Kyo, the goldfish, and his pond

At last we’ve had a mainly dry weekend and could get into the garden to do some tidying up in preparation for summer. One of the main features of the garden is the pond with its rockery and waterfall. Since the beginning it has had a rather ugly netting over it supported by a wonky homemade metal frame. I’m now happy to announce that we’ve installed a floating plastic protector in place of the netting. It consists of hexagons clipped together and can therefore adapt to any size or shape of pond.

Let me start this post by telling you why we decided to put a pond into the garden in the first place…

Once upon a time there was a goldfish in a very basic rectangular fish tank on a bedroom shelf. This goldfish was named Kyo and over time he grew bigger and bigger until he barely had room to exercise his fins and turn around in his tank.

It seemed cruel to keep Kyo in these conditions and the idea of being able to set him free in a pond outdoors was hatched.

A spot was chosen next to some old beams which had been stacked on top of each other and held a display of pots of mainly marigolds.

A large hole was dug and the soil piled up against the beams to later become a rockery. A liner was fitted and filled with water and the pond began to take shape.

Slates were cemented into position around the edge of the pond and a small retaining wall of large rectangular stones kept the loose soil from washing into the pond whenever it rained. This is when Kyo was installed in the new environment. It was an anxious time and the first day Kyo was confined to a large plastic bag whilst he adjusted to the new water temperature. A netting was hastily put together to prevent any passing herons swooping down and carrying Kyo away for dinner.

After much deliberation and planning, a solar powered pump was purchased to filter the water and the idea of a waterfall was born.

More pond liner and slates created a path for the water to trickle down through the rockery and plants were dotted about between the stones.

Kyo seemed very happy with his new home. Now he could get plenty of exercise swimming about and hide down in the depths whenever he sensed danger.

In time the pond plants grew and the first waterlily flowered an astonishing pink.

In this short video you can hear the sound of the waterfall and see Kyo swimming on the surface in the early days of his freedom:

Pink and yellow waterlilies now flower regularly.

Of course, Kyo looked lonely in the pond all by himself. When two goldfish were won at a school kermesse, they were added to the pond and there were hopes that they might breed. A couple of years passed and there were still only three fish, so more were purchased and at last they started to reproduce.

Whilst Kyo has sadly since passed away, there is a large population of fish in a variety of shades of orange, white and black enjoying life in the pond built for him. There have also been visits by frogs like the couple in this photo:

(Sorry for the poor quality of the image. There’s one frog in plain sight and the second is hiding beneath the netting.)

I also captured this hedgehog drinking from the pond on one of its visits:

One of my favourite places to sit and write on a sunny day is beside the pond. Here’s a link to a flash I wrote inspired by it and showcased by the Australian Writers’ Centre for their Furious Fiction challenge. You need to scroll through the chosen stories until you find ‘Abby in the Garden Pond’. Furious Fiction: September 2023 Story Showcase | Australian Writers' Centre (writerscentre.com.au)