Early winter pond life...

...and so strange as I could not find any red koi fish in the pond.

It was the great winter pond clean up, and so the fountains were off, and the water levels were low. Maybe the red kois were netted and placed into holding tanks, as that is what I would have done before the cleanup if it was my own pond. I have seen how they net the fish before a tank cleanup in the local pet shops. This is a fairly big pond, and it is always a peaceful time to just watch the water lives of the pond's residents. Even with the low levels of the water, I was still able to get some small fish in the pond.
Come and see.

Nope, I don't know what kind of fish this little one was, but it was lovely.

A Guineafowl feather and two Maple leaves floated peacefully on the surface. Maybe the guineafowl had a bath here somewhere.

This dragonfly shouldn't be here, as they disappear in the February, March period. Shame, it looked a little bit lonely.

And here was another cute little fish below that just nibbled on the floating leaf (2 shots).

The winter leaves were clogged at one end of the pond. No doubt, the workers will take them all out.

And look what popped out from under those leaves.

Finally, I think I told you that the fountain was switched off, I just liked the reflection of the fountain spout in the water.

So now, we are waiting for the first of two cold fronts that are on the way. The one landed during the night and the other one will land on Monday. We have already been battered with a heap of damages from the previous cold fronts recently, and apparently 54 roads across the province are closed due to flood damage. We heard on the radio that a river was flowing for the first time after many decades in the Kalahari. So, the northern Cape and the southern Cape seem to be targeted by the gale force winds.

Not only here, but also in many other provinces down the coastline and further inland. The rains are more intense and many dam walls are overflowing, resulting in people that live near the rivers to be evacuated. Many have also lost their houses and everything they own. As usual, trees are also uprooted and one lady lost her life by a tree collapsing on her car in the road. So, we are not talking only about rainstorms here, as lately the weather has increased to become more lethal.
At Papillon we are once more calling for used clothing donations that will be distributed to the most needy.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

Until next time, cheers!