Mirror carp, Mallards Lake

An eclectic selection of candidates for today’s blip; our pond, families of geese, this carp and some yarn bombing on a letterbox.

Pure chance that we were walking past Mallards Lake as the fish was being netted. Looks a fine specimen although small by carp standards. It’s called “mirror” owing to the shiny reflective scales.

It seems that mirror carp are a variation of the common carp and were believed to have been bred by monks to make preparation of the fish easier. After having its portrait taken it was returned to the lake.

I was concerned that this was the closed season for coarse fishing. Checking on the Environment Agency website I found that the close season applies to rivers and running water. This lake is privately owned so the rules may be different.

First broad beans from the allotment today. Very tasty. Cold again, wet overnight. Plants struggling to flourish.

And Johnson won the vote of confidence as expected but with more votes against than predicted. The results of the two by-elections will be interesting.