"Hi! It's Jennie's mom. I just had to call you and tell you about this bird that was in your yard. I drove by your house on the way to the store and it was standing by the pond. And then, twenty minutes later, as I was returning, it was still in your yard! You've got to check and see if it is still there. You won't believe it."
Upon that intriguing news, Faith and I removed ourselves from a laundry folding marathon and headed to the dining room window that faced the pond. For two quick seconds I saw him, looking very smug as he stood over the small pond. And then he saw me, and decided it would be wise to fly to safety on a neighbor's roof.
Unbelievable. It really took my breath away. We had an enormous four foot tall Blue Heron grabbing fast food from our tiny pond. In a span of two seconds, it all made sense. The missing fish, one here, one there over the last two years that would completely vanish. The flag stones lining the pond that I would find in complete disarray. It wasn't the work of a mischievous cat, or even a hawk...it was most likely a heron. How in the wide world he found our 4ft x 2ft pond, escapes me.
But the size of our three gigantically fat 9 inch long goldfish in our pond, did not escape him. They didn't stand a chance. The heron had more than a satisfying meal, devouring the two largest fish. In fact, I have witnesses! Our neighbors, upon seeing me inspect the damage, came over to tell their big fish story of how they saw the heron catch an orange fish, and how they tried to scare him away from the pond.
And so we have one fish left. The poor girl. All by her lonesome, and too scared to come out from underneath the one protective rock she can hide under. In the spring, we'll head back to Walmart, to cheer her up with some more company. Hopefully, by then, the heron will be more interested in bigger waters. But bigger fish?? I have a feeling we were his trip to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for the year.
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