Ode to the Koi...

After 12 years our pet koi met his untimely death with a garden hose. We had pulled out the old pond to put a new (smaller) one in. And after an exhausting day of working and trying to resuscitate fish and getting stung by a bee on the finger tip, we lost most of our large fish. I didn't realize how much one could become attached to a fish. I will miss the feedings, as he came when I called his name ("here fishy, fishy") and he let the grandchildren pet him. One Sunday afternoon I caught this koi coming up out of the water and to eat the allysm on the side of the water. He did this for quite a while. Needless to say Paige, we didn't have fish for dinner!
This is a picture of our old pond the year we invited the Garden and Pond Tour to our house. The koi swam in the large ball sitting on top of the water. He got stuck in there on several occasions and couldn't figure out how to get out. He was between 15 and 18 inches and the ball was 20 inches. On those occasions I had to climb in and pull him out. As soon as our new pond is up and running I will post a picture of it.