We had some new plants added to our shelves. Some of them drooped down and their leaves cleared the water until it was sparkling.
We haven’t had a chance to tell anyone how they have grown, as the cat takes up most of the time and energy in this household.
POEM FOR PRINCESS AURORA FROM THE POND FISH
For she who swims now through the endless shining waters
We mourn for her
our hearts diminished.
Swimming deeper
we bathe in the shadows of the lily
dive through the sparkle
of the fountain water
She dwells now in our memory
her scales are iridescent opals
they are pearl drops in the moonlight
Seaweeds stroke her body
in the eddies and byways
near the shores of her departure
Sisters and brothers
brush their fins against her gently,
guide her through the currents
to the spirits of our ancestors
as they pass in mighty shoals
swimming through the long time
the days and nights
forever
transcribed by Lynette Arden for the Pond Fish
We had our water changed a couple of days ago. Sasha was allowed to look at the water going back into the pond. We didn’t mind him staring at us. We were excited to have the hose making a jet over the water and love the refreshed feeling.
The weather is hot again. It is supposed to be an Indian Summer, we heard. Summer does not seem to have stopped for a long time. We had some of our pond water changed over a week ago. No one seems to remember exactly when.
The days melt into one another.
The blue umbrella is opened to shelter us. Breakfast was stress free, as the cat stayed indoors. The food bearer told us he had appropriated a chair for himself by throwing out the former occupants.
This is typical cat behaviour, no doubt.
We are pleased for him and hope he stays there.
Meanwhile we swim. Silky water wavers through our fins . . .
The Cat Sasha is always very interested in supervising us at meal times. Princess Aurora wondered why he was so often staring at us when we ate. Our foods are very tiny, mere grains, and could surely not tempt a huge cat like Sasha.
Maybe he thinks he will put us in some kind of order to eat the foods. We would resent that. We do not like any interference in our regular habits. We are capable of eating our foods without supervision.
Now we find that it is his birthday in a couple of days and Lynettea wants us to surprise him with a secret gift. We have not had a gift for our many birthdays. So many birthdays we can count when no-one has given us a gift.
We resent being asked. But we suppose we will comply, as the food bearer has requested it.
When Princess Aurora asked him why he was looking at us, he fobbed her off with a silent stare. Then Lynettea forced him to move away, so she was not able to continue the interview.
The cat has his garden cane basket nearby and we see him at feeding time, when he comes onto the edge of the pond and stares at us. He thinks he can supervise us! As if we need any help. Most of us are far wiser and older than he.
We have a sad announcement. Our matriarch, Streak, died yesterday.
Lynettea took her out of the Pond World when she saw Streak floating in some vegetation at the surface. Streak was our oldest relative. She was more than twenty years old. She had developed tumours in her old age, but they did not seem to affect her enjoyment of Pond Life. She was still swimming and playing with us, and eating her food. Continue reading “Death of Streak”
