Thursday, March 26, 2009

Requiem for the Loch Ness Carp and Otter News

We have finally ascertained the whereabouts of our fleet of grass carp in the pond. When it rains (as it is now), the carp "parade" around the pond, nose-to-tail. The largest one however, known around our house as the Loch Ness Carp, is nowhere to be seen. This 3-foot long monster must have suffered some fatal mishap while we were gone, during the drought, or perhaps just died of old age. We have been discussing (ad nauseum) whether we should replace it with a 10-inch youngster when the Farley Fish Farm truck comes to town, or just continue with the three we have.

Do the others miss the L.N.C.? Do they even comprehend that one of their number is missing?

There are problems. When we walked quietly down yesterday on an otter-spotting mission, a large great blue heron lifted off the pond. I'm getting a little tired of putting fish in the pond, only to have them eaten by herons, or now, otters.

We didn't see the otter, but Echo immediately sniffed out its bathroom on the bank, and proceeded to roll in otter poop. Lord, that is some majorly stinky poop! Probably because of what otters eat, i.e. our fish.

So the walk turned into a dog-washing event, and the whole day was shot to hell.

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