Pond owners have no regrets about taking the plunge

Earlier this week, I checked in on two of these former pool owners to see how their oversized ponds had developed and if they missed diving in the deep end on a hot summer day.

"I have absolutely no regrets as it's far less work and less cost than when it was a pool," says Denise Stephenson of Latham. "My pond has been a constant source of pleasure in having something tranquil and relaxing to look at every day from my family room."

While Denise stocked her pond with Japanese koi, another pool-to-pond converter, Miss Fisher of Weston Creek, decided to fill her 8-metre-long former family pool with goldfish.

"I've had a bit of trouble keeping one particular persistent cormorant from trying to gobble up the fish," she confesses, "but thankfully there are now lots of places for the fish to hide amongst the water plants."

In fact, over the last two years the number of goldfish in Miss Fisher's backyard oasis has skyrocketed and not just because it's a good breeding environment, but also due to the January 2020 hailstorm which smashed the glass atrium at the Rydges Canberra hotel in Forrest. "The goldfish living in the pond directly beneath the atrium needed urgent rescue, so several dozen ended up being rehomed here," she says as she tosses handfuls of food pellets into her dark-green pond which now is home to well over 150 of the orange fish.

So, does Miss Fisher pine for a dip in her pool on a hot day? Not one little bit. "The pool was mainly for the kids and grandkids and once they'd left town it was a burden to keep it clean all the time," she explains.

In fact, four years on, just like Denise, Miss Fisher has no regrets. "I love being able to sit beside the pond and enjoying the flowers and plants, the waterfall flowing, the birds and dragonflies flitting around and watching the fish glide by," she says.

Miss Fisher also explains that a pond with its own mini ecosystem is far better for the environment than a pool chock-full of chemicals, but she does have a word of warning for anyone else tempted to take the plunge and convert their pool.

"The pond isn't an instant delight because it takes time for the plants to mature, but each year it gets better and better."

Last week's exposé on the historic ladies shoe found hidden in a Braidwood attic has flushed out several accounts from other readers who've also discovered objects squirreled away in the walls of their homes.

When Trish Stradwick and her daughter Fenji recently renovated their circa 1926 home in Queanbeyan the pair found a veritable smorgasbord of objects, including a 1916 coin, a 1930 photo of an unidentified bride and a child's-size blue shoe concealed in the wall near the main chimney. "I understand the child's shoe represents innocence and purity to protect the house against evil spirits, so the shoe will be kept where it belongs, with this house," says Trish.

The pair also uncovered newspapers used as insulation in the flooring from 1938-1948 including a Ginger Meggs cartoon in surprisingly near-mint condition which was promptly framed and now hangs proudly on their lounge room wall.

Still on the practice of using newspapers to insulate old homes, on a recent trip to the Coolamine Homestead site in Kosciuszko National Park, Anthony Peterson found a cartoon drawn by his grandfather Stuart Peterson among the old newspapers lining the walls of one of the historic huts. Stuart was an illustrator for several newspapers in Sydney including the Sydney Sun and the Sunday Sun during the 1920s to 1940s. What a find!

Finally, it seems that the tradition of leaving objects in buildings to ward off evil spirits is far from dead, even in arguably our country's most significant building. According to Pat Gallagher who has worked in and around Parliament House for over a quarter of a century, "in the basement on a concrete ledge are a pair of old work boots, purposefully left by a builder as good luck during construction in the mid-1980s". Oh dear, I think someone may have forgotten to tell the builder that the tradition is to conceal only one shoe, not a pair, and usually that of a child or lady. But I guess things roll differently on Capital Hill, even when it comes to magical charms.

We all know the lyrics of that famous nursery rhyme: "If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise". If you take those "woods" as the recently logged pine planation near Laurel Hill (near Batlow), while you may not encounter a teddy bear, you certainly will be in for a big surprise - a giant insect. Did loggers purposefully place the log complete with antennae and nine giant legs on another log waiting for an unsuspecting bushwalker to stumble on it at dusk, or did it fall there naturally? If the former, they should have trimmed a few of the legs, as we all know that ants, even giant ones, have only six legs.

Most readers were surprised to learn of the lightning strike that knocked 20 hockey players off their feet, killing Judith Larkins during a game between Barton and Ex-Students at Southwell Park in 1963, with many echoing the comments of Kip Deveson: "I've lived in Canberra since 1970 and until now never heard of the incident."

The column also resonated with several readers who were at or near the ground on that fateful day. Lynne Staunton reports her mum, Avis Fenner, was playing for the Ex-Students.

"She remembers they had just scored a goal and were walking back to position to start again. The next thing she remembers was being on the ground and picking herself up and thinking, 'Silly girl, you've tripped over your stick'," reveals Lynne. "It was only later when she saw most of the other girls were picking themselves up that she realised something more serious had happened."

Jackie Dunstone, whose mum Billie Westen was also playing for Ex-Students, was seeking shelter from the approaching storm in the back seat of her parents' car when the lightning struck.

"I was only four at the time but remember the car seemed to be lifted up and slammed back down," she recalls, adding that her aunt and uncle were both trained in CPR and assisted in reviving several players knocked out by strike.

Meanwhile, although she wasn't playing, the tragic afternoon is also one Jane Southwell, a teenager at the time, will never forget. "We were sitting inside at the farm (Rosevale) just up the road from the game and lightning struck the house at the same time it struck the players," she recalls. "It actually ran along the wires under the veranda awning before blowing the fuse box and phone to smithereens."

Rating: Medium

Cryptic Clue: Charles Henry would like this.

Last week: Congratulations to Roger Shelton of Spence who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as a view through James Turrell's Skyspace, Within Without 2010, at the National Gallery of Australia, taken during a rare recent blue sky. Roger just beat several other readers, including Anita DeLorenzo of Kingston, Kerry Boden of Palmerston, and Judi Hallams of Weetangera, to the prize.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and suburb to tym@iinet.net.au. The first correct email sent after 10am, Saturday December 11, 2021, wins a double pass to Dendy, the Home of Quality Cinema.

Recent wet weather has prompted the Dragon Lily (Dracunculus vulgaris) in Juanita Dawson's Queanbeyan yard to flower for the first time in eight years. The plant, also called Voodoo Lily because of its potent scent (like rotting flesh) or Snake Lily because of the long spadix, sports deep maroon flowers that can grow up to 30cm high and last for 7-10 days.

If you think you might only encounter a snake in the heat of the day, think again. During a recent after-dark mountain bike ride across Bruce Ridge, Sam Nelson encountered this Blackish Blind Snake (Anilios nigricans) on the track. It slithered into the grass at the side of the track but not before Sam snapped this photo. The blind snake is harmless to humans and is predominately nocturnal, spending most of its life under deep leaf litter or underground where it feeds on ants and termites. It is also usually only seen moving on the surface on warm humid nights.