stopped going to the pond - it just seemed like a muddy graveyard. Frogs are no longer plentiful either. Also, due to the fluctuations of the pond level, only one Japanese iris seedling bloomed. There are clumps of Japanese and Louisiana iris seedlings along the margin; however, due to all the winter rains they were submerged. This is not good for them.
Thanks, Beahive, many of the others were so beautiful. I tried to collect as many color variations as I could. I watched them so much that I could even detect a social structure
among them (IMHO.)
Oh gosh, that's great news! We've all been there, so understand the sadness of thinking you've lost them all! I think we ALL shake our fists in the air when we hear the word "heron"! I'm glad they were smart enough to find hiding spaces!