Soaking up some rays

The pond. It's coming to that time of year where things get tricky. I know it's important to keep as many of the falling leaves out of the water as possible, and there's probably something I need to do with the submerged plants, but I'm not certain yet. The water sure is getting cold!

I'm not the only one who has noticed the chill either, as you'll soon see.

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This is what the pond looks like at first glance:

A lot of floating oxygenators, some other plants, a bit of algae, and a few fallen leaves.

Looking more closely though:

You see some fish!

In the afternoon when the sun finally starts hitting the water, they stop hiding and move up near the surface where it's warmer. This gives me a somewhat "clear" view of them.

This one seems particularly bold, probably because it's so difficult to see. Sometimes I realize I've been looking right at it for a while without even noticing -- that black-on-top coloration is such an advantage when friends are all orange and white!

Other creatures are basking here too, outside of the water of course:

Beneath the liquid though, more piscine sunbathers. Some obvious:

Some less visible:

There are three fish hiding here:

This is what it looks like to the casual observer (or fish-eating bird):

I suppose you don't actually need the sunlight to hit your scaled body in order to get your blood moving, you just need to get into the warmer upper waters:

Incidentally, careful which way you point the camera lens when sunlight and water are involved -- you'll get an eyeful of sparkles:

Although maybe it's worth doing just to get some cool shots.

So I'm still not certain what to do with all of the plants, but at least I get to see the fish for a little while each sunny day!

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