This means WAR!

[capewind]

I dont like this new neighbor. I guess they bought the house late last year, but since the original owner wasnt around all that much (they wintered in FL), didnt even notice when one neighbor left, and the new one moved in. From what the present neighbor says, since it is a vacation home, the property is too much for them to care for, thus it going back on the market again ... It is supposedly under agreement pending an inspection, so watching all activity over there, to meet the newest neighbor as soon as they move in. If I had another pond, I would make a midnight fishing trip ... From what hubby says, most of the fish are good sized ... the 20-24" range but there are a lot of smaller guys too ... or atleast there was when Mr Heron first showed up ... I really cant go over there to look, or I would be cutting through the woods every night to lower what Mr Heron can get ...

Mr Heron was a no show again today ....

 

[capewind]

Mr Pterodactyl made an apparence this morning ... just up in the trees watching ... interesting to note that this morning, the irrigation went off (was shut off) and he was back 15 minutes later ... last time he was here, was the last time the irrigation fired ...

 

[j.w]

So are you thinking he likes or dislikes the irrigation system being on or off or am I missing something here? Maybe it is just giving you a time space of how long he has been gone?

 

[capewind]

Hubby has had the irrigation shut off with working in the yard. Twice now, he has turned the system back on, and the bird shows up. Since no one is next door, and they refuse to protect their pond, I think the heron is hanging out at their place, and can hear the irrigation system come on, and comes to see what's going on. He just sat up in the trees,,, hubby sent some rocks off his way, and he left again ... So far, he hasnt landed near the ponds again since I put the string up ...

 

[j.w]

I suppose the sound of the system could be attracting him to come and have a look see. He may associate the sound of the water to the pond and fish he has eaten there already. Sorry for the fish over at your neighbors getting eaten. Too bad somebody just doesn't toss a net over the top of it but then I guess he would come to your place more often. Glad the string is working.

 

[capewind]

He showed up, and landed yesterday ... he went to the other end of the main pond, where it joins the bog, this time. He didnt get any of the fish, but really getting tired of seeing him near by ...

Hubby got up early to wait/watch for him, and he was a no show so far this morning ...

Hubby walked over to check on the neighbors ... most of their fish are gone ... he took pics ... will post some in a bit ...

 

[capewind]

These pics are all from the neighbors pond ... Most of the pond is only about 14" deep ... the little castle in the middle of the pond, is above the "deep spot" which is maybe 24" deep, and 4' wide ...







What's left of the fish ... hubby said there were about 25 fish in total ... all the medium fish are gone ... he said the 3 big koi are all about 18-20" and there may be one more koi that was the same size as the comets ... Maybe 10 fish left ...



Really pissed off ... 1. that the person who installed this pond was so ignorant to the needs of our area. I want to be clear that I am not bashing shallow ponds, but the fact that more than 50% of our "land" in this region is MARSH LAND and home to fishing type predators and everything about this pond is WRONG for our area. 2. that the owners of the property wont net the pond or do anything to protect the fish. They want to take the position that they are selling the house, but my view is if the deal goes through, the buyers are buying the property WITH koi ...

Something else hubby found when he went over to check on their fish ... between the house and the pond ... thinking the neighborhood coyote is rather full ...

 

[addy1]

Pretty pond, too bad that is happening.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

How do you feel about stealing the fish? can't believe I just suggested that but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do....

 

[capewind]

It does LOOK pretty, but if it was deeper, or netted, the fish would have a chance ...

 

[capewind]

How do you feel about stealing the fish? can't believe I just suggested that but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do....

I havent walked over there exactly for this reason ... Since the place is for sale again, I was looking the property up on line, and I know there is some type of security system, but I dont know how detailed it is ... I told hubby I wanted to call them to ASK if we can take the fish, but hubby said they wont go for it ... meanwhile, hubby was just saying maybe he should calll him to offer to deal with removing that deer and see if he can make some progress with the fish ... we have a 600 and 750 gallon QT ponds in the basement, we can easily put them someplace ...

 

[addy1]

I was thinking the same, rescue them, not steal lol, but you sure don't want to end up in jail for taking fish.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Silly me, Did I say steal? I meant to say rescue lol :salook:

 

[capewind]

Well, hubby called him and they already knew about the deer ... the sister "found" it LMAO ... I guess she doesnt have a strong stomach ... So we went over to take care of the deer for them ... there was "more" of it in different areas ... I didnt LOOK but hubby found the "ears and ribs" and "intestines" in two other areas closer to the woods ...

The neighbor said they used to have about 20 or so fish ... They plan to play it day by day, and will be down on Saturday ...

Well, I was checking out the fish while hubby dealt with the deer ... The picture hubby took showed all of the fish but one ... All they have left is the 3 big Koi (18-24"), 4 various red goldfish, and 1 while goldfish ,., All of the goldfish are in the 8+" range ... The big hariwake butterfly has some old battle scars, vertical stripes behind the gills ... the larger doitsu (white with a spot of pale yellow) has a recent "stab" wound, where it looks like a grazing strike from the heron just above the pelvic fin, that maybe near a 1/4" deep and an inch tall ... The other koi looks okay ... atleast for now .., Keep fingers crossed, we are going to try to talk to them on Saturday ...

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I will keep my fingers crossed and hope to see new updated pictures of the fish at your house :biggrin: