Cattails Gone

The pond looks totally different with the cattails gone.  A handyman named Bill came on Tuesday and spent an muggy hot morning pulling the cattails old and new ones and cleaning it all up.

Here's the pond earlier this spring with the new spikes of cattails just beginning to show.  The green spikes around the pond are water iris.

Here is the week or two before the deed was done.  See how tall the cattails have become?

Here is the pond after clean out.  Water full of the silt that got churned up.

Amazingly enough the goldfish survived.

Here's the pile of cattails in the woods edge.

The iris are now in full bloom around the pond.

I'm still drawing a blank on this plant (below).  Anyone know it's name?

Here's the pond two days later after  a good rain.  I don't know if the water will get clearer.

I know the goldfish are more visible which may mean a visit from a heron.

I couldn't have completed this job on my own.