Big Momma
So, I do love fish, but I don’t particularly love our frog pond’s fish. Is that fair? Probably not: I am responsible for digging the pond, I am complicit with stocking it with its goldfish. This is the pond’s third year of existence, and therefore the fourth year for the fish. I mentioned earlier that we had had a few die this winter. We had never lost even one, so…I had mixed feelings about losing eight of them.
You see, I left it to Tom to buy the fish. He went to the store with our daughter in tow and the clerk at the pet area was so taken with her that they came home with scoops of fish, not the 10-12 I thought we needed. We had so many we could not count them. Then it occurred to us that, if we wished to count them, we should take a picture of them. (They don’t move around in a photo.) So we did, and we had almost 50 of the things!
Last summer, we had noticed Big Momma (a particularly large fish, almost 6″) acting a little crazy by nearly beaching herself. She did a lot of flopping along the rocks at the pond’s edge. She was pursued by other fish and uh-oh: yep, she was spawning. Goldfish are notorious for eating their own young, so I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about having too many babies. (Actually, goldfish are notorious for eating anything, which is why we have no tadpoles or snails in the pond…you have to take the bad with the good, I guess.)
Ice-out day was on the 13th, as I mentioned. I sat by the pond, peering into its chilly depths, gazing at the fish when…oh NO. I noticed two SMALL FISH. Like, fish BABIES, under a year old. Argh! So: I am left with this dilemma of too many fish, again. I will probably do a combination of expanding the pond and finding new homes for a few of the fishies. And then I can cross my fingers that Big Momma and the rest…stay hungry!
Glad you came to visit!
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fast grow the weeds 
LOL. Ummm, you know that you’re going to have twice the population next year, right?
Goldfish are notorious for doubling their numbers…oh…every year (at least). That’s why we only have koi. (It’d be Wakins too, if we could find them for sale, anyway).
🙂
Good luck with them. Is it bad to wish for a heron?
Maybe you’ll get lucky and only a few survived.
Anyway, your little one should be a happy camper!
My sister-in-law, in Westchester County NY, had a small garden pond stocked with koi. She came home one day to find a great blue heron sitting on the edge of the pond, fishing. By the end of the summer the bird was fat and the fish were gone.
I was so excited to find your lovely blog tonight! We are about to start eating locally (100miles) starting June 1. We are a family of four, living in the city. I have started a blog to document it as well.
Do you have any idea if rice is available in Michigan?” Locally”, of course? Even wild rice. I was a vegetarian for 8 years, have recently started eating meat, but rely on rice for a lot of our meals: Indian, Mexican, etc. Which aren’t local, I realize. But I do plan on using my spices until they run out! 🙂 And I love rice!
I like Big Mamas name. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who names the fish in their pond (bass & bluegill).
Tina, boy, I was under the impression that koi were just big goldfish. Shows what I know! But I hope you’re wrong about their numbers doubling. As for a heron, hmm, the pond is probably too close to the house to tempt them…and there are so many other wetlands around here. I hope!
Ali, yes, it’s nice of us to feed the birds! When we were househunting, I remember two ponds at two houses that were covered with netting. Now THAT’S attractive.
Amanda! Welcome. Rice is a tricky thing, I have found. Yes, there are some wild rice suppliers in-state, but our climate is too short to grow the “real” stuff. So I switched to grains that can grow here. My family is now nuts for pilafs made from millet, amaranth or quinoa, and we’ve even ventured into buckwheat kasha and steel-cut oats as a side dish. That isn’t to say we’re totally “off” rice, though I am known to stock up on jasmine rice if I can find it. You’re in Ypsi, right? Your options are fairly open still. I would check with Ferris Organic Farm (in Eaton Rapids) as they source mostly local grains. Good luck! I think you’ll find this local eating thing to be really fun.
Michelle, wow, you can see your bass? Bluegill I’d think would be easy, the little shoredwellers that they are. But yeah, all the fish names are really creative: there’s Spotty Head, Big Daddy, Whitey…
buy an even bigger kitty?? wow, quite the quandry!
I had one pond where the fish kept disappearing. It was a mystery until I went past at night with a flashlight to check a gate and found a garter snake swimming in the pond. He had finished off the rest of my fish with that visit; I made certain to buy bigger fish after that.
Stacie: Hah! maybe a bigger dog?
Pamela, wow, that’s so odd. I guess everyone loves fish, huh?