ugh… not my favourite job, but we’ve decided that this needs to happen monthly…
I am feeding the fish twice a day to be sure they are getting enough to eat… they are quite big now, lol…
that means that the tank can get murky and it felt like that was happening… as time goes on, I should be able to get the feeding down so that there isn’t excess food in the water…
a bit of a balancing act… it seemed to be getting clearer…
I also put some shelf liner behind the tank to see if I like how it looks…
the water pumping into the tank doesn’t seem to be flowing probably and I can’t figure out why, sigh…
yesterday I took down the liner as it blocked the light… and I changed out two of the three parts of the filter for new pieces because the tank is not clearing up…
can’t decide today if it has improved or not… will see what happens in the next few days, sigh…
last night my grandson came over just after dark to bring me a few items and do some jobs around the garden… here he is arriving, thanks to my new camera…
and the goodies he brought… I’m excited to try the purple popcorn…
he took the pump out of the pond, moved the heavy furniture onto the back deck, and then we spent time trying to catch fish…
two cellphone flashlights lit up the pond as he searched for the fish… amazingly he caught one of the shubunkins… quite a feat as they look mainly black in the pond and by then it was very dark out, lol…
I’ve been masking up now whenever he is over because of where he works… last night I ended up taking off my glasses as they kept fogging up, so I was trying not to fall into the pond… which was a feat as there are a bunch of rocks that have been pulled out of the water and are all over the deck, lol…
because I knew he was coming I had made our favourite red curry lentils and packaged up some for him to take home, along with a couple of items for the others… he was sad to hear he had to share the lentils;-)…
we often get a bit of snow before Halloween, but it usually disappears… not sure that is going to happen this year…
I went out to the garden, dug the shovels out of the garage and shovelled off the top deck and by the hot tub… I set up a few spots for bird seed…
this winter I am going to keep the top deck clear so that I can feed the birds… last year the kids didn’t come by to shovel and my guy only does the bottom so the deck became impassible… still need to figure out how to attach a feeder to the deck…
with retirement, I can clean the deck whenever it works best for me, or a little at a time, lol…
after the boys left yesterday, I brought in the plants which they had removed from the pond…
took a while, but eventually I got them all into the tank in a way that made me happy, although the tank looks very full…
not sure if they will last the winter, but it is worth a try as they are expensive and the lilies produced a number of blooms which doesn’t always happen, lol…
once the two pails of fish were in the house, I waited for a number of hours so that they could acclimate to the water temperature in the house…
when I finally poured them into the tank most of them did fine… but one of the biggest ones got stuck between a plant and rock and didn’t seem to be able to get out from the spot… I was very worried and it took about half an hour before it moved out from the tight space…
today they seem happy, but maybe a little crowded;-)…
and I enjoyed having company to talk to throughout the day;-)…
yesterday I prepared a lovely chicken dinner, one of my favourite meals… set up a time and had dinner via Google Duo with the kids in Ottawa…
it was delicious… mashed potatoes and cauliflower, turnip, green beans, stuffing, gravy, cranberry jelly and roast chicken… I had tried a few new ways to prepare and everything turned out well… for a change I added mushrooms to the gravy and really enjoyed it…
although it was as much effort as when the family comes over, it felt less stressful as I worked to produce this dinner… and I really enjoyed eating it, lol…
set the table with a leaf tablecloth, a few decorations, and the laptop, lol…
had a great meal together and then I tidied the dining room… after that a nap may have been involved, lol… put away the leftovers and enjoyed my dessert – a chocolate covered caramel from Hummingbird Chocolate…
this morning I started the chicken stock and enjoyed the aroma of soup throughout the day…
our lives have changed so much in the last months… and I’ve spent time considering many of the things I am thankful for…
my retirement at the end of December has been a huge change… I had worried that if I retired I would turn into a hermit, lol… and so I did…
during these crazy covid times I have been able to find businesses that deliver groceries, books, technology, plants, meals…
I am in touch with friends through various applications, and have enjoyed many garden visits during nice weather…
I have found help with projects and my neighbours are available if I have issues…
my grandson has my car and picks up items on a regular basis when I can’t find them any other way… the younger ones have looked after maintaining the grass and helped with the pond…
time spent in the garden, following the shade, soaking up the peace and serenity has been amazing… watching flowers bud and open, birds and squirrels at the feeders, and fish, frogs, plants and blossoms in the pond have whiled away the spring, summer and now fall…
the usual family dinner is not happening this weekend…
this year I decided to cook a special dinner just for me;-)… will use some technology to eat with my Ottawa kids…
today I made stuffing muffins for my grandsons… one of their favourites… the smell was delightful and a reminder of what makes a meal special… the eldest grandson will pick them up…
I also prepared potatoes and cauliflower for cooking… I tried something different as I prepared them because, if it doesn’t turn out, I’m the only one eating it, lol… I also cooked a small turnip and made fresh cranberry jelly…
usually as I am preparing for a special dinner I am thinking of those who will be enjoying the meal… today I thought about what a sunny day it was outside, even if it was chilly… and how blessed I am to have the food I want and a place to eat it safely…