Bonnie,
I had to share this with you because hopefully
you will find it amusing. My lotus tubers are
doing quite well in water, but I decided to get
them off to a better start and plant them up. I
looked all over town for topsoil, but here in
MN, they sell out in the fall and don't start
getting it in until April. We ended up with two
feet of snow here over the weekend. I went out
to the south side of my house with my hip waders
that I use for my pond and started digging out
my south bed where there is really rich
composted soil. I was only expecting to get to
frozen ground, thinking the ground would then
have to thaw, but I found some beautiful thawed
soil right by the house. I am now letting it
warm up in the house before planting. You have
to be a pretty obsessive compulsive type
gardener to go digging for soil in two feet of
snow! I have been going crazy waiting for Spring
around here.
Best regards,
Lisa MN
REPLY: Yup, I know
how it is! When we owned the retail
nursery / garden center in MI we would get
semi-loads of bagged dirt, manure, mulch etc. We
tried to order enough to get us through until
the following spring. Some years we made it
until the following spring, others we did not.
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*You
install an underwater cam so you can watch your
fish sleep in the winter or when it's raining
outside.
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* The
first thing in the morning while going to the
bathroom is I look out the window to make sure
that the pond is OK, that the water has not been
accidentally drained during the night. Or that a
pump has not malfunctioned.
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*The last thing I do at night
while going to the bathroom is I look out the
window to make sure that the pond is OK, that
the water has not been accidentally drained
during the night. Or that a pump has not
malfunctioned.
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*My
two Rottenweillers have to entertain themselves
while I teach the fish new tricks.
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*You
count jumping Koi to fall asleep instead of
sheep.
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*My
biggest fear is when I die my hubby will sell my
fish for what I told him I paid for them.
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*You
have actually spent an entire day in the water
without doing a single stroke or kick.
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*You
drive an old beat up 1976 Chevy, but have
$10,000 sitting in a hole in your backyard.
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*When
you recoil in horror or cringe in disbelief when
you see fishing poles or when visitors ask "How
do you cook them; what do they taste like?"
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*When
you have no problem touching and scooping out
things that would make most people gag and hurl.
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*When
from a distance of 20 paces you notice the
tinniest white spot on the back of your swift
moving Koi, but then never even notice what your
spouse did to their hair.
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*When
you accost the mailman halfway up the street
before he even gets to your house, hollering:
"DO YOU HAVE A MAGAZINE IN THAT BAG FOR ME?"
When he says "NO".... you stare at him in
disbelief...."What?, what do you mean..."NO?". |
*You
get up at night and turn on outside lights just
to check on pond - going as far as getting the
flashlight and tip-toe-ing outside in your pj's.
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*When
Your best friend is no longer your spouse but
that special Koi you just bought.
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*When
your sweatshirt sleeves are soaked to the
shoulder and you find yourself digging the pond
-- suddenly realizing it's the dead of Winter
and temperatures are registering sub-zero.
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*When
you tell your spouse or kids they'll have to
make their own dinner because otherwise it would
cut into the time to spend time with the fish.
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*When
you would rather push mow a 2 acre yard then buy
a new riding mower so you could spend the money
on your pond.
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*When
you shout threats and shake your fist at the
neighborhood cats as if they understood you.
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*When
you've added up every single watt that is
connected to your transformer just to see if you
can put on just ONE more light.
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*When
you keep better track of your ponds water
quality than you do your check book amounts.
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*When
you go out every morning to see if that new
water lily that you paid way too much for has
finally opened up.
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*When
'he', who would gag at the thought of changing a
diaper as a young father, gladly helps you clean
the pond filters
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*When
you manage to kill three lotus in three years,
and you still buy another one for this year to
see if you can finally make one grow.
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*When
You put hyacinths in the pond in 50 degree
weather cause you want some green even though
you know it is too cold for them and they are
going to die and you will have to buy more.
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*When
you eat bologna sandwiches but buy frozen shrimp
for you Koi.
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*When
you go the the pond to relax and can't sit for
more then one minute before you're up and
adjusting something.
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*When
you leave notes for the mailman to leave the
package in a particular shaded area because you
know it's your lilies arriving.
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*When
you straight to think the pond smell on your
body is sexy.
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*When
there is one bowl of Cheerios left in the
cupboards and you decide to feed your Koi
instead of your Grandchild.
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*Buying more pond plants even though your pond
is PACKED, and then rushing home before your
hubby gets home from work to 'hide the evidence'
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*Sneaking one more fish into the pond hoping he
will never notice.
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*You
threaten your 4 year old that you will chop off
both arms if he throws one more rock in the pond
- and you mean it!
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*You
get more excited when you buy a pair of waders,
than you do when you buy a new pair of shoes.
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*You
don't invite the neighbors over, because you are
afraid their kids might mess with the pond.
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*You
cant wait for payday so you can go and buy more
pond stuff.
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*You
spend more money on treats for the Koi, than you
do on treats for the kids.
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*When
a fish is missing you get suspicious of
everyone.... only to suffer embarrassment later
on when you find out it was just hiding.
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*When
you are more worried about someone falling in
might hurt your fish and plants than care about
the condition of the person falling in.
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*When
you think the term "working in the pond" is an
oxymoron.
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*The
only reason you go to other parts of your yard
is to see how your pond looks from there.
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* You
put off going on vacation because you would go
into WITHDRAWAL.
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* If
you've ever gotten a 'talking to' by the local
police for borrowing rocks from places you don't
own.
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*
"When you've never been able to tell anyone what
you wanted for Christmas
before you got your pond, now you can think of a
dozen different things for the pond including a
special koi that you've had your eye on."
(thanks Dennis, I love that one)
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* "You
look at hawks, owls, and herons with feelings of
horror...when you used
to observe them for
their unique appearances." Thanks Randy W!
I love it!
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Do you have a Koi Addiction scenario you'd like
to add? Please
contact me
and let me know. However please note - We must
reserve the right to pick and choose which
submissions will be included.
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