Somethin's fishy

It may be difficult to tell from this picture, but the larger goldfish on the left is 6 inches long and quite plump. He's in a small 10 gallon tank so he doesn't have a lot of room to move. He was an inch-and-a-half long 'feeder fish'.....40 cents....when we bought him and we put him along with four others in our pond in the spring.

This was their home. Three died. That's why we don't buy expensive fish. But these two troopers survived and have been accustomed to living in the murky darkness of the pond beneath floating hyacinths, eating mosquito larvae, bugs I suppose, and plants, peeking up every now and then for some sunshine. I suspect by the occasional rearranging of the concrete birdbath (to the right of the pond), that these fish have escaped the claws of cats and/or raccoons.

Ah...how I loved sitting by that pond! The pictures bring it all back to me. And you wonder why I hate when the warm weather leaves us.....

As the temperature has dipped below freezing several nights, I have felt guilty just leaving them to freeze to death when the degrees really plummet. Our tiny pond is not deep enough for them to make it. I figure that although we got our 80 cents worth out of these two, they have grown and persevered and deserve a chance to continue living (even if my husband thinks the larger of the two is the right size for frying).

And so, softy that I am, I have scouted out deals on fish equipment, all of which we used to own and had given away. And now, here they live, near the computer, wondering where on earth they are and what are those fishy flakes swirling around? Where's the mosquito larvae and bugs and real life plants, and mud, and snails and wonderful stuff of the outdoors? I suppose they will get hungry enough soon to eat the fish food but the big guy honestly doesn't seem to be interested. He's a little freaked by his reflection that is following him everywhere.

We are undecided whether to introduce them to the pond again in the spring. For now, I will enjoy some relaxation time watching them as they settle into their new home and try to come up with some names for them. Any suggestions??