Friday, September 8, 2006

SKIMMING














I've done my share of digging and writing and haven't really touched the surface. I've made some miscalculations along the way, like pouring the wrong amount of Algaefix into the water, depleting the oxygen level and suffocating the fish. Lives were lost, but they did not die in vain; They made great fertilizer.

Looking back, I can't really say whether blogging has improved my writing skills or not. What I can say is that it has helped me generate new ideas as I ponder (pardon the pun) past events in my life. Here are some of my previous pond postings:

May 22, 2006 "Digging"
May 25, 2006 "Jimmy Hoffa's Over Here"
May 30, 2006 "Oh What A Paradise It Will Be"
June 5, 2006 "Pond Update"
June 11, 2006 "Let There Be Water"
June 15, 2006 "Bridging The Gap"

Winter is fast approaching and I must prepare myself. To combat the fallen leaves and various debris, I spread netting across the pond and switched fish food (yes, I bought more fish) to accommodate their slower metabolic rate. By the end of October, I will simply quit feeding them altogether until spring.

11 comments:

Jill said...

Thanks for stopping by. I really like your pond. We bought a small "patio" waterfall pond a couple of years ago. No matter how much we worked on it the algae and gunk always came back.Our last fish died about two weeks ago. We started with 5 ( one for each grandkid). Four of them died shortly after Rita. Now we are debating starting over. We need a new pump and fish and so on...

Claude Monet said...

See my pond history in any bio of me.

Jamie said...

How long before it becomes a self-sustaining habitat? i.e. where you don't have to feed the fish?

Anonymous said...

Great Post. That looks like a bat house behind you on the pole. Are bats in it ? Pond looks great. You did a nice job. As far as writing? Put a book together of your best prison short stories and get it published. Once again, much easier said than done. Dagwood called in today after submitting his time sheet yesterday. I made sure his time was updated. Team work makes the dreamwork. :-O MW

JR's Thumbprints said...

Jamie, That's an easy question--when my wife tells me I no longer have to do anything for the pond.

MW, The Dagmeister must've had a hot date and didn't want to waste his valuable energy working. As far as prison stories, I don't know--my midwestern values might get in the way. More to bore you with shortly.

Jo said...

We had a fish pond when I was a kid and the fish lived and multiplied for 20 years, and my father accidentally killed them all one day. He couldn't speak for a week he was so distraught.

You look very comfortable on that little bridge....

Josie

Parlancheq said...

Wait, so the fish can live all year-round in a little pond like that? Doesn't it freeze solid? (Forgive my ignorance. I am not a fish person.)

Erik Donald France said...

Hey Jim and everybody,

Nice work! I hear you on the "tending your own garden."
My version is the bunker :->
But I have a night blooming cereus!

JR's Thumbprints said...

Parlancheq,
My momma raised me right (at least I learned how to swim while she watched her soaps). As for your question: air bubbling water will not freeze.

TheCleaningWoman said...

Thanks for dropping by.

Your blog looks really interesting. I'll be back to read more later.

Anonymous said...

Jim, (i.e. pumps do the work in the Winter!). You can sit back and enjoy the cold! --Bro, Ron