A slow Sunday afternoon in the garden, the tranquillity disturbed by the anxious squeaking of an arthritic labrador who can no longer climb the stairs. He has managed to bury a bone in the disused reticulation system and the smooth head of an ox femur pokes out of a garden bed.
As I hand water some gardenia seedlings near the woodpile, there is a sudden flurry of movement of thin spindly legs and a flash of red. Redback spider. Now that I’m looking, there are plenty in the area.
Some have made their homes around the decking and window frames. Instinct is to spray, but there is the fish pond near by. After the hailstorm, it overflowed and we discovered one of the fish floating. No sign of the other, but some grey bird feathers nearby. Maybe the heron came to visit.
I turned the fountain on yesterday to aerate the water and decided that I will bucket it out on to the garden. The water has cleared and there is a silver fish lying on its side near the bottom of the pond. I pick it up to dispose of it and there is a quick flap of the tail and it moves away, sinking again to the bottom. Not a well fish. I remember reading that if you move them through the water, they can be helped to resucitate. I try that and hold it in my hand under water for a few minutes. It seems to have a little life in it still although when I let it go, it sinks to the bottom again.