Our 15,000 gallon waterways consist of 3 ponds and 6 major waterfalls. We designed the pond so that the 3 ponds can run together or separately. Some of the highlights of the fish you will see while watching the camera are the biggest fish; a Hi Utsuri (red and black) koi named "Blaze". She suffers from an acute case of Alpha Koi - believing she's the Queen Matriarch in our pond. She's 26" tail to tiara and is the star of the show, or so at least she thinks so..... sometimes a little snobbish probably in part for having impeccable manners - more so than most Koi which probably in part comes from having been born to an upper- koi-class family and then for having been shipped to an all female finishing school and trained to eat from her little table (featured on the front page). Then there's "Utsee" she is a black and white Shiro Utsuri. She is about 24 inches and is the only fish that Rich has bought for the pond (thankfully Rich had found the way to curb Koi obsession - however he has yet to fill me in on 'that' little secret). "Sunny", is a yellow (go figure) Yamabuki butterfly. Always positive disposition and never without a smile -- she is the first fish I ever bought and come hell and high-waters – Sunny turned 30 years old June of 2015. Sunny is about 26 inches long also and puts a 'bright spot' in my pond, if not my day. There are 2 Doitsu Showa; "Flash" (because when we first got him he had this bad habit of wearing nothing under the trench coat, and "Patches", because before we got her she was a blithering barmaid prone to scrapping; cat (fish) fights - both are about 20 inches each and give adage to the old cliché - "there's someone for everybody." "Zorro" is the sexy black male (sans cape) butterfly koi in the pond. I have a waiting list of those who want a fish just like him. He is a little hard to see because he is all black and sometimes looks like a shadow swimming in the pond. Zorro is a whopping 24” inches long. And of course, 'lastly but not 'leastly' there is "Lucky" whose life I saved when he got sucked into a pump a few years ago.... (don't ask what he was doing!) His back was broken in 2 places so if you see a 15-inch yellow butterfly swimming a little sideways-crooked -- meet Lucky. He did make some pretty babies this past spring though. Sadly Lucky passed away on Christmas Eve of 2012. There are a total of 15 larger fish Koi, 20 inches to 30 inches in the pond - the names and personalities we won't bore you with for now. The best viewing time of course is during the day light hours EST because that is when the fish are most active.
| Thanks for stopping by. |
| Rich and Bonnie Hale, |
Cleopatra, Flash, Sunny, Zorro, Blaze, |
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