This morning the forecast was rain . . . and I found a dead mouse floating in the water tank. These were both signs from above that I should drain and clean the tank since the water collecting from the drain pipes would fill it without any effort on my part.

I carefully removed the existing water and put our goldfish (aka the eaters of mosquito larvae) into a bucket full of water. I stored the bucket in the middle of the tank where they would be safe.

I left Curly and Zelda out in the field with an entirely full tank of water in back of the barn.

A few hours later I returned to fill the tank manually since there had been no rain. I discovered the goldfish in a bucket that had been almost completely drained of water. No, those silly horses didn’t drink from the clean, full tank in the back of the barn; instead they had sipped away at the goldfish bucket until those poor fish had only just enough water to stay afloat. Thank goodness the horses hadn’t tipped over the bucket. Nope, they had delicately sipped from it until the water was almost gone.

Imagine how those fish felt as the water slurped around them!

Note to self: if I take Zelda off property and need her to drink, I should bring some goldfish along to add to the water. It will make her feel right at home!