I am sure you are correct that cats prey on birds. That said, the cats in this neighborhood are seldom seen during the day. They are very visible at night when they are hunting mice and other pests. The worst or most efficient predators are the squirrels and raccoons. They raid the nests and either consume the eggs or the baby chicks after scaring the mother away. One raccoon destroyed the duck's nest in the front yard. I found shells scattered everywhere. There had been 7 eggs in the nest and they had only a week before they hatched. We also find dead birds that flew into the windows. Of course there are always the raptors that keep an eye on the feeding area. We are close enough to open areas that we see foxes occasionally and they are very efficient at raiding the nests of ground nesting birds. An unpopular thought on birds that are caught by predators is that those are the slowest and least attentive birds so the predators are doing nature's culling. That is something I read somewhere, not my own opinion. I always cheer for the birds. Sandy

Hey, Mike. I stock the pond at the Extension with feeders each year. It is a small pond and since it is pretty exposed and frequently out of human sight, by the end of the season there are usually 3 to 5 survivors no matter how many we started with. They get sent to my pond because the Ext. pond is shut down in the winter. They have a growth spurt in the spring that makes them too large for the Ext. pond so we buy feeders again. I try to get the most colorful of the feeders but it is the nature of comets to change color and pattern so it is dubious that they will survive the summer without reverting to the solid gold/orange colors. Another thing I look at is the tail. It is not always a clue as to the final shape of the fins but I have managed to pick several that developed into long finned comets. So far they have not proved to be less hardy but I have noticed they are more predator attractive. Right now I have four or five that have been in the pond for three years. I wind up with a large number of solid white fish and for the most part they are less hardy in the first winter than the rest of the comets but then it is equal. Sarasa comets seem to survive well but sometimes their markings shift. I had a couple I purchased because they had a solid red stripe from top of head to tail as well as the long fins. It was frustrating that one lost all but a spot on the head and one on the tail and the other had breaks in the stripe that made the red look muddy. The goldies have color changes too. I thought someone was playing a trick when I found a fish that was brown on top and gold on the bottom. But it wasn't a trick. The colors kept changing size and position all that summer but now I can't tell that one from the rest of the goldies. I have difficulties with shubunkins. I am not sure why but only one has managed to survive more than a month or so. I will keep trying because I really like the look. Koi are less hardy than the comets. White or platinum are less hardy although I did have a white long finned one that lasted for 5 years. It was very attractive to the herons and had several scars to prove it. Malaysian koi are less expensive than Japanese koi and domestic koi and butterfly koi are at the bottom of the price scale although the butterflys are creeping up since sellers have caught on that Americans like them. Small koi (4in.) can be found for under $10. 6in go for a minimum of $17 then up depending on a lot of factors. Unless you are going to be breeding koi or have a lot of money to spare or a bit of ego to feed you shouldn't even look at the more expensive Koi. They can range from $100 to $10,000. I think of them as the Mona Lisa. While I would love to have it, I couldn't afford the expense of maintaining it in my home let alone putting up the selling price. Koi coloration can be very changeable. I have one that started as mostly orange with a few black spots and now it is mostly black with only a bit of the orange showing. Lots of choices with fishies. Sandy

I really like your first shot. The comp. is very nice and the out of focus background is teriffic. I like the yellow green contrast in pic 2 but I have never been a fan of those flowers. It is interesting to see how they develop however. Since you are asking for comments, my favorite picture is the purple lilly with the pads trailing off to the upper right (pic 1) in your other post (new pond pictures and life around it).

Nice work on pond and I bet Sugar enjoys the pond too. I know my Cocker Moonie does. Debbie