Saturday, September 16, 2006

A Surprise in the Pond


Those of you that have read through my blog, know that I love dogs. And in fact, I have 5 of them, whose pictures have previously been posted. They are all sweet spirited, loving & affectionate beings, so when I heard them barking like Satans' spawn in the yard, I was taken aback.
I raced out back & they paid me no mind, racing from one side of the yard to the other-still sounding furious. Not knowing the reason for their emotional upheaval & feeling their anxiety, I careened back into the house & peered out my windows. Nothing. So, still in my pj's, I ventured out front.
Tucked away in the jungle beneath my office window is a pond. A watering hole, a sanctuary, a life giving pit for fish, frogs, birds, algae & occasionally a water bowl for the stray neighborhood cat.
Attached is a photo of the reason for all of my dogs angst & anxiety.
These two beasts were having a ball. They'd get out, jot down my walkway a few steps, shake & thus watering my flowers...then back in they'd go...for a swim, a float, a sip & they even wrestled with each other in the pond.
Three hours later, I had to go to work. They were still in the pond. My dogs had calmed down, coming to accept the fact, that these dogs were here, perhaps, remembering taht at one time each of them were the new ones to the yard.
I imagine that the owners eventually found them, as they were gone when I got in from work last night & there was only the faintest reminders that they had been here...mud around the rocky path to the pond, georgia clay settled to the bottom & a few stick floating about the surface.
This pond had been home for the past 5 years to a total of 37 goldfish, all originating from a dollars worth of walmart fish (that would be 5 at 20cents each) up until about a month ago. About a month ago, I ,inadvertantly, got the AquaChem & Aquafix mixed up. A teaspoon & 12 hours later, I had 37 floating fish & was crushed for days. Since then, we've contemplated filling the pond back up with soil.
In hindsight, I guess my accidental euthanasia was better than having them trampled to death & gulped down by the big, wooly dogs. I imagine that those fish lived much longer, here in this pond then they would have elsewhere. And I cannot imagine NOT having this pond.
If it is to be filled with georgia clay again, may it come from the paws of the curious, the thirsty & the hot.

4 comments:

Justgivemepeace said...

Ahhhh the dog days of summer! And that, sweet child, is an oasis, not just a pond!

Mary Bee said...

That dog is so happy to be in your pond. Seldom so big a doggy smile as the black and white one in both pictures. A true doggy ear to ear grin. Cute story.

skinnylittleblonde said...

Maryellen~How right you are! He is smiling! The other one, I think, was dancing...lol, you should have seen them 'chesting' each other in the water...it was like they were hugging! I wish I had a camcorder.
SAS, true...an oasis for them & for me! Living inland, after growing up on a lake & living by the beach...My World was screaming for water.

vicci said...

Aaaahhhh yes.....water... it doesn't matter... it can be from the most huge ocean to the smallest of puddles is so wonderful...even to the doggies of the world!!! I LOVE water...and being a "water-sign" really LOVE your little POND! I'd have to just cool my feet off in that oasis!
PS...Don't ya just LOVE the sound of "water" when you are going to sleep???or camping by a river?????