Baby Goldfish by Susan L.

   The only three surviving offspring of my female Fantail Goldfish's huge egg laying capacity last summer are beginning to change colour. Up until now, at a couple of inches or so, they've been a silvery hue accented by touches of black along their back. Now there are hints of gold and white appearing around their heads and gills. It's neat watching this process having seen them from when they were black, small fry difficult to see among the water lilies. They were maybe half an inch long and their only chance of survival was dodging the hungry mouths of the bigger fish in my back yard pond. Their mother included. She had no qualms about eating her own young.
  I had no qualms in letting them. My pond and their winter quarters inside can only handle so many fish. I'd sooner they ate the smaller ones because it would be hard for me to flush them down the drain. Letting them go into the conservation area is a big no-no because they will thrive in that environment and put our indigenous species in harms way. Goldfish eat a lot and can live a long time.
   This is only the first colour change for the fish, the white phase. Over the next couple of years, if they live that long, they will gradually be robed in their adult colours. My four adults at five to seven years old range from white with gold patches to gold with white patches. Huh, must be a colour theme, the cat is the same: orange and white.
  I initially thought this was going to be a blog about metamorphoses but I am distracted by the changes outside and talking about the pond. I can hardly wait to sit on the patio and watch the fish swimming contentedly around. Right now, the blue jays are singing. The chick-a-dees, and cardinals are adding their own song. It's downright and wonderfully noisy! The smell of spring is in the air despite the huge blanket of snow laying on the ground. It will be a while before I can even get to the patio. The sun has some warmth bringing a little red squirrel into the pine trees searching for any pinecones the birds missed. It won't be long until the grass needs cutting, I hope!
  Seasons, evolution, trials, tribulations, transformation, song, beauty, patience, anticipation...yup, life at it's finest. Maybe it is about metamorphoses after all.
  "For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:15-16