I wrote last week of the tragedy that befell the fish in the tank by the dining room, which I had looked at with such pride just a few days earlier, its eight fish darting and gliding along in great elegance. That tragedy followed not long after the nights of the predators, up on the balcony, and also I noticed in the garden where I think the same stork I had surprised up on the balcony one morning was striding purposefully on the edge of the pond under the temple flower tree.

That necessitated swift action, and soon all the ponds in the garden were covered with netting, which Kithsiri put up as elegantly as is possible. But that does not amount to much, as the pictures here show.

I have tried to make the ponds more attractive with lotuses, and these are interspersed with the netting. These are the lowlying ones, which proved such a spectacular success in the pond by the garage. But in the garden one of them did produce a blossom following the one with which the plant came, but since then nothing has appeared, and the other plant just had a bud it came with flowering, and since then there has been nothing.

I have tried to make the ponds more attractive with lotuses, and these are interspersed with the netting. These are the lowlying ones, which proved such a spectacular success in the pond by the garage. But in the garden one of them did produce a blossom following the one with which the plant came, but since then nothing has appeared, and the other plant just had a bud it came with flowering, and since then there has been nothing.

And to see them I have to remove the netting, which however also gives me a better sight of the fish. So here I show first the green tub under the croton tree, with its netting, with Toby in his corner, and then from the opposite corner of the seat a lotus, first with two white malawi and then with a host of the red and the black fish in that pond.

The next picture shows the original lotus pond with a spaceship like cover, but sadly there were no flowers on the lotus, a tall red one for old time’s sake, that I placed there. Then we have the temple flower tree, with a flat cover raised in the middle, with a corner by the wall of the tortoise enclosure that has a net that can be easily lifted. There you see another lotus, first with two grey gourami, and then with the white malavi, and smaller ones and also one of the little pink tetras that remain there.

And to see them I have to remove the netting, which however also gives me a better sight of the fish. So here I show first the green tub under the croton tree, with its netting, with Toby in his corner, and then from the opposite corner of the seat a lotus, first with two white malawi and then with a host of the red and the black fish in that pond.

The next picture shows the original lotus pond with a spaceship like cover, but sadly there were no flowers on the lotus, a tall red one for old time’s sake, that I placed there. Then we have the temple flower tree, with a flat cover raised in the middle, with a corner by the wall of the tortoise enclosure that has a net that can be easily lifted. There you see another lotus, first with two grey gourami, and then with the white malavi, and smaller ones and also one of the little pink tetras that remain there.