Where did all the fish go?

We had a swimming pool for 30 years. We got tired of it. A couple years ago we drained it with a plan to have it buried or removed. Meanwhile things got a bit unsettled in our household and the pool was quickly forgotten. Over the first winter the rains filled it up. Last spring my oldest son threw in a catfish and several goldfish. The goldfish thrived in the swampy green water, sucking up algae and cleaning the surface of mosquito larva... a good thing. A couple of weeks ago I gave up counting over 200 baby fish.

A friend of ours built a fish pond just for these prize fish. She was eager and ready for transfer a couple of days ago. We went out and bought the appropriate fishing gear, a simple net. The pool was too quiet when we approached the edge the next night. Not one fish could be seen. So we figured it was too late in the evening; they must all be asleep at the bottom.

The next morning we returned. Still no fish to be seen. We stirred up the water. Not even a glimpse of gold. We waited for the afternoon sunshine. They always surfaced to bask in the shallow end near the steps on hot sunny days. Not this time.

There are raccoons in the neighborhood. There are six cats residing in the back yard. But these furry friends are all unlikely suspects. The cats are well fed, seem to only hunt an occasional bird or mouse, and are terrified of the pool. The raccoons eat the cat food and haven't been near the pool since one of their buddies drowned in it a few years back (that's another story).

Perhaps the Canadian geese spotted them on the way to the reservoir and stopped off for a quick picnic. Maybe there was a hungry egret. Maybe there was a rubber booted biped lurking about.

While we are sad that the fish didn't get to live in their new pond, we are even sadder that we missed the show.

Of course we will be draining the pool again soon but we will watch out for that catfish lurking at the bottom. He must be three feet long by now... to be continued.