School's out! Goldfish survive winter freeze, make unexpected Spring break!

The inversion process brought the warmer, oxygenated water to the top, along with its denizens.

It was truly a dramatic entrance.
They hadn't been seen for five months and no one knew if they could possibly survive a brutal Minnesota winter in the little pond they had been dumped into last July.
But on the first day of Spring, just as Emily arrived for an overnight with Grandma and Grandpa, the big school of goldfish made its first appearance. Totally unexpected. They looked just a tad bit sluggish, as if they were waking from a long winter's nap, but the clear, newly-melted water made it impossible for them to hide their brilliant orange and red hues.
They're big, they're beautiful and they are survivors. We've counted 23 in the class of sophomores so far.
Gary the Green Heron can't be too far away.

Reflections of dead grass and evergreens on the still water surface can't hide the brilliant hues beneath them.