with a bit of trepidation, a couple of days ago I put on my water shoes, climbed into the pond and removed a pail full of leaves and debris from around the sides and bottom…

I was worried about how slippery it might be and hoped I wouldn’t fall and bash my head on the rocks, lol… of course I didn’t, but I was also careful to move slowly and take breaks where I stood still, before moving on to the next area…

I cleaned around the pump and then added water to fill up the pond… it is still losing water, but at a much slower rate… now the problem seems to be the waterfall… it is not flowing as well as previously… possibly when I added the rock, the levelness might have changed, sigh…

the pond looks much better and I decided to try catching the fish in the tank and moving them outdoors… this isn’t a job I have ever done, as usually my beloved did it, with the help of the grandkids… since he’s been gone, my son-in-law has taken over this task, lol…

last night I caught one, and put it outside… took a while for it to find the hiding spot under the bridge, so I stayed and watched until it made it there… didn’t want a raccoon to come along and eat it…

today it took three tries to get the rest moved… when it came to the last, and largest, one, I got the big net from outside… when it was finally in the pail, it couldn’t swim straight because it is so big…

they are now all ensconced in the pond and I may not see them all summer if they decide to spend it all under the bridge…

had quite a mess to clean up in the house after the complicated catching process…

here are the last two joining their pals…

the pump stopped working so tomorrow I will have to pull it out and wash it down to clear out any bits and pieces… hopefully when it goes back in the waterfall will be stronger and fuller…