I like how the mallard ducks seem to get on with almost everybody.
They are tolerated by the notoriously grumpy and aggressive Canada geese …
… and by the extremely nervous quail.
But those are other birds. Nevertheless, they clearly aren’t bothered by a whole other species swimming underneath them …
… even when the fish pop up to grab a bug.
If we could all get along this well – or perhaps ignore each other this well – our world might be a very calm place.
Happy Tuesday.
I recently had an interesting conversation with one of the groundskeepers at the nearby Japanese garden about the fish in the pond there and learned a lot about the differences between koi and carp.
Koi are a domesticated, ornamental variety of carp that are the result of centuries of selective breeding for lighter colours such as orange, white, yellow and the mottled types as well. The behaviour of koi is also different; they are much less aggressive than carp.
Carp are a dull greyish brown and sometimes difficult to spot in the water; of course that is one of their natural defences, something that koi no longer have.
The fish in the Japanese garden pond are a mix of koi and carp; people have apparently been randomly dropping carp there after they become too big for their home fish tanks. In the pond they have been growing and multiplying rapidly because they’re eating everything in sight.
In the photo above, you can see quite a number of dark coloured carp; the groundskeeper says there are about 30 of them.
At the moment plans are in place to remove the carp from the pond in the autumn when their activity slows down; the koi will once again have their pond to themselves.
During the next winter the groundskeepers will also be on the lookout for otters. Last winter one started living in the garden and helping himself to the koi; apparently about half of them were consumed before the otter was trapped and moved to another location. That otter must have thought he was in paradise!
Happy Thursday.
Somnolent summer carp …
… barely moving in their sunny pond …
… staring intently …
… and asking: why are you not covered in water?
Happy Tuesday.
Who says that it’s only birds of a feather that flock together? You can definitely flock with scales, too …
We have some trouble communicating but we still understand each other …
… because when the humans are dispensing food, it’s always a great idea to bring your best friends along to share the wealth. More friends, more food, especially if you look cute and needy, something that’s a bit difficult for a fish …
… but we know that sharing with our underwater, scaled friends is a good thing. They would do the same for us!
Happy Sunday.
We live near the Penticton Creek and I love to walk along its length. The trees, birds and sound of the water are all definitely very relaxing.
The creek is beginning to run quite high at the moment and all the nearby trees and bushes have leafed out or turned green, so it’s beautiful to walk there in the sunlight.
This last section of creek before it empties into Okanagan Lake is lined with cement from the early 1950s when the city leadership thought this approach would help to control flooding. That notion certainly didn’t pan out; all it did was cause a serious problem for our landlocked salmon – kokanee – to swim upstream to spawn.
Most of the creek has now been revitalised and returned to its natural state with the rest to be completed in the next couple of years. With ladders in that last bit of unrestored creek, the kokanee are beginning to return home. The picture above from last autumn shows them on their way to mountain lakes. Unfortunately, not all of them make it as you can see, but that’s how it is in the natural world.
Happy May. 🌼
The fish in the Japanese garden koi pond are completely recovered from their winter dormancy.
Lively and curious (and hoping for handouts), they always come to investigate whenever someone leans in to investigate them.
They swam right over as soon as they noticed my shadow, but I didn’t feed them. Koi are omnivorous; they eat plants, algae, insects, seeds and larvae and there are lots of food sources in their pond, so they may seem hungry but actually aren’t. They particularly don’t need bread or crackers, but since they’re carp, they will eat it if it’s offered; they apparently don’t have an off switch that tells them they have had enough.
Part of the charm of this garden is stopping to watch the fish. It’s always a tranquil and relaxing activity that’s very good for us in this busy world.
The major religious observances of Easter and Ramadan are overlapping this year, so I not only wish you a happy Friday, but a very good Friday, one that anticipates health and happier world relations for all of us.
After having been quite frozen and with only an ice-encrusted fountain to keep the water moving during last month’s cold snap, the fish pond in our Japanese Garden is back in good nick. Two weeks ago it looked like this:
There had been some significant thawing from the week before but I still couldn’t see any of the fish.
Then there was yesterday:
The fountain and pond were looking much warmer of course and I spotted some of the fish.
If you look to the mid-lower left you will see some fishy looking shapes; we saw about seven of them. They are in a state of quasi-dormancy during winter, but are very slowly swimming and do seem to have come through our nasty deep-freeze just fine.
Happy Monday.
We live across the street from this creek.
We frequently walk next to it or cross over on our way to do errands or to go for walks. It is a kokanee creek (kokanee are landlocked, freshwater salmon that are close relatives of the sockeye) that at the moment is being rehabilitated to make it easier for the fish to travel to their spawning grounds.
In the 1950s, the creek bottom was coated with concrete to more easily facilitate winter run-off, but the fish were severely impacted. Ladders were installed but they aren’t very effective. Now, the city is returning the creek, section by section, to its original condition.
Happy Saturday.
There are some very large carp in Penticton’s Japanese Garden pond.
It has been quite warm at 30°C (86F), so the pond carp are lingering in the shade and around the cooler fountain water – even when there are yummies to be had – so they must be uncomfortable.
Happy Sunday.
I like visiting this public koi pond.
I have always liked fish-watching. It’s very calming, almost meditative.
Happy Friday.
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 