The strangest thing is occurring - after four years of being frog-free, and several introduction failures, the pond has become Frogville almost overnight. It started with a frog here and a frog there last weekend, and by last night there were frogs jumping everywhere. These first ones are much too fast to be photographed, but as the population increases, slow (or just unconcerned) frogs will start to appear.
The time is perfect for late Summer oxygen inversion problems and Bill is determined to not lose any fish this year. The pump that he uses to pull water from the bottom broke several days ago and he doesn't think the waterfall and sprinkler system will oxygenate enough in this heat. The fish don't show any signs of stress yet (such as being on the surface in the early morning trying to find oxygen), but his school of pet whale-catfish ignored him when he tried to give them food treats yesterday. I don't know if I have ever mentioned that group of fish, but they are almost human. They are the largest fish in the pond, and they are waiting for him every morning at the same time. I walk early in the mornings, and have usually circled the pond before Bill is out there, and always thought it was odd that when I walked by a certain spot, a group of fish would surface with their mouths open. One day I showed up just as Bill did and watched his ritual. He gets a small tray of fish treats, walks up on the berm, and taps his cane on the ground. The fish surface and have an eating frenzy for the main course, then spend another thirty minutes skimming the surface like whales. It is fairly impressive to watch.