It dawned on me that my actions had now made me the main
person responsible for the caretaking of the pond. I had brought about the
refill and the critters seemed to enjoy it, but what had I started? Pretty soon
the pond began to look a little scummy from algae growth. Weren’t there fish in
it before it drained? Don’t fish maybe eat algae and keep the water clear?
After heavy rains, the pond water—now no longer having access
to a drainpipe—would threaten to crest the dam. Oh-oh, was this leading to the
possible failure of the dam embankment, allowing a tsunami to sweep down the
holler towards our house? Had I opened Pandora’s Pond?
Luckily, I have a buddy who previously worked for Uncle Sam’s
soil conservation service, who once made a living by advising farmers how to
build a dam to store water and control flooding. I asked Roger to come by and
give me his professional advice on whether or not I’d dived in over my head.
After the obligatory period of pulling my chain a couple of times, he got
serious and told me, “That’s a damn strong dam… not to worry.” That advice
helped enormously!
I also consulted him on the spreading algae scum. His advice
was to get some koi, release them into the pond, and they’d be happy to keep it
clean. He had a similar pond next to his house that he’d stocked with koi, and
he enjoyed watching them swim in the clear water. Koi is the Japanese word for carp—a large ornamental fish that is
bright orange, with white and black splotches. I called the local pet store; to
find out that koi were quite pricey. I hesitated at running an experiment of
tossing $30 worth of fancy foreign fish into the pond, only to watch them die
off.
Then it occurred to me that goldfish are also a type of
carp—and they cost only 25 cents apiece, rather than $3-4. I bought a dozen
one-inch long goldfish and released them into what I fervently hoped would
become their happy home. The next season, pausing by the pond one day, I peered
into the water and cheered when I spotted a small school of goldfish—now a
couple of inches long! Over the next year or so the algae disappeared and I
watched the goldfish grow into sizeable carp—some approaching a foot long!
Victory is often short lived, it seems. Over the last couple
of years, I have seen no goldfish. Many a time I’ve stood at pondside, gazing
hopefully into the depths, but have seen no slinky golden forms. Were they
still down there, but playing koi (err… coy)? Did something eat them? They had
no way of knowing that their flashy gold color stood starkly out and that hawks
might decide to dine on them. Would the pond now algae over again? What had I
gotten myself into?
It seems that I have become involved with yet another ongoing
experiment with Mother Nature. I have interfered and started something. Every
move we make, we enter into some kind of dance with the natural world, in which
we disturb the balance of the environment, and cause ripples that flow outward.
We have minimal understanding of the complexity and entanglement of nature’s
worldwide web. If we try to make our actions benign and do them with care, our
disturbances may be harmless, or even helpful. If our actions are harsh and
careless, we can do lasting damage. It behooves us to step cautiously… we’re
meddling with the sacred.
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