Filed under: fish, Ice, Minnesota, pond, snow, spring | Tags: frogs, Koi, Minnesota, pond, snow, spring, water plants, wildlife
Our pond has awakened from it’s winters sleep. The real clincher was seeing frogs sunning on the shore.
Our weather has turned warm with highs in the 70′s and lows staying much above freezing. The pond has responded with new leaves on underwater and shore line plants, and increased activity from the koi. To see frogs out of the water was a real delight. I’m hoping that we will see one of our baby turtles emerge from their winters nap soon also.
After the partial die off of koi in early winter I have watched for activity in the pond when ever the ice melted a bigger hole in the pond. Once in a while I would see one of the small orange koi in the depths. Now that the sun is getting higher and reaching into the depths of the pond it is easier to see the koi in all parts of the pond. Having several black or grey koi, I do not often see them unless they come to the top. Now that the sun is reaching the bottom of the pond I can get a bit of shadow on the dark bottom that betrays their presence.
All of this is all the more exciting because for the last two years this part of Minnesota had temperatures below freezing at this time of year and large piles of snow. This year we are expecting record or near record high temperatures. Most of the fields and lawns now are devoid of snow. Only in the deepest shadow, where the snow piled deepest, is there any snow left. The warmer weather has me ready for spring.
Michael
