To my surprise and delight after the worst winter in the Ozarks in 20 years I discovered the fish were all alive and well. They were swimming around in the pond nonchalantly like they had no idea they had survived a terrible ordeal. The pond was completely covered with an inch of ice for over a month. We had left a small pump running to try to keep the water open but even that had formed an ice dome over it. I had reconciled myself to find 15 frozen goldfish in the spring.

The fish were all alive and so was the string algae that covered every rock and all the sides of the pond. It was filthy and very smelly. The hardy plants were covered with it too. I lugged all the pots under the house and installed a light over them and saucers of water under them.

Luckily it was still too cold to worry about cleaning the pond. I wanted Spring to hurry and get here but dreaded the pond chore. How would I every get it clean?

Finally warm weather. I decided it wasn't going to get any better so I might as well start. We tried  to use the big pump to pump out the water, but it kept clogging with algae and debris that had fallen through the net over the pond. After five or six times of stopping the pump and cleaning it out  we gave up on that idea. Tried the small pump and it seemed to work better, 

Once we got the water down to 5 or 6 inches it was time to catch the fish. We had put some of the pond water into a yard cart we had for a temporary home for the fish. 

Popscicle was the first to be caught. She was followed by six fairly easy catches. Nine more to go. It took an hour to catch the next 7. Only 2 to go, the runt of the bunch and Shubunkin. Lowered the water level to make it easier to find them. Finally spotted the runt and grabbed him with my bare hands. One more to go. No sign of the Shubunkin. Water down to less than 2 inches. Started turning over rocks looking for him. Turned over one and this big black frog jumped, stretched out it looked like a snake. Water down to 1  inch. Started taking the skimmer and poking in crevices. Spotted the Shubunkin in a little pocket of water between a rock and the side of the pool. Got him at last!! All the fish are safe in the yard cart and I'm in a filthy pond.

Quit for the day, enough is enough. Pondered the situation over that evening. The only way to clean out the pond was to take out all the gravel that covered the bottom. . Started the next day. Mud, muck, soggy leaves and waterlogged acorns along with slimy rocks.

Somewhere along the way I decided that anyone who does this is just a little nutty. This was entirely too much work. Called Patty (the fish lady) and asked her if she would like some very nice fish and plants. She said she would take them if I was sure I didn't want to keep them. Told her I would deliver them Saturday.

Worked on the pond all day Thursday and Friday. Put the small pump in the cart with the fish and they seemed to be having a good time. Friday night it turned cold. Went out Saturday morning to check on the fish. Noticed the water was low in the cart. The fish were huddled together on the bottom, I thought it was because of the cold. Filled the cart with more water and went in the house.

After lunch I told Jim I was ready to take the fish to Patty's. Got a large container to put them in for the trip. Patty was very excited, she had raised  Popscicle and Shubunkin from little fish and wanted to see how much they had grown.

The cart was low on water again and the fish were still huddled on the bottom of the cart. I started catching them and noticed there were only a few fish. Oh no!, something had gotten my fish. Popsicle was missing, along with six other beautiful goldfish. Only eight left out of fifteen. The Shubunkin was safe! What could I tell Patty,   Popscicle was like one of her kids.

The culprit had to be the Blue Heron that hangs out at the waters edge. He not only came for breakfast, he came back for lunch. To eat that many big goldfish he must have been really hungry or else he brought a friend. He may have been stopping by every day and I hadn't noticed. I had seen Popsicle on Friday so I know she was alright then.

Patty was as heartbroken as I was.   How can two grown women get attached to Goldfish. The rest of the fish live at Patty's now.  She is keeping them in her greenhouse so nothing else happens to them.

Golden Pond is uninhabited now.                                                                

                                            The End

PS. We have named the Blue Heron  " Popscicle"  He flies over the pond every day to see if I have any new snacks for him.