Pond teeming with lifeafter holiday

I CAME back from a short holiday to find the pond on the patio in need of attention.

The weather had been warm and breezy while I was away. The warmth had caused a heavy growth of green algae and the breezes had deposited a lot of dead leaves in the water.

It’s a very small pond – not much bigger than a bath tub – so the easiest way to clean it is to get down on your knees and do it by hand. This causes consternation among the pond’s inhabitants – three goldfish, two shubunkins and the frog that comes to cool off in hot weather – but they get over it fairly rapidly.