We have been a bit worried about the health of the pond as the plant matter has slowly been expanding its domain and the nearby bushes keep dropping their leaves into it. So, out of concern for the poor fish, L. spent the afternoon hacking off half of the plant mass, pulling out slimy bits of half-decomposed leaves, and sieving out the sludge.
[I was attempting to help with the first matter on the agenda, so I'm afraid I didn't get a picture of it - but I can assure you, watching L. hack at a cluster of roots with an old, dull knife was not without a considerable amount of entertainment]
Pulling out the leaves:
Battling with the sludge (note the plant-hacking knife):
During the process, we finally got to see the frog....and she was not amused, to say the least, with our efforts.
And, the final result:
On a related note, as has been mentioned before, this house came with many bizarre things. The garden, for instance, along with being extremely well electrified, also hosts maaaaaaaany garden ornaments, which I plan on gleefully taking to the recycling centre next weekend.
First, on the tour, we have not one, but three old-people-on-a-bench surveying the pond:
Next, a creepy anthropomorphised hedgehog:
A boot, that doubles as a planter:
A watermill:
Overly jolly man with a fish and child:
The wall of faces:
Commemorative plaque:
Perpetually hungry birds (and fairy in the upper right):
And, the crowning jewel of the tour, concrete 'art' plus electrics:
And today, what should L. dredge from the depths of the pond? Why the fishes' very own garden ornament:
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