102.  The Pond

Looking west over the lily pool and beyond the back yard, I could see the trees by the pond.  The field gradually sloped down to the curved edge of the pond.  The pond was about one acre, a little smaller than a football field, and shaped like a huge kidney.  At the south end by the fence, were wild raspberry bushes.

The pond had pollywogs and bullfrogs in the shallow water by the edge, and cattails, and lots of wild birds.  It was big enough to have muskrats and their houses, and to serve as a regular resting place for migrating ducks passing through on their way south for the winter.  If the wind kept the snow off the ice in the center of the pond, or we could shovel a lane, we would skate.

WHOO GOES AT THE POND?

It was late afternoon at the pond by the woods
When the shadows were long and gray.
The sun slipped down behind the trees,
And evening stole the light from the day.

A deer stepped down to the pond to drink,
But she knew she couldn’t stay.
She had to get home before it got dark,
And the night folks came out to play.

Ma ‘coon tiptoed in the water to fish,
And the fox sniffed the air with his nose;
While high in the top of the evergreen tree
The big owl called, “Whoo — who goes?”

The bullfrog croaked, “Nee-deep, nee-deep,”
As he rolled his big black eyes.
He croaked, “Come over and stay for supper,”
To the hovering dragon flies.

The loon on the pond began to laugh
When the polecat chased a mouse.
The otter smiled, “I’ve had my fun.”
Then he slipped into his house.

A hush fell over the pond in the woods
When in the light of the moon that rose,
A weasel slunk along the shore,
And the big owl called, “Whoo — who goes?”

101.  Goldfish on a Spree

It started with a goldfish I got at the Ionia Free Fair.  We put it in a small round fish bowl.  I have since learned that it probably didn’t live very long because of the small size of the bowl; goldfish need room.  After learning more about the hobby of keeping fish, we got a ten gallon tank with an air pump to oxygenate the water, and bought some tropical fish — mostly guppies.  It was fun and educational to watch the baby guppies form inside the females.  I could see their tiny black eyes.  Then we scrambled to rescue the babies as they were born so the male wouldn’t eat them.

Tropical fish are more sensitive to the cold, so we lost them when the power went off during a winter storm.  Everyone enjoyed watching the fish, so we got a fifty gallon tank, and two Japanese fantail goldfish; one was bright gold with a beautiful double fantail, the other was pure black with a single fantail.

This time, the fish made it through the winter, and when spring came, we had the great idea to put the goldfish out in the lily pool in the backyard for the summer.  After uncovering the pool, getting the straw out, and filling it with water, we put the fish in, and they disappeared under the lily pads.  Once in a while during the summer, I would see a flash of gold in the water to know the gold one, at least, was still okay.

As cold weather approached, we scooped the two goldfish out to transfer them to the tank inside, then started dipping buckets of water out to empty the pool.  When I dumped the bucket, the lawn suddenly came alive with little bronze-colored fish flopping around like fish out of water, which they were!  As quickly as I could, I grabbed them and put them in the half-empty bucket.  We took the rest of the water out of the pool carefully, and looked under lily pads to find any that might be trapped.  In all, we had about a dozen bronze “goldfish” with straight tails in the tank that winter.

GOLDFISH ON A SPREE

We’ll move the fish from the tank to the pool,
While the days are warm, ‘til the nights get cool.
A summer vacation for a change of scene,
Swimming around in the pool’s lush green.

Are the goldfish swimming? I cannot see;
In the lily pool by the willow tree.
Under the lily pads, did they survive?
We’ll scoop them out, if they’re alive.

One gold, one black; have they died?
What a fun surprise! They’ve multiplied!
Two fantail goldfish out on a spree,
Swam in the pool by the willow tree.

So get some fish, learn what to do,
To keep them alive and happy too.
Like all wild things, fish like to be free,
As they swam in the pool by the willow tree.

100.  Four Frog Concert in the Lily Pool

There was a giant sweet cherry tree on the south border of the yard, and a butternut tree way at the southwest end of the back yard.  The huge maple tree between the house and the garage brushed the tall willow tree.  The weeps of the willow tree stretched low trying to reach the round lily pool in the center of the yard.

Every spring, we took the tarps off the lily pool and dug out the straw to revive the hibernating frogs and pink lilies that bloomed in the summer.  When we filled the shallow pool with water, the green lily pads would quickly cover the surface.  There were always frogs in the lily pool.  I would lie on my stomach by the pool, and watch the frogs peeking out from between the pads and jumping to catch bugs flying by.

FOUR FROG CONCERT

Four frogs sitting on a lily pad,
Singing songs both sweet and sad.
They sang in beautiful harmony,
‘Til one jumped off and there were three.

Three frogs singing on a lily pad,
Got way off key and sounded bad.
They croaked and croaked, “What shall we do?”
So one jumped off and there were two.

Two frogs sitting on a lily pad,
Sang happy songs that made them glad.
Delightful duets made the evening fun.
Then one jumped off and there was one.

One frog sitting on a lily pad,
Sang three solos, that’s all he had.
He jumped from the pad, then there were none.
The four-frog lily pool concert was done.