My Biggo Back Yard

I'm always posting pictures and going on and on about Striebel Pond and I've even slipped in a few pictures from Indiana Dunes State Park, but another one of my favorite places is our backyard.

We've seen a huge variety of birds this year and now we have some new residents and visitors. We have a baby rabbit who is actually semi tame.

Then there are the tiny little baby koi we have in two tubs next to the door outside. I took these pictures while standing on our back step. Really, you'll probably have to double click on these to see the beautiful babies.

A frequent visitor to our big ol' back yard is this lame goose. He's the only goose we allow on our property and he's pretty arrogant about it. I mean we're avid goose chasers but the way this guy limps around all by himself is just pathetic. So we allow him to stay and glare at us when we take pictures of him.

And I can't forget to mention the grown koi. You can't step out the door without them rushing to the edge of the pond to visit (really they're hoping for food but I like to pretend we're friends).


Lots of squirrels visit our backyard too but I typically don't take their pictures. I have but it would take me eons to find one to post here. We also have lots of baby robins right now and they're always bathing in the shallows of the pond and sometimes the robins and wrens who've nested in the wonderful birdhouse that my brother made for me, even make use of the birdbath that Mr. Right does a good job of keeping supplied with water for bathing.

All in all it's a pretty busy place, our backyard. And it's going to be really beautiful once I get all the flower beds weeded. I can hardly wait.

The End Of An Era

Today was my last official work day for my place of employment. As of tomorrow, August 1st (which will be today by the time I get this posted) I will be officially retired. I've already applied for Social Security and all my retirement papers are being processed according to an angel named Helena that I spoke to today. I'm done. And I'm lucky.

I walk twice a day every single day. And I walk fast. I'm 63 years old and I can't believe how fortunate I am. I'm retired and I'm healthy enough to stay active.

But I'm bitter. I started this job only 14 years ago with stars in my eyes. It was my dream job and I was ready to give it my all...which I did. But this job wanted more from me. This job wanted my self respect and my dignity.

The powers that be in this failing enterprise seem to believe that the only way to salvage this organization is to beat up the very people that keep them going. They pile on more and more and appreciate less and less. It's a very, very physically demanding job especially if your part of it involves only walking all day every day. And it's not just strolling along the sidewalk. You're required to take every shortcut possible and the steps you go up and down are killers. They wear on your joints and your stamina.

And the working conditions? Believe it or not, it's a dangerous job. There's ice hidden in places you can't anticipate and you're down before you know it's there. There are hidden obstacles seemingly designed for trips while you're attending to your job as you walk (as required). And if you have an accident in the worst winter on record or worse yet, two of them, you will be treated like the lowest of the low. You'll be told that it's a shame that this organization lets you work for them with your accident record. But wait, I'm the first person they've said this to in my work unit. Is it because I'm 63? Surely not.

Don't get the wrong idea. I slipped on hidden ice and my head hit a planter. The ensuing cuts required 5 stitches and I was back at work the next day. I'm not a slacker. I'm a hard, conscientious worker and I was treated like dog****.

When my daughter called me with the most devastating news any mother could ever hear - that the identical twin boys she was carrying had both died, my employer told me that if I went to her, I would be fired for abandoning my route. And the thing I'll NEVER forgive myself for is that I didn't walk away that day.

I'm leaving this dream job because it turned into a nightmare. And I'm not walking away with pride in a job well done (although it was), I'm leaving an embittered, battered, beaten down ex-employee who is relieved that for the rest of her life she never has to walk into that place again.

You Capture - Friends

I wasn't going to participate in You Capture this week because I'm not in contact with any of my friends. My sister's my friend but I rarely see her anymore. Then I thought of someone who has been my tried and true friend for over 40 years. Someone that is loving and tolerant and always gives me the benefit of a doubt. Someone that soothes my troubled mind over and over and over again and who calmly and steadfastly sticks by my side through thick and thin. Mr. Right. This is truly my friend.

For more friends indeed, head over to Beth's at I Should Be Folding Laundry

What Happened To Striebel Pond?

Yesterday Mr. Right and I took our daily walk at Striebel Pond and saw wonderful scenes like this:

The only really unusual things we saw were some ominous looking cloud formations.

And some guys working out there:


Today Striebel Pond was very different and the ominous looking clouds had a lot to do with it. Last night we had almost 4 inches of rain in a short period of time and Striebel Pond is actually a drainage area for a large subdivision behind the woods you see in the background. Today Streibel Pond had very little wildlife. Early in the day there were a few frantic birds darting over the part of the pond that used to be water and was now submerged. Were they looking for nests that used to be on dry land? There was one goose and one duck family and no other birds to be seen. Because all of a sudden Striebel Pond looked more like Striebel Lake:

When we got there, even the swans were nowhere to be seen. Thankfully by the time we finished our figure eight, this is what we saw:

We were so relieved.

So we can conclude that Striebel Pond is an idyllic place for wildlife UNLESS it has to be used for it's true purpose. Then things can get a little dicey.

They're Still Swimming - Just Not Very Many

In my post on June 30th, I excitedly reported that we had literally hundreds of swimming koi fry. Things progressed swimmingly up to the post I wrote on July 7th showing a picture of hundreds, really probably thousands of koi fry. In that post, although I was a very proud koi mom, I did express some trepidation about the likelihood of bringing so many to adulthood or even teen hood.

There was a good reason for that. I planned to post pictures weekly to show their progress but then something bad happened. They started dying. It seems like it should have been simple to figure out what went wrong but it was so complicated. Everything I read was either vague or contradictory. For example. Koi babies are very hungry and must eat at least 5 times a day. BUT don't overfeed them because koi babies will eat until their tiny abdomens literally burst. Oh no.

Then, there was the problem with aerating. Koi babies and koi eggs need lots and lots of air. But when we put two aerators in, the tiny little bodies seemed to get bounced and battered all over the place. Some hid on the bottom or in the corners but most seemed to swim around in this never ending circulation. Later I would realize that a lot of those swimmers circulating around were dead. Oh no.

Then the filtration question. We covered the vent on the filter intake with mesh so that nobody would get sucked in but guess what. The first day that I cleaned it there were probably fifty koi bodies stuck to it. Well, if they're dead it's good to get them out of there I thought; so I cleaned it and put it back in and guess what. I watched as live koi bodies got stuck to it and couldn't get away. So we invented a large cage covered in mesh so that we could get some filtration but no bodies would stick to it. That sort of worked but I think the filtration we're getting is so minimal that it's questionable whether it's worth it.

Then, the problem of water changes. Most sites I visited stressed the importance of doing a partial water change every day. I tried that but there was difficulty getting the precisely correct amount of dechlorinator in the tap water. Some sites suggested adding pond water. I tried that but I wasn't convinced that our pond water was healthy enough for these fragile little babies. So I tried a combination of the two. I don't think that was the answer either.

I don't know what spelled doom for so many babies. All I know is that I don't have it figured out. I suspect now that overfeeding was the main cause.

Anyway here are pictures of where we are now. This is not to show how few there are left (although it will) but to show how they're changing. And, knock on wood, the numbers seem to be stabilizing. You'll want to double click on the pictures to see what they really look like.


So you can see that the tank isn't real clean (we had to take the algae eater out because in additon to algae they eat anything they can get their mouths on including koi eggs) but they are starting to look more like fish and we have maybe 40 or 50 more in the tubs outside that didn't get as much tender loving care so they had a better chance of survival.

I'm still thrilled to have koi babies though. And I'll keep you posted. Literally.

Art or ?

Look what I photographed!

Did I do a good job? I'm almost thinking of having it printed and framing it for wall art. Or is it not so pretty?

You do know that you can double click on it to get the full effect right?

I'd love to have your opinion.

Walking At Striebel Pond

Once again I'm going to share some of the sights that we enjoy almost every day at Striebel Pond.

First of all there's a tern. This is a diving bird that I had no idea could be found in our area but he's there every day swooping and diving. My goal was to capture him in a dive but I didn't quite achieve it. Here he is, though, just coming out of one. Right after that is a picture of him in flight.


Next we'll cover geese. They aren't my favorite bird by a long shot but photographing them can be fun. This first guy wanted to swim under the bridge that I was standing on but just couldn't get up the nerve. While he was trying though, it gave me the opportunity for some real close ups.

Then the geese landing picture looks almost like an optical illusion. This would have been a good picture for You Capture - Reflections week.

Then there are geese in flight and geese landing in the water.


And finally, geese playing soldier.