What are you doing today?

[Oldspartan]

Doctor today. Fed the vampires on Monday for required tests and will get the results plus an exam today. Hoping the results show continued improvement. If so, will celebrate with a mug of honey ale from a batch that has aged two years. If not will sulk with same.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Doctor today. Fed the vampires on Monday for required tests and will get the results plus an exam today. Hoping the results show continued improvement. If so, will celebrate with a mug of honey ale from a batch that has aged two years. If not will sulk with same.

Fingers crossed! I know that the waiting period can be a mind numbing process for myself at least

 

[Oldspartan]

All good test results. I am a happy camper. Now annual appointments instead of each 6 months.

 

[GaryE]

First kayak of the year - through clear water. I was interested in the plants, which are hard to distinguish after the winter and the ice. It's neat to see green, mostly Elodea, poking through the wrecked plants in the shallows. It has begun.

I saw F diaphanous killies, pre-nesting sunfish, a shoal of juvenile perch and a smallmouth bass. I stayed over the sandy parts near the shore, as that's where you see the killies, and they interest me.

 

[jaylach]

First kayak of the year - through clear water. I was interested in the plants, which are hard to distinguish after the winter and the ice. It's neat to see green, mostly Elodea, poking through the wrecked plants in the shallows. It has begun.

While I've done a LOT of canoe I've never done a kayak. Looks like they could be fun, especially in 'white water'.

 

[GaryE]

In white water, I would die. I had to roll out once, when I got caught in a rapids (the first time I kayaked....). I got a bad cut and bled for a while, but I got it cleaned up and carried on once the deep cut had healed.

On a lake or river though, fish will let you drift right over them, til you paddle. You can observe really closely and nothing seems to get spooked but the ducks. Even loons will let you approach sometimes. It seems you're a floating log to them.

I know I'm a fish nerd, but being able to look at the wild growth of plants, and how fish interact with them is really a treat. A kayak will get you into beautiful places, and the birds, turtles and wildlife would be a great payoff for the paddling on their own. But the fish watching and habitat access is really something I appreciate. If I compare our lakes and streams to the ones I saw in Central Africa, there isn't a huge difference. A stream is a stream, and you can learn aquarium dynamics almost anywhere in the world.

The dragon flies are great too, once they come around. They land on the boat and you get to have a good look. Today though, I realized that a spider nest had hatched out in the kayak this Spring, and I had them crawling around annoyingly. I admit, some are sleeping with the fishes tonight.

 

[jaylach]

In white water, I would die. I had to roll out once, when I got caught in a rapids (the first time I kayaked....). I got a bad cut and bled for a while, but I got it cleaned up and carried on once the deep cut had healed.

LOL! I guess you would not have done well in the 12 mile set of rapids I shot in a canoe that dropped over 300 feet.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Found my passport!

 

[GaryE]

Found my passport!

Good! That's a pretty fundamental document for both adventure and medical treatment.

I found Spain interesting, though I was in the south, and you'll be north. You could spot the Americans because they were the only people wearing t-shirts. People tended to dress well, even to walk the dog. So there's my travel tip if you want to blend in.

 

[JuiceBox52]

Good! That's a pretty fundamental document for both adventure and medical treatment.

I found Spain interesting, though I was in the south, and you'll be north. You could spot the Americans because they were the only people wearing t-shirts. People tended to dress well, even to walk the dog. So there's my travel tip if you want to blend in.

Agreed! We’re not going to Spain quite yet though. we actually just left, it’s about a two hour drive plus border crossing- we’re on our way to Byron’s memorial

 

[JuiceBox52]

Good! That's a pretty fundamental document for both adventure and medical treatment.

I found Spain interesting, though I was in the south, and you'll be north. You could spot the Americans because they were the only people wearing t-shirts. People tended to dress well, even to walk the dog. So there's my travel tip if you want to blend in.

Shouldn’t be a problem my husband wears a full suit to go to the grocery store although most days I usually stay in my pjs

 

[JuiceBox52]

The drive was long and painful, but the funeral service was touching. It was small and private, only 6 other people were present. It was really cool to learn more about Byron and his life and passion for animals, especially hearing how he would leave his back patio door open and let the wild squirrels come in and get food and cuddles.

 

[emeraldking]

In a couple of minutes I'll be on my way to pick up 4 guppies. They're not particularly special but I was contacted today by someone who asked me if I could pick them up for she needed a new home for them because of a new stocking. I told her that they can swim in one of my mutt tanks once they're done in my quarantine tank.

 

[jaylach]

Seems like I finally resolved an issue on my computer help forums... finally after close to a week of experiments. He runs a Windows XP virtual machine to be able to run a calendar program that won't run on newer versions of Windows.

Ahhh, some probably don't know what a virtual machine happens to be. To make it quick and simple it is software that allows an operating system to run within a window within a differ operating system.

Other than that I just got done watching one of the oddest baseball games I've ever seen.

 

[GaryE]

I took the dog for a walk and found a sad tale of the circle of life. It was a tiny inlet/pond from a lake, with maybe a 3 foot outlet channel to the main water. A group of larger fish had herded a huge shoal of young shiners into the end. They were spooked enough to stay there and the tiniest ones were getting fed on. If they'd all charged they would have gone right out, and I imagine most of them will. If they stay too long, the outlet will dry up and they'll all be doomed - both predators and prey.

It's interesting - a series of small lakes, beaver ponds, quick brooks and wider streams. Each type of habitat has the same larger fish, but the minnows are very different. The open shallow lake has shiners, while the sandy parts of the big, deeper lake has killies. I've never seen a shiner in it. I'm sure there are different game fish, but who cares about the big stuff like that...

Different currents, different substrates, different fish. Food for thought (and for birds and bigger fish).