They're ALIVE! Fishy Sighting!

The recent arctic blast had me worried about both my plants AND my fish.

There are about a dozen inexpensive Orandas, "feeder" Goldfish, and some "feeder" Rosy Minnows scattered across all my "ponds".

I opted for inexpensive fish in case anything bad happened, but I still value their little lives and do what I can to make them happy. I wasn't really prepared for an arctic blast, however.

In the summer, I enjoy feeding them and watching them swim around, and they do their best to keep mosquito larvae out of everything. I don't want to encourage an annoying, biting mosquito population in my garden.

REALLY frozen! Sorry about my Assistant Yvee's photobomb!

My ponds with the water lilies, sit on my unused driveway. The recent cold was way too intense cold, for far too long. I was afraid I was going to have 100 gallon popsicles, that they would freeze solid from the top down and from the sides towards the center, which would leave the fish with nowhere to go and no air to breathe.

Beginning to thaw!

 

Over the past few days, we have highs in the mid 40's, which has helped them thaw. Now they each have a huge ice cube floating on top, with the remnants of old lily leaves entombed in the ice.  

Yesterday, I saw several Rosy Minnows at the surface swimming around! I have yet to see the bigger fish. But chances are that if the little ones survived, perhaps the bigger fish did too.

See the face by the "D"?

A broken frozen heart!

Fingers crossed!