long time no post...

It's been some time since I've posted as the fish are mostly at the bottom. They don't come to the top for food much any more but once in a while some do. It rained for a couple of days and that was enough to fill the whole pond all the way back up to the very brim!

The water is still very clear but with the fallen leaves on the bottom you have a dark background which would make it impossible for fish photos. Not only that but if you've ever had a bird feeder you know that when you get a few dead leaves in the feeder they will color the water quickly like a tea bag. So the water is clear but tea colored.

The sun is out today and I'll go out in a bit and try to feed. I'll get a few bass in and they'll eat a little bit.

My three pond snakes, Brownie, Hotdog and Smiling Sally Slither, are gone for now. I haven't seen any of them in quite a while and I may not until Spring. It was always fun to watch them swim across the pond with their large fan club of bass following behind them. Those poor bass were just wishing and hoping those snakes would shrink down to eating size I guess. Bass are just fascinated with the snakes and the snakes keep those bass entertained for hours. I think those snakes must have come from a neighbor's pond that is all fished out as no baby snakes last an instant in mine. I'd like to plug a fishing lure here but wouldn't - not without the maker's permission. I may write to him one day and ask - I've sent a couple of my little funny video clips to his webpage and he has them up. You know I have found my little video clips in a ton of places on the web I NEVER put them. I guess that's how the internet is. I don't plug anything on my little blog but this one I would. I'd NEVER let anyone use it in MY pond because I don't want MY bass caught lol!!! I know my bass would gobble it up.

I'm not friendly with those neighbors and don't even know their names but went to check on one of their dogs one day that had been hit in the road. One of the man's grown sons was fishing and started talking to me and hinting about fishing in my pond because there weren't any fish in theirs. He went on to say how the whole extended family used to fish their pond "all the time" and always had a pretty good time but now there just aren't any fish.

Well DUH! He sure isn't going to fish all mine out! I told him I stock mine and he said he knew that and that he thought that's why it would be a really great place to fish.... SHEESH! I DON'T THINK SO! They have a nice pond over there and just won't care for it. I don't want them coming and ruining mine too! We don't allow people in to fish the pond normally. There are a few friends but we watch what is taken out and only certain thing are allowed to even be fished.

That's just the way it is. No one is going to fish for my pets. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I have had some trouble getting someone lately though to take the large bluegill out. I have way too many in there so when my dear sweet hubby had a pal come in to turkey hunt with him on our property this last week I twisted his friend's arm into fishing too. I really needed to take some of the large ones out and couldn't get anyone to do it. The only restrictions were I didn't want him to bass fish (not my pals!!!!) and if he caught Halfback or Chickenlipsfish they were to be thrown back.

They turkey hunted in the morning (successfully) and when they came in before noon my hubby's pal (pictured) went with me to the pond and caught some of the fish out for me. As you can see in these photos he was pretty pleased with the size and amount of nice bluegill he was able to catch! He caught quite a few over 9" Oh, you can click on the photos to enlarge them. I can catch them but I don't want to clean them. I get more of a kick out of seeing other people catch anyway! I scream regardless!




He needs to come back and fish more as I know he really didn't make much of a dent. I think I need about 50 more that size removed...

For all I know maybe a whole lot more than that. Just not the ones I have named....

Dennis was real, real good at fishing and if it bit, which in my pond it's pretty likely, then he caught it pretty much everytime.

I'm not that good and lose a lot. He flicks that rod and he's got them. He's been practicing....

I'd say he had a pretty good day - successful turkey hunt then a successful fishing trip.

We had turkey pot pie (home made crust of course) and fried bluegill and hushpuppies for dinner. Then we all died like bloated ticks.

The turkey and deer don't have any of that awful wild taste around here that you get in so many place. I don't know why for sure but I'm guessing it's because they are eating soybeans, corn, and other crops instead of just wild forest things. Just a guess but I know they are good to eat. I won't eat wild game if it even has a hint of that gamey taste. I don't have to soak or process or do anything differently with the wild meat here than I have to do with a steak from the grocery. Well... maybe pull a few pieces of shot and feathers out of the turkey meat...

One more thing for today. We have quite a few of the beautiful smokey grey colored turkey on our property here. They are so pretty! I just call them white and I have photos that I may post another time.

Goodbye Rocky and Fish Go Deep

Rocky got a new "Do" last night and he was pretty dry this morning. He had water in the other end of the cooler but stayed up on the little shelf last night. I wanted to paint him as brightly as possible so I could see him fairly well when he's down in the water - and so I could recognize him easily from other turtles that might move into the pond.

He didn't eat anything the whole time I had him out and I just gave up on catching the catfish because I want to get him back in the pond. I did have a suggestion to use shrimp to try to catch the fish and I may try that but I won't be putting it down at the bottom of the pond and leaving it. I don't want to catch Rocky again as he's had enough trouble.

It's been real cool the last couple of days and today when I got down to the pond no one was there waiting for food except for some tiny bluegill. I was told they wouldn't be eating once it got cold but I thought they'd kinda slack off slowly. I did manage to see some larger bass and bluegill out past where the deep part begins and I threw food out there. It was taken but not nearly as eagerly as usual. They sure do slack off and all of a sudden too. It will be warming up a bit tomorrow - we'll see if they return or are gone for good.

I guess once they are gone I'll be shutting this blog down for the winter myself! I don't like being cold either and when the days get gray it's just dreadful!

I took a little video of the release of Rocky. He started out pretty slowly but picked up speed as he went. I saw him about an hour later for an instant and I put some hot dog pieces and bread over where he was. I hope he finds them and eats. Poor Rocky!

The Great Escape and Rocky Dances

I didn't post yesterday because I was running all over nuts and had to go to Nashville to pick up a banjo. By the time I got back I had no time for anything.

The larger turtle that I caught escaped in the night before I could take him to the lake. He crawled right out of the cooler and off he went. I don't know if he headed back down to the pond or where he went but he's gone! The smaller one I took and released. Unfortunately I caught Rocky. This is the third time I've caught this turtle and this is the turtle I want to stay in my pond. He still has a bit of red paint on his back from where the little girl across the street marked him some time ago. I won't be putting him back right away. Rocky is an especially nice snapping turtle and likes to dance and smiles a lot. I want him to stay in my pond!
Rocky is in my kitchen right now in a cooler as a cold front is moving through right now and I'm not about to leave him outdoors where he'll most certainly get cold. I have liver and hot dogs in the cooler with him but he doesn't appear to be interested. I imagine he has quite the tummy ache as he has a hook inside his innards. I hate that and wonder how long it takes to dissolve or pass or whatever happens. I know he's had a couple previously and lived through it but I don't want him to have any more so I'm keeping him out of the pond until I catch the big catfish creature. Seems I can't catch anything with those livers except for my turtles so I suppose I need to fish up a couple of bluegill tomorrow and sink them to the bottom and hope to get the catfish with them. I really want him caught and I really want to put Rocky back. I don't mind having him around but I'm positive he'd be much happier back in the pond.

You can click on the photos to enlarge them. The pond was clear and beautiful today. When I got there I didn't have a lot of bass or bluegill waiting but many more came gliding up later. I took this photo when I first got there because if I wait the water gets a little muddy from the fish thrashing and jumping for food. Diamond Jim is out there but he's the only one I recognized of the first bunch that were there. The other came after about ten minutes and Meanandlean showed up to run out all the other bass except for one that he did let stay - but only one...

Meanandlean ate well today and didn't give me any problems as he only spit out one bite of hot dog which happens to be a big improvement for him. I'm sure that was just to keep me in line and to show me he was still in charge.

The weather change has made a big difference in the bass who really appear to be trying to eat everything in sight. I was told they are working to get stored up for the winter as they'll go deep and quit coming for food before long. The leaves are falling and when my husband was down at the pond checking the lines this morning he said that just about each time a leaf would hit the water a bass would jump and chomp at the leaf. I'll give them as much as they'll eat - but I always do. I'm thinking I should feed two times a day now until it gets really cold and they quit taking food.

The larger bluegill are still hanging way out - past the deep edge and not coming on in. When I finish feeding the bass I throw in commercial feed for them way out and they'll eat that. I did take a little video of them feeding today and I was hoping the giant creature might come up but I didn't see it . Some of those bluegill are ten inchers and it's time for them to come out.

Well, until tomorrow.

Hotdog has a girlfriend! Mr. Snap & Little Snap

YOU CAN CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM.


I arrived at the pond today and looked down and what do you know! You turn your back and before you know it the kids have gone and moved their pals and girlfriends and who knows who in!

Neener neener neener Hotdog has a girlfriend!

She's smaller than he is and cute as she can be. She kept sliding around in the mud and after awhile I quit paying attention and then lost sight of her. I don't know if she left or was hiding in the mud. I fed Hotdog two fish today...


We had set out three lines last night with livers wrapped up in pantyhose to catch the creature from the black lagoon that lives down in the depths of the pond and we used 50 lb line. On one line the whole hook and all was gone...

The next line the hook was still there but the pantyhose was shredded (see photo).


While I was at the pond this afternoon I saw the tree that the next line was tied to swinging around. I zipped on over there and pulled on the line and had a snapping turtle on the line :c( . It was the big one that I saw in the pond about a week ago that ran off when he saw me. Unfortunately he had swallowed the liver, pantyhose and even the hook so I cut the line about six inches from his mouth and I put him in a cooler. I'll release him in the reservoir tomorrow where he'll have plenty of room to live his life out and have as many fish and other turtles for company as he can possibly imagine. I always had my doubts about cutting a line and the hook "dissolving" but I have a turtle in my pond I've caught in the past and I cut a line on him a long time ago. He has a paint mark on his back and he's still in there apparently doing fine. I don't see any signs of the line coming from his mouth anymore either so I guess it may be true and some how they make it. I hate that they swallow the hooks though. I wish that big monster in there would go ahead and take the bait so I can take those lines out as I don't want to catch any more turtles...


Here is Mr. Snap - he's pretty big:

We put out more lines and after about an hour my Mother and Stepdad came over on their way home from Dr.'s appointments. We decided to go down to the pond and check the lines while they were here and dang if I didn't catch still another snapping turtle. This is not good but now that I have them I guess I should go ahead and relocate them as you can get too many really quickly in a small pond. It's kinda like the reverse of where the socks go when you put them in the dryer. They disappear one by one but snapping turtles seem to appear out of nowhere - one by one. My mother once told me, with a straight face, they get there through osmosis... As you can see, women who are fruitcakes run in my family...

Here is the second turtle I pulled out. I would have gotten a manicure if I knew I'd have my nails in a photo - I'm past due but the mud and pond scum kinda covers it up so I suppose I shouldn't worry...

He tried to bite me several times but I kept well out of the way of the jaws. He's kinda cute don't you think? Look at his adorable hands - you know they feel.. well.. cute! You kinda want to hold him and squish him up a bit but it's just not a good idea - not with that snapping jaw! I'll probably be sorry I didn't put him back in my pond but I have more.

Well, I hope I get the monster who's eating all my fish by tomorrow and not any more turtles. I don't know how many more I have in there but I don't want to take them all out. I know Rocky is still in there.

Until tomorrow!

A Monster Lives In My Pond

You can click on all photos to
enlarge them.

I thought this was a real funny photo I took today of Meanandlean and the caption was just right for the expression on his face.

If you look closely at the bluegill you can see they don't believe a word of it...

The pond was real clear - a lot more clear than it's supposed to be. A healthy pond isn't supposed to be nearly as clear as mine is getting to be. I hate to add any lime though because I know one good rain and it will be back to poor visibility - like it should be I guess... Not that I'm happy about that. I'm going to enjoy the clear pond while I can as I had pea soup the last few years and this is the very first time I've had any visibility at all. My photos turned out all cloudy again but I moved my spot and took more photos and just a change about 20 foot away made all the difference in the world. I'm going to have to cut out a spot tomorrow so I can sit down and be able to see through the grasses.

Hotdog the snake is back today after a two days absence. He has completely digested those two fish I gave him a couple of days ago and doesn't even show a lump at all. He's back hunting his heart out again and, as usual, not catching a thing. I'll get to feeling sorry for him in time probably and have to feed him again.

Quite a few bass showed today but when the ole meanie came in they had to leave. The bluegill still haven't gotten over the fishing my sister did a week or two ago so they hang way out. I'm going to have to find out just how long fish can retain a memory. Seems like it's pretty long to me. Again, I'm amazed...

The water is such a pretty color now. Be sure to click on the photo. You can see the fish way, way out into the pond if they are near the surface.

My poor little dock thing I made myself... As you can see it's all shifted and twisted now. It wasn't like that until the water got really low and when it comes back up I guess it will turn itself back.

I didn't know it but I don't need all those barrels under it - probably just need one but I'd rather stick a needle in my eye than to put my feet down in that mud over there and try to get one or two out. The mud right over there is the yuckiest and you can actually sink up to your knees!!!!! That's like watching a horror movie all alone in the dark and you hear a large bang in your kitchen! I just am not going to do it. NOT ME! Right past the end of the dock the water gets real deep and goes as deep as about 15 foot - not now though!

You know I spend an awful lot of time just sitting and looking at the pond and I still get surprised by the things that go on in there but today I saw something that made my heart jump in my throat. I tried to get photos but wasn't able to time it right. When I was standing right where I was when I took these last photos and looking way out, I saw a shadow right under the surface of the water that was HUGE and MOVING! I waited for a bit and saw it several times. I had the commercial fish feed thrown in over there out where the deep green part is and that's where I saw it.

I jumped in my cart and rushed back to the house screaming for my husband. He has got to take it OUT! I can't imagine how many of my fish that creature must be eating everyday... It has to be a BIG catfish! Now I know I have ONE catfish that comes on the other side of the pond that's a bit shy that will take some hot dog pieces but it's small and I put it in myself this year. That thing I saw today was the creature from the black lagoon! I'm sick about it! My husband said he'd catch it for me. He's going to go to Walmart and get some larger hooks and livers or something and put some lines in the pond tonight. I think it's bigger than he thinks it is. He probably needs to catch a bluegill or two and put them on hooks and lay them in the bottom of the pond. I don't want him catching anything small - I want that big thing caught!

Well, when it's caught I'll be SURE to get photos.

Until tomorrow....

Stupid Me

The pond was beautiful and really clear and I was met by a whole slew of fish today, mostly bass. Most of my larger bluegill are still staying way out in the pond and won't come in to shallow waters. I thought I had gotten some really great photos but the glare from clouds evidently messed things all up. I thought I had some good ones of La Torpeda, my largest bass, too and she's a hard one to get photos of. Diamond Jim was there, George, Crybaby and many bass I don't even have names for and can't recognize by sight. Everyone was eating hot dogs just fine except for you-know-who who needed the extra encouragement of a fake "hot dog" wiggle worm on occasion which he very reluctantly ate - sometimes...

I made a video and as you see he isn't overly eager... He makes me sick... I can wiggle, wiggle, wiggle the worm and he'll come S L O W L Y sliding in like a snail almost yawning in boredom... He's a beast... I should catch him and put him in a frying pan but I won't. When I put a video in here it comes out real small and hard to see. I put the same video in photobucket and put a link to it and it might be a bit better: http://s232.photobucket.com/albums/ee58/bassponder/?action=view&current=wormeater.flv

I guess I had a spell of oxygen deprivation or great idiocy or just plain old stupidity today because I proceeded to do the darnedest thing that is going to really set me back some... The grey water ditch line is still being dug at my house so I had some of those big, giant, juicy worms. I know how much ole Meanandlean likes them so I thought I'd give him a special treat... See where I'm going here or are you as much of a bonehead as I am?

For the boneheads like me I will continue - Yes, I did it. I fed ole butthead four or five yummy worms! You think he would eat a hot dog chunk after that? I don't think so! He stayed right around wanting to eat more but he wasn't about to eat an old piece of Bar S Brand fake worm... Ain't no way Jose! Jeez Louise what did I do? He ran all the other bass out of the shallow waters again today.

Hotdog didn't show his face. He might be in his little house digesting his big meal of yesterday.

It rained a sprinkle while I was there. Didn't see any turtles.

I got a call back from the Kentucky State University Aquaculture Department. I had a long talk with them and an aerator was recommended for my pond that works real well, isn't made from cheap parts, doesn't require a lot of maintenance (I won't be cleaning out clogged lines), and actually aerates and just doesn't circulate water in the pond (which is what a lot of them do if you do the research). I still have to put electricity back there and won't be able to do that until next year but at least I know what I'm going to do now and that's a big relief.

Feeding Hotdog, Loading feed and Meanandlean

Remember you can click on the photos to enlarge them.

I fed today but I'll get back to what happened with that. First I'll tell you about what happened with Hotdog the snake. I get tired of seeing him trying to hunt and again and again missing. He sits in his little cement block house down there and every day he's there patiently waiting and hoping for a meal. I couldn't take it any longer... I caught two fish for him today and devised a way to get them down to him.

As you can see in the photos it was a real boner of an idea and was totally unsuccessful. I scared Hotdog out of his wits for one thing and he slid under the mud and hid for a half hour. Finally I hooked, the almost dead by then, fish around the tail and lowered it down with my rod intending to wiggle him when Hotdog came back from his hiding place. Well, the fish promptly fell off and I had to lean way over, almost falling in myself, and with the very tip of the pole I was able to kinda maneuver the fish over to the cement blocks. When Hotdog came out of hiding he was overjoyed to have found the fish and - OK you got me - so he might not have been OVERJOYED... BUT he SEEMED to ME, the OLD FISH WATCHER, at least kinda, sorta pleased - if a snake can be pleased - there (is that any better?).

Hotdog ate the fish and I caught him another which he also prompted ate. The second fish I just threw down there near him and he got it. Wish I would have done that the first time...

(The next day) I had to stop to watch the Bionic Woman on TV so I didn't finish this post last night and am continuing it now this morning (Thursday).

When I was very young my mother allowed me to have pet snakes along with other pets. I don't know if my father had a thing to do with it or not but my Mom wasn't afraid of anything I don't think except the big giant Florida cockroaches. I'm not afraid of too much myself and a little old snake surely won't bother anyone. I can't remember what day of the week the maid would come but my mom would put a cover over my snake cage. I know we lost at least one maid when she peeked under the cover... I believe she said that snakes gave her headaches? Bahahahha.... I'm certain my mother will read this and correct me if my memory is wrong...

The little neighbor girl from across the street came over last night and looked at these photos and the first thing she said is, "Why does everyone look so little?" She was talking about the photos of the fish and turtles and snake and all. In this photo of Hotdog she said that the fish looks like a tiny little minnow. I told her I think one of those cement blocks is about 16 inches long and that "minnow" I caught for Hotdog was a small one but was about 5 inches long.


What I think is happening in these photos is this... I am standing up on a bank and the grass is growing up near me. From the camera's point of view the grass looks like it's right there at the water's edge so it makes the fish look tiny. I took a photo yesterday to illustrate my point and also to show just how low my pond is this year and to show my little sitting spot where I feed and look down into the water. I need to get better chairs don't I? Nah! I'm the only one back there! The little green low thing you see behind the chairs is a hammock sitting place for my dog who always goes with me. I can keep it back there and water will run right through it. It's a handy thing to have.

What I'd really like to have right there where I feed is a ramp of some sort that goes about 15 foot out from the bank and down into the water. If it's a ramp then it wouldn't matter how high or low the water is and I could just adjust myself up and down the ramp. I have rolled things around in my mind on how to do it but I just don't know exactly the best way - if anyone has any ideas for a good DIY project PLEASE email me. Now would be a great time as the water is so low and I'd rather not put my toes down in the mud.

Well, back to feeding. I got all my hot dog chunks together and loaded them with the Purina gamefish food... If they won't eat it outright then perhaps I can sneak it to them... I have sneaked pills to dogs like that and wormer to horses and donkeys in bread sandwiches... You can smash bits of that stuff pretty easily into pieces of hot dog as it's hard. It does take a lot of time but so what. I suppose I could be in the house dusting or cleaning out the tub...

You know some of those ole bass would take those chunks, roll them around in their mouths a few seconds and out would pop the Purina chow... Jeez... They are like incorrigible brats pushing their peas off to the side... I'm going to call Purina - see if I don't. I feed Purina to my dog, cats, even my husband's "pet" Ole Slick (the slick tailed "cat" that visits the porch at night) and they seem to be perfectly happy so I'm not knocking Purina but I just think they can do a bit better on fish food. Even the bluegill who will eat just about anything will take the food but spit it out a dozen times before they will finally take it. On the other hand if I throw in just a piece of old bread they act like piranhas (one time I fell into the Amazon river and broke my foot way out in the boonies and thought I was going to get eaten by Piranhas - I'm still here - whew). Can't they make feed that at least tastes as good as a plain old bread crust? Maybe they could make a softer feed? I dunno maybe it wouldn't float. I'm sure they do the very best they can - they dang sure are experts and have been doing it forever grumble grumble... I'm still going to call..

Now this last little bit is about Meanandlean as he is always up to something. It seems I am always focusing on him but I'm really not it's just that he's the one right now that seems to be the one doing things on the feed lot down there. What he's up to now is this:

When I first got down there to feed there were about ten large bass and a bunch of little ones waiting for feed way up in the shallows (they had been hanging back lately). It was cloudy at the time and I couldn't tell if Meanandlean was out there or not. I couldn't take any good photos because of the clouds so I didn't bother - later it cleared when I fed Hotdog. I was busy loading the hotdogs and feeding and fed for about 15 minutes or so and then suddenly noticed all the bass had swam way out. I knew they hadn't been fed enough as I had more than half of my feed left but who knows with them? Anything could have set them off like a bird or something that I didn't see.

Well, I looked down and around the shallow end there squinting and searching around and guess who was down there looking up at me? Yep - the ole creep himself - Meanandlean... He had chased off all the other bass. I guess he thinks he's really something now that he's all fat and sassy. He never used to do that when I fed and he would always come and always look up at me but never chase the other bass out of the shallows. I think he did this once before the other day though.

I fed him some "worms" and then tried some chunks. He ate a few of each but spit some out at times too just to remind me who was in charge I suppose. At times some of the other bass would try to come in and he'd run them back out. Some would make it in when he wasn't looking but he'd see them eventually and turn and make a run at them. He's only about an inch bigger than most of them except for La Torpeda and she's a good bit bigger than he is. I have seen him chase even her before though. I starting throwing food way out to them so they could eat. Meanandlean would take some chunks from me when he felt like it and sometimes he would just leave them lay. I could see that the other bass were antsy and looking and wanted to run in and grab the hot dog chunks. A couple of times a bass did run in to get a chunk that Meanandlean had sitting right in front of him that he wasn't going to eat. Just as the other bass was about to get it Meanandlean would suddenly find it tasty after all and eat it. He's awful... I've seen dogs do that a lot but I never, ever in my wildest dreams thought a fish would ever do that...

It's 12:36 PM here and I haven't even cut up food. It's cloudy so won't be a good photo day. I gotta go!

Hotdog is alive and well

I went a bit early to the pond today and looked down and there was Hotdog! I am so glad he is alive and I didn't see any teeth marks on him. The wind is blowing a bit and everything cruddy in the pond is blowing right to that corner though, so he was real dirty. It's hard to tell if he has any marks because of the pond scum. I bet those pesky raccoons tried to get him and he escaped! Maybe tomorrow I'll catch him a nice fish for lunch! How on earth I'm going to give it to him I have no idea...

The rest of the larger bass and bluegill are pretty much still hanging back pretty far except for Meanandlean who came right up for his worms. He brought a pal with him today and he didn't try to run him off. I kinda remember that smaller bass hanging out with him in the past. He acts a lot like Meanandlean so I guess I'll just call him Mini Meanandlean. He wanted worms too and sat there gazing and shrugging off any attempts to feed chunks of hot dogs.

Meanandlean was being a real pain and if I didn't wiggle the "worm" just right he wouldn't take it. After a bit he decided that those hot dog worms weren't real worms after all and he wasn't going to eat them any more. Well, it's just too bad then. I decided it would just be a long cold winter for one skinny fish that is a lousy hunter then... He needs to start thinking about fattening up for the winter as the fish won't be coming to the surface for feed so I won't be there. Who knows what next Spring will bring and who will have survived.


You can always click on the photos to enlarge them. After staring up at me pitifully for about an hour I got aggravated with Meanandlean and started throwing chunks of hot dogs near him so the bluegills would get around him so maybe he could catch one of those and leave me alone. I had already run out of hot dog "worms" and wasted most of them (you can see three he wasted floating around him that he was too fickle to eat). That's Mini Meanandlean to his right in the photo by the way taking "Piti Me Too" lessons from Meanandlean. Well, anyway, I kept at it because I had had enough of his begging and low and behold Meanandlean ate a chunk of the hotdog - then ate another! He ate three pieces total then swam off with a disgusted look on his face... HA! I feel I've finally won something!


Now it's not even been a week since Meanandlean has been eating but I've put two photos of him together and look what a change in him:



You almost can't tell he's the same fish but that's him all right! I still wonder what makes him such a poor hunter and the others do ok? How did he get as big as he is to begin with even? You know I always see him trying to go after the really small bluegill too and never see him try to take any larger ones that I know he's big enough to handle. He's always trying for little bitty ones about an inch or two long. I wonder if he got finned a few times or something and had a bad experience? Maybe I need to build him his very own pond with nothing but placid little lazy goldfish - NAH!

Well, I need to go shopping - until tomorrow!

Hotdog is murdered

I think Hotdog the snake was murdered and eaten last night. Today when I went to feed the pond was all cruddy on the end where I feed so I didn't bother to take any photos. Hotdog's house (the cement blocks) are out of the water on the shore side now because the pond is so low. There were prints in the mud all near his house and because they were deep in the mud I couldn't be sure what made the prints but surely it had to be raccoons. They are always going near water and would never have resisted the temptation at putting their hands inside those cement blocks where Hotdog would have been. I sure hope they didn't get him but he wasn't there today so I'm afraid they did. I hate it... I sure liked watching that little snake.

Jeez, you can stay home, not watch the news, stick your head in the sand and still something is going to happen to disappoint you and make you feel sad. Oh well. I'll think about it tomorrow.

I need to start thinking about aeration and what I'm going to do. I've tried to educate myself on it some and oh boy is it confusing trying to get through all the hype! I think I need a paddle wheel aerator of some kind but don't know where to begin to look. I'll think about that tomorrow too.

I just threw food out blindly today because I could barely see the fish. As I was leaving and out of food I think I saw Meanandlean come to the shore. I'll look for him tomorrow. I hope to teach him some tricks next year but I don't have any good ones in mind yet. I hate to make any plans because I don't know if my fish are going to survive this drought.

One other thing. I haven't been kicked out of the pond boss forum yet for asking too many questions. http://www.pondboss.com/forums/

Until tomorrow.

Of Spoiled Bass, Kids and Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

I remember when I was little and my poor old Mom would cut my sandwiches into tepees. I don't recall why but she gladly reminded me today. If she cut the sandwich any other way I just would not eat it. What a brat face.

Now I guess I'm being paid back and by a bass of all things... At least I didn't have to dig up any old worms today. Meanandlean looked the best he has ever looked. I hardly recognized him! He looks like he gained a pound and he no longer has that horrible gaunt - going to die tomorrow - super model look to him. Those worms really did him good but I just can't dig worms everyday. I didn't have even one to mix with the hot dogs for odor either so I guess it's all about sight (obviously) for a bass. I took two little videos of him eating today and decided to put up this one but they are about the same I guess. I still haven't dragged out my video camera but I intend to - maybe tomorrow.

I don't know how much bass eat but all total Meanandlean ate six hot dogs by himself today. I didn't have that many cut into "worms" and had to go back to the house for more. The package of hot dogs is 12 oz and there is 8 to a pack. Someone else will have to do the math. He ate a lot more weight in worms than that yesterday. He was bulging when he left today but nothing like yesterday.

One thing he did was when I'd throw a "worm" kinda far and he wouldn't take it (maybe he thought another fish would get it first?) it would float up. He would never eat them then. The bluegill would worry with them and make them dance a bit and he might go over to inspect but he'd look at it real well, decide it wasn't alive, then swim off. He would only take one if I held it up for him to see then threw it in. I'm going to have a hard life having to hand feed a bass everyday... I wish he was a better hunter. Maybe when he grows a bit he will be.

The rest of the bass ate as usual. I bought the Purina Game Chow and they weren't impressed with it. I understand it's supposed to be oily. Maybe this was old because it was dry as a bone. I'm going to take it back and see if they won't replace it. I fed bread and hot dogs.

I've been getting help (and they haven't even laughed at me - at least publicly) from a pond forum online. I want to provide a link and definitely a recommendation. I am pestering them to death with questions and have subscribed to their magazine. I looked a long time on line everywhere before I found something like this and am really glad to have found them: http://www.pondboss.com/

Two snapping turtles tiptoed in today. I had on a turquoise shirt and bluejeans if that made a difference. Could be that it wasn't the color that made a difference but that the turtles just can't stand to see an old lady in PJs! I'll have to get dressed before I go to the pond I guess - they don't want to make it easy on me. They looked me over pretty well but came on in and I got them on video. One I hadn't seen before and he's larger than any of the others I've seen in the pond. He was also a lot more leery of me and ended up running off. I don't have a name for him - I'll post a video here - any name suggestions?

Hotdog the snake was there and didn't catch anything as usual. Poor little snake. I know they talk about those water snakes biting and all but maybe they have to strike at everything just in case it's something they can eat. I see him strike a dozen times while I'm there at least and miss. Awful... Some how I'm going to feed him.

Now as a side note - even though it's not about the pond it's a funny story that happened last night:

What happened was this...

My poor, patient, husband went out to the bluegrass pickin last night and I went to bed. My phone was in bed with me and rang at 1:30 AM. In my sleep I picked it up and started pushing buttons trying to answer it. I was half awake and confused and instead of answering I called my poor old Mom (she's almost 80). I heard her voice and kinda told her that my husband was calling and I was trying to answer the phone. She hung up. I called her again. Same thing. Still trying to answer the phone or call my husband back (who knows) I called my Mom again and evidently hung up on her. She called me back demanding to know what was going on Bahahhahahaa.

All this time I kept hearing a car in the dirveway gunning the engine and going up and down the driveway (What?) I am so confused and trying to take off my sleep apnea mask and tumbling outta bed, the dog is barking, things are crazy. I go look out the window and see the car pulling up and down the driveway all zig-zaggy. My husband doesn't drink but is driving up and down the driveway crazy like a drunk going back and forth swerving. I thought, "Did they give him some shine over at the pickin or what?" WHAT THE HOO????????

Finally he parks and comes RUNNING to the door and tries to HURRILY open it. It's locked and I open it quickly for him.

WHEW.

What had happened is he couldn't get out of the car because when he pulled up there was Pepe Le Pew standing with tail raised right on the ramp to the porch ready to take aim and fire if he got out of the car. He backed down the drive quickly and when he pulled back up Le Pew had moved to the middle of the driveway. This went on and on and each time he came back up the drive Pepe Le Pew had moved but not far enough away for him to get in the house unscathed... Such is life in the country....

Until tomorrow

Today's menu and other topics

As usual, click on the photo to enlarge... if you can stomach it.

Besides commercial fish food and bread this is what was on the menu today. I wanted to show you how big the worms are that I fed ole Meanandlean yesterday. The plastic container on the bottom is nine inches long and as you can see some of the worms are longer than that and curling up and are trying to escape (they didn't). I've seen them bigger that that even here in my yard. I cut up the hotdogs in that container differently today and tried to cut them in worm looking strips to disguise them in hopes that I could train Meanandlean to eat them. I hoped that if I mix all that together then the worm smell might get on the hotdogs and vice-versa and perhaps I can ease him into taking other foods. The other meat in there is wild turkey cut into worm sized strips also marinating in wormy goo. Nice... All that work and old Meanandlean didn't even show up. I suppose he's still full from his huge meal of about twenty worms yesterday and I wonder how long it's going to take him to digest all those worms? I bet they weighed a pound or more - he's probably sick. I don't have any worms for tomorrow so I'll either have to dig some or just try to cut hotdog strips and hope for the best but I'll probably dig a few at least.

There were quite a few bass that showed today but the larger bluegill are still hanging back so I'm not going to allow fishing on that end of the pond anymore and I'm not allowing bass fishing at all. I didn't think Hotdog the snake was there but as soon as I started feeding he appeared at the cement blocks and started fishing. Those blocks seem to be his little home he's picked out.

I watched him for a couple of hours at least and he never even caught one little fish. Sad little snake. I'd like to catch a fish for him but I don't know how I'd get it down the bank to him. If I had it on a hook I'm afraid I'd catch a snake... I have some pincher things but they aren't long enough to reach down there. I just can't think of a way...

I got a pretty good photo of Chickenlipsfish and I have been told that he isn't a bluegill after all but a rogue Redear sunfish. Hmmmm, a rogue. What's an ole rogue doing in my pond? He's a cute fish anyway and one day may end up in the little girl's pond across the street as he's her favorite fish and she's my favorite little girl so she can have him. He's maybe around seven inches long or so, not very big, and kinda pudgy. I think he kinda looks like some kind of goldfish. He seems to play well with everyone so I don't know why he can't go in her pond.

Click on photo to enlarge.

One turtle showed up and although he didn't come real near didn't pay much attention to me either. I was wearing a yellow top. We'll see what they think tomorrow... It's supposed to be sunny - hope the pond is clear!

I plan to get my video camera out and see if I can't capture any better shots with it. By the time I upload little videos to the web the quality has gone down so much you almost can't tell what the video is. I wonder how other people do it so well?

Until tomorrow...

The never ending saga of the pond

I have a fish soap opera going on in my pond. It's a never ending saga and something new happens there every day.

This very small five fingered hand print is what I spied looking down the bank when I went to feed today. I have an intruder... I hope he was just washing his little hands or getting a drink.

It rained today thank goodness. All the goo that was on the pond yesterday has disappeared overnight. Amazing how things can change down there from day to day or even in a few hours really.

I didn't think when I first arrived down there I'd have a thing to write about today but by the end of the day I had plenty.

First off it was too cloudy and rainy to get any decent underwater photos so I took that little hand print photo. Hotdog the snake was there on the concrete blocks fishing and Meanandlean was back after a few days absence. There were hardly any bluegill really - probably only about twenty or thirty possibly and they were small. I did see some larger ones but they are hanging way back from the bank (maybe they haven't yet forgotten the fishing the other day?) Meanandlean was in a very grumpy mood and chasing all the other bass away making it really difficult for me to feed. I had to throw a good distance from the bank and as the sun wasn't out it's extra difficult to see them. This chasing the other fish went on for more than an hour. I did notice that when the bass stake a spot though they only pay attention to other bass. They never chase bluegill out of their areas. Only time I see them chasing bluegill is for a meal. Meanandlean hunted for a couple hours and, as usual, never caught anything. He is so thin he wouldn't make a meal for a grasshopper.

I saw Hotdog the snake strike a half a dozen times and never catch anything either. I even peppered the water around them with bits of bread and they still were unsuccessful. Pathetic.

A few snapping turtles thought about coming in for a snack but eyeballed me and decided against it. I wonder why they will come in at times and at other times look at me like I'm going to eat them or have cooties? It makes me wonder if it has anything to do with the color or shades of my clothing? I can't think of a thing else I change from day to day that would make a bit of difference. I think I'll keep a little record and see if it doesn't make a difference. Today I had a light blue top and lavender pants - a good combination for a tea party at the pond except it was PJs as usual. I think I'll just find out if that could be what it is...

I didn't take my phone with me to the pond so after awhile I was checked on so I had company. Meanandlean kept guarding the whole feeding spot and staring up at us and finally I decided to go get a grasshopper for him. I've tried to throw them in at the bank on that side in the past but it's about five feet up and by the time you throw one all the way down to the water they have sprouted wings and merrily flown for freedom twirling and buzzing out over the pond, making a big circle and coming right back to shore landing safely somewhere in the tall grasses of the bank - not going to be a meal today! Meanandlean has never taken any kind of food I've offered so imagine my surprise when I successfully threw the hopper in that time and he grabbed it so fast the wake shook the pond! He was so hungry poor thing! Now, I can't keep catching hoppers for that side as ninety percent wouldn't even hit the water and most of those would probably be eaten by another fish anyway. There simply has to be a solution.

A suggestion was made to try to throw in a worm. Right now we are digging up our gray water line to replace it and have dug up about fifty feet of it. It has a bunch of big juicy worms so I went to get some of them. The worms that live down in the ground around my house are really large ones and it's not uncommon for one to get to be about eight inches and as big around as a small finger with thick tough skins. I came back to the pond with about five or six. I tossed one towards him and he lunged and grabbed! He didn't hesitate an instant and got it as it hit the water! I guess the reason I'm so amazed is because all this time I've been feeding all these fish and staring down at that skinny old bass who won't even flinch at anything I'm feeding and this time he KNOWS I've got something different. I think it's just amazing that he sees me day after day throwing in all kinds of stuff and the one day I throw in something he likes he goes for it and gets moving BEFORE it hits the water. These bass are really something! Half the time you think they aren't even paying attention but they sure are! Way back when I started feeding I noticed that I had one (Crybaby) that could tell whether I had a piece of biscuit or a piece of pancake in my hand before it hit the water - there isn't a lot of difference there.... I don't think I could differentiate that myself if it were being thrown at me.

Meanandlean ate all the worms except for one. I threw one over on Hotdog to see if he would eat it. Nope... I got on my cart and went for more worms. I returned and made several more trips for worms and all in all Meanandlean ate around twenty of those big giant worms. His sides were buldging out so far he looked obscene. I wish I could have gotten a photo - a before and after would have been something. He still wanted more but it was getting kinda dark and I really was having trouble seeing him so I quit. I have more worms in a bucket and I hope they are still alive tomorrow. Those were really big worms and I just can't believe he ate that many. I'll try remember to get a photo of one of the worms tomorrow.

Double, double, toil and trouble

Around noon I went to the pond today and just in time for Halloween what did I find? Egads. Of course, as usual, the photo enlarges if you click on it. Thanks to our old pal Macbeth, a perfect description came to mind for what I saw....

Double, double, toil and trouble;

Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,

Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Maybe the rain will come tonight and wash it all away... Yesterday it was a red color and today it's an icky black scum and all on the side I feed where the breeze has blown it. I threw food out blindly today and it wasn't a bit fun. Afterwards I headed down to the nursery at the end of the pond and was throwing out the baby food (fish flakes from Walmart) when Hotdog the snake popped up from behind a big chunk of grass out in the water and headed towards me. He evidently had seen the movement of the baby fish eating and was closing in for a meal. He was only about a foot from my feet when my phone rang in the cart. I slowly eased backwards hoping he wouldn't latch on to my pink shoes. I'm crippled and would have fallen flat in the mud for sure trying to get him unattached from my foot. That would have made a good video though - old lady in pajamas mud wrestles snake - gosh, I could send that in to American's funniest videos.

I haven't seen the other two snakes, Brownie or Smiling Sally in some time now. For that matter I haven't seen Leanandmean since he caught that fish and swam away. I hope the pond clears and I can see what's going on down there soon...

Rocky and Hotdog

My sister has gone back across the U.S. and I hate it. Some how I need to get her to move out here. I need help feeding all these fish and animals. The pond critters are just a drop in the bucket and there are many more creatures around the place that get fed and watched.

On Sunday after all the bass had been fed I had thrown a piece of bread down by Hotdog who was fishing by the concrete blocks. I threw the bread down there hoping a little bluegill would come close enough for him to catch. Watching him I don't think he sees very well as it take quite a bit of movement to get him to strike. Anyway, as I watched I saw Rocky tip toeing his way around the edges of the pond looking for scraps. I know snapping turtles are supposed to be these voracious fish eaters but the ones in my pond always seems to be ignoring all the fish and tiptoeing along the bottom of the pond with their long necks stuck way out snaking back and forth looking for the most part like a wingless vulture eyeballing a nice piece of road kill. They do a real good job of keeping the bottom of the pond clean of anything dead that's for sure... It's funny to watch them and they move so differently from the red eared slider turtles in the pond who swim around instead of tiptoeing along.

I'm getting off of my story as usual... Rocky is on his way and making a beeline - in a swervy snapping turtle kinda way - right for where Hotdog is fishing. I get the camera and turn it on. The video is what happens next. Rocky sees or smells or finds the bread and heads toward it. Hotdog, sensing the movement and thinking he's going to get a meal strikes and bites Rocky right on the side of the head. Rocky doesn't flinch. Hotdog realizes a mistake, strikes again and gets bread (yuk), then realizes there is something too big to tangle with in the water with him and leaves. Rocky knew he got bit but still wants the bread so takes it runs with it. Rocky eats the bread and in a few minutes Hotdog came back to fish again.

Earlier that that I threw hotdogs in for the bass and commercial food for La Torpeda and the bluegill and bread. Hotdog again grabbed a piece of hotdog like the other day and I got a tiny video of it with him looking up at me with it in his mouth. Cute but he just sat there. I glanced down to change the setting on the camera to take a photo and when I looked back he was gone.

Now much later on Sunday three of us went fishing, caught up some bluegill, fried them up with Zataran's fish fry coating and I made hushpuppies. YUM YUM. I need to catch about a jillion more bluegill.

Yesterday the pond looked awful and there is some kind of red algae crud hanging on the top. I hope it's gone today as I hate trying to strain to see in the water. Rain is in the forecast and I sure hope we get some. I haven't put any more concrete blocks or rocks or anything in there where I want to put a little place to stand. Maybe I'll go to the hardware store and buy some today.

Meanandlean Gets Lucky and Ole Sam Eats Grasshopper

Click the photo to enlarge.

Look at poor Meanandlean's little face! His skin is hanging off the side and the top of his face is all skinned up! See? I told you it was pathetic. It has to be the concrete blocks and I'm going to go down there in a bit and throw a few rocks in.

One thing really good though did happen to him today while I was there. He FINALLY caught a meal. Whew! I thought that poor old bass was going to starve to death as bad as a hunter as he seemed to be. He always seemed to be missing every meal! Today I threw in a big piece of bread right in front of him and a bunch of bluegill made a dive for it as usual. He decided to dive right in the middle of them and make a grab for the bluegill! The first time he got a big bite of bread which he quickly gagged out but I threw in another piece of bread and that time I saw him swimming away towards the center of the pond with a pretty good sized trophy! Hooray for Meanandlean! I waited a good 45 minutes to see if he would return to hunt some more today but he didn't. I feel better about him knowing he might not starve to death.

Most of my other bass are still paranoid about what my sister did yesterday and although they ate they hung back further from the bank than they usually do. A LOT further. Maybe ten feet further! Also, every time I'd stand up a lot of them would start moving away - some at a pretty good clip. Dang. Doesn't take long for them to learn... I can't believe they would remember from yesterday but it seems those fish have a thing or two to teach ME...

I went around and fed the babies then on to see if Ole Sam Bass was around today (He hangs out on the far side of the pond). He was there and as I hardly ever get any photos of him I decided to take a little video of him eating grasshoppers. I guess I should remind you that Ole Sam won't eat any fish food or anything else I throw in except grasshoppers - green ones that is... Brown ones are yucky and I will have nightmares from the evil eye he gives me if I try to trick him. I took three little videos and am going to put up one here. It's a trick trying to aim a camera with my right hand and push the button and throw a grasshopper with my left hand but I managed. Ole Sam is a stinker and the meanest bass in the pond. He will even try to make a run at me from time to time but I'm much more afraid of the grasshoppers than I am of him. Enjoy the video and until tomorrow... See ya at the bass pond.

I've been busy!

This photo is an old one from the 12th of September. If you click on it it will expand.

I haven't been lazy and I've been feeding but I have an out of town guest and I haven't had a chance to post and certainly haven't been taking photos. I barely have had time to scurry my butt down there and have been pushing it to even get to the pond by 3 or 4 to feed. Yesterday my out of town guest (my sister) came with me and fished a bit (after I fed the bass and sent them on their way). She caught about 15 bluegill almost all of them eating size and one was a whopping 9 inch long and fat too. As usual, no one wanted to clean them so back in the pond they went.

Before she leaves to wing her way back across the U.S. we have to get some of them outta there! I have wayyyyy too many large bluegill in that pond!

Poor ole Meanandlean's face is all scraped up and cut. I know it's from chasing baby bluegill into those cement blocks and I've got to do something about it. I'm either going to turn the blocks on their side so there aren't any hidey holes or put rocks down there on each side so the fish can't swim in. I hate it that he's all scraped to hell like that. He's so skinny and such a poor hunter to begin with he needs all the help he can get. He comes up and looks at me and just pleads. I just can't stand it. I sure with I had some kind of food he would just try.

My sister picked up a net by the pond today while I was feeding without me knowing about it. She said she wanted to pick up Brownie (that's the smallest snake and he was out there today). I could have told her you can't pick up a net or fishing pole or anything with the water being clear unless you hide behind the weeds so the fish can't see you. Well, she did and there was an immediate splashing and then NO fish. They were all gone in an instant. I just left and went back to the house. She should have believed me. I don't know about fish in other ponds or in lakes or in the ocean but the fish in my pond are GONE when a fishing pole is brandished! You have to hide or the water can't be real clear or the sun has to be low like it was the day before. My fish think and I don't care what anyone says.

Oh yeah.. One more thing I've been meaning to mention... You may have to search back but there are bass on the other side of the pond I feed and one in particular is named Ole Sam Bass. None of those bass except one little one over there will eat anything except grasshoppers and then not the brown grasshoppers. Ole Sam Bass has taken to making runs at me on occasion... I ain't a bit skeered I'll have you know but I just thought I'd make a note of it. I thought it was a mistake at first. It's not. He's definitely not pleased with me for some reason and is making runs at me. Maybe I don't throw grasshoppers to his liking or maybe I don't throw them well. I don't know but he does it sometimes... Strange things are always going on down there at the pond. After the snake eating hotdog nothing surprises me anymore... Glad I caught that on tape!

You just can't believe what happened at the pond today. It was so funny! A new guy showed up and at first I thought it was Brownie but it wasn't. This snake is a bit larger than Brownie and prettier colored though not so large as Smiling Sally or as prettily colored as she is. Anyway Meanandlean was using her to hunt and things were going lousy as usual. He left after awhile and I saw him heading back and when I did I decided to try to get a little video with my camera. Well, my camera only takes a few seconds of video and I figured they'd just sit and stare at each other so I thought I'd throw a bit of hot dog in between them and perhaps it would attract one of the bluegills in there to liven things up a bit. Much to my surprise well... you'll have to click on the video link to see what happened... down at the pond today...

Meanandlean was at it again today. He's the funniest guy! This time he was using Rocky as a "wall" to help him catch bluegill. You might be able to see that Rocky has a bit of red on his back. That's how I can identify him from the other snapping turtles in the pond. He's been caught a couple of times and the little girl from across the street put a bit of paint on his back before she put him back in. He's the only snapping turtle that I've put back in the pond - the rest that I've caught have been relocated. I still have quite a few but I really don't know how many. I'll move more though. The pond continues to get murkier and it's so disheartening. One thing I did find today was a great forum on farm ponds and I spent hours reading. I subscribed to a magazine and I'll be asking advice and getting help there. I saw some pretty impressive before and after photos of ponds that looked to be in horrible condition and were cleared up so I'm so relieved that next summer I'll be able to have a great time again with my fish. I know I'll get some of them trained...

Another funny thing that Meanandlean did today - a bit later after I took the photo above Meanandlean was in another location and Rocky was walking by. Meanandlean acted like he was totally unaware of Rocky and Rocky actually stuck his head underneath Meanandlean and picked him up to get by. Neither one of them was going to give an inch to the other. Silly guys! Anyway - I did take a pic of Rocky when he first got his head under Meanandlean:

You can probably click on the pic to enlarge it.

The menu was still hot dogs, commercial feed and bread. I understand that Purina makes a good fish feed that maybe y fish will even like. After I get rid of what I have I'll try that. At the rate I'm going it'll be a year before the bag I have is gone. Maybe my neighbor's geese will eat it - or the raccoons that come around here at night...

Busy day at the pond

Today was really a busy day at the pond and commercial fish food, bread and hot dogs were on the menu. In attendance were just about everyone except La Torpeda and she didn't come yesterday either. I wonder what's keeping her? Hope she feels OK. There were all kinds of goin' ons today! First off when I got down there I went through the usual routine and looked in to see who was there. There were the usual gazillion bluegill and about half a dozen bass. As soon as I started throwing in the commercial feed (only about a cup) all the bass ran away... That was unusual... Oh well... I don't know what was up with that but they returned one by one in a few minutes and brought friends with them. I bet about ten or fifteen bass showed up today in total and I finally ran out of hot dogs before they were even full. Diamond Jim showed up starved to death and I bet ate a whole hot dog all by himself.

After the first couple of minutes I leaned down when I noticed a bit of movement on one of my cement blocks. There was the little brown snake I thought was longggg gone. I hadn't seen that little snake in a couple of months and thought maybe a hawk had gotten him. He's only about 2 and a half feet long. He disappeared really quickly and I didn't see him again for awhile.

About 15 minutes later I saw Smiling Sally heading to the far side of the pond. She eventually ended up where I feed Ole Sam Bass and caught a fish or frog or something over there. I could see her thrashing around and then lift up in the air real high and something wiggling. It's pretty far across the pond so I couldn't identify what she had exactly. I didn't see her again for about an hour until she swam up right where I was sitting.

She parked right over where Meanandlean hunts and they proceeded to eyeball each other for a LONG LONG time. Now you should be able to click on the photo and enlarge it. Mean and lean is just to the left of Smiling Sally and the two of them sat like that for 30 minutes. I kept trying to get a video because I thought any second one of them would jump or something but they wouldn't move. I even threw in a couple little pieces of hot dog and they just sat there mesmerized. They were both hunting and perhaps they were working in tandem. Who knows?

Chicken Lips' Fish

There's a little girl about 12 years old that lives across the street from me that comes over several times a week. This is her favorite fish in the pond and as I call the little girl affectionately, Chicken Lips, I have been calling this bluegill "Chicken Lips' Fish". It's very unusual in it's coloration - kinda a whitish gray with a few stripes towards it's tail. It's hard to tell in this photo but Chicken Lips' Fish is a plump little fish, almost like a tubby goldfish. She's about 5-6 inches long I guess. She acts just like the other bluegill as far as I can see but she's pretty cute - just like the little girl from across the street. I hope she never becomes a teenager!

Yesterday the pond was clear but there was a haze over the top that got worse the longer I stayed. We had rain last night and I hope it's still clear today. I sure hope my pond never gets back to where it was when I couldn't see my fish.

My next mower will have a bagger so I can get all the leaves and dead grasses from the area around the pond. I still want to leave the grass long but when the fall comes I'd like to get all the dead stuff I can up so it doesn't get in the pond. This year I can use a rake and bag it all. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet about what falls in the pond. I want to keep as much vegetation as I can out of here so the pond doesn't get fertilized.

Maybe by next year I can have some sort of aerator.

Smiling Sally Slither

Be sure to click on photo to enlarge.
This is Smiling Sally Slither. I see her fairly regularly at the pond swimming from one end to the other or slipping around the edges in the brush, HOWEVER, today is the second day I've come across her down in the nursery right in the middle of the babies. Yesterday I saw Sally put her smiling face under the water and try to catch one but she came up empty handed... uh... mouthed.. She sorta short in the hand department...

Anyway, today she was working in tandem with a bass and she was on one side while a bass was one the other and they had the babies in the middle. They had them hemmed in and were both trying their best to make a grab when I pulled up. Sally doesn't stick around when I get close and today was no different so when she spotted me she ducked for cover under the water and I could see her take off swimming until she was outta sight. One time I saw her carrying a frog in her mouth swimming across the pond.

Smiling Sally is probably about 3-4 or feet long and while she's swimming in the water always has one or two larger bass following her. Of course I don't really know why but while I probably should have been folding clothes and sweeping the kitchen floor yesterday I got to thinking on it and decided that just maybe when Smiling Sally slips up into the grasses along the edges, she may alarm bugs and frogs that might jump alarmed to escape her and just maybe jump into the water right into the waiting jaws of the bass? Could be... you never know... That's my story anyway... I can't think of another reason they might follow her can you? She's much too big for them to eat and I've watched the bass swim with her a lot and they don't look ever look like they intend to take a bite out of her.

You can enlarge this photo by clicking on it and see my fishies.

Today the weather was beautiful, the pond was clear, a lot of fish showed up when I went down around 2 PM. Diamond Jim didn't show today. Meanandlean showed up and worked real hard to catch one of the 200 bluegill that were there but was unsuccessful. What's up with that anyway? Are bass unsuccessful that often? Some of my bass look kinda skinny... There are a jillion bluegill of every shape and size for them to eat. They just don't seem to be all that good at catching them...

Well, I'm off to bed. I've got to think about aeration.