Alfred

It all started with a modest plan to have a small pool for wildlife.

Over the years I have found frogs spawning in anything available in the garden: buckets, puddles, birdbaths, teacups.. . .. I thought it was time to give them a stable, safe environment. So, we dug a pool, a home for the local, homeless frog community.

A cute, young couple moved in straight away.

But, in addition to my two, lovely lodgers, I discovered some unwelcome guests - mosquito larvae. Frogs love slugs, not larvae. I love frogs, not slugs or larvae.

I was advised to get few, small fish. I quite like fish, and fish love larvae.

We now have ten (fish, not larvae), named Maggie, Lisa, Bart, Marge, Homer, Flanders, Smithers, Millhouse, Krusty and Mr. Burns. I don't know what the larvae are called.

But, I then discovered we also have herons in the neighborhood. I had never seen one around here before, but then, I didn't have a pond full of fish before. Herons love fish.

So, I was advised to get a fake heron to guard the fish. Apparently herons are very territorial and won't land on another heron's patch.

Alfred - the plastic scare heron.

Alfred in action - guarding the Simpsons. A worthy bird.

I am not sure how I feel about Alfred yet. I quite like real herons, but don't want them eating lunch in my garden. But, aesthetically, Alfred strikes me as being just one, small notch above a pink, plastic flamingo.

Unworthy

I was also advised to get some oxygenating plants, when purchasing my larvae loving fish. It is amazing stuff, floating on water with its balloon like pouches of air.

I love floating, oxygenating plants.

Eichornia crassipes - Water Hyacinth and mosquito larvae (look very closely)

On a random note, I recently discovered that slugs love horseradish. And they were not afraid of Louis, our miniature, plastic, scare lobster. Tough luck, Louis.