When Right Is Wrong, And Wrong Is Right

It was Christmas morning, and I had self gifted myself a Laguna Power Clean Cordless Pond Cleaner to keep my 4 Koi above ground pools clean, no sludge or debris on the bottom and sides of the pools ....

I had wanted this tool for a long time but its price was beyond my budget until Ocean Floor offerred me a

40% discount on any single item in their store.... It was retailed at $346.49 and 40% brought it down enough

that I could go ahead and give it to myself for Christmas only a few days away. 

I enthusiastically opened the 5 ft long box and began assembling the tool.  I was a little dismayed that the Laguna Operation and Maintenance Guide didn't have any instructions on how to put it together, but that has happened before with other products so I did the best I could by looking at the pictures of the cleaner on the box.  It didn't take very long to assemble, but then I noticed that the instruction booklet said to charge the battery 4 hours before using.  Ok, I thought to myself, but then read "IMPORTANT CHARGING NOTES", "When the battery is charging the light on the plug will be green.  When the battery is fully charged, the light will turn to red."  Well,.... this is certainly contrary to convention, I thought to myself.  I put the battery into the charger and the light was red. Hmmm, something is strange, must already be charged.  So I put the battery in my pond cleaner and it was working okay enough for me to try cleaning my largest pool. I finished cleaning the pool and was very happy with my new pond cleaner but still puzzled by the red versus green light indicators.  I removed the battery from the tool and inserted it into the charger, the light was red.  Okay, I thought to myself, we'll leave it in for the required 4 hours and see if it turns to green. The instructions said vice versa, but we all know documentation sometimes has errors, and in this case, the suspected erroneous instruction was consistent in three different languages of the documentation.  I couldn't call their customer service because it was Christmas day, perhaps they might not know either.

After 4 hours charging time, the light turned green.  The instructions were wrong.  Maybe that is why they didn't provide any assembly instructions either since that would have really fouled things up if they too were similarly wrong. 

When Right is Wrong, And Wrong is Right.... I learned that actually the light is red when charging, and it is green when finished and fully charged..... contrary to what their instruction and operation manual stated in 3 different languages.

When Truth is False, And False is Truth, verifiable by reality and life itself, we learn to ignore what normally should be accurate since we know emperically it isn't.  Little by little misleading and false statements erode confidence, safety, and security in our economy, its goods and services that should have integrity and quality; it creates distrust both in the product, in the supporting documentation of the product, and discredits its vendor.

Red versus Green indicator lights. Imagine what would happen if this error occurred in our traffic stop lights! Christmas lights, red and green colors, it is all very pretty, but what is real? When Right is Wrong, And Wrong is Right.....who is accountable for the errors in the confounded, crazy confusion consequences?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

The Angels Called

The Angels Called

 

The Angels Called

I had to go,

The Master Auld

Awaits, you know.

 

Can not be stalled

North wind doth blow,

Here is a scrawled

Goodbye, you’ll know.

 

 

Sonata's New Baby Pekingese

 

The first one born was a girl, which I thought was gray but I see is now sable..... 8 oz at 10:30 pm ,,, It was stuck with its butt halfway out and I finally helped turn the baby so it could come out. I had to quickly remove the placenta so it could breathe. 

Then next came a boy, sable, same weight,  at 11:18 pm.

Then a long wait, is that all?  Sonata was having just slight contractions and preoccupied with her two that were nursing.

I was watching her close by with soft music playing, resting and marveling at the newborn babies.  I was watching her so to be able to help, but then I sensed something wrong and checked her, lifted her tail, underneath there was a puppy still in its placenta motionless, a girl.  I tried to revive it but couldn’t, not breathing and no heartbeat. I think it was too long in the birth canal and Sonata’s minimal contractions were not strong enough to deliver the puppy normally before nature and time took its life away.

Then another hour wait .... is she going to have more, I wonder ....

She pushes with strong contractions, and there is a big newborn boy at 1:27 pm .... that’s all, its over, I am now sure.

 

Sonata is pleased with the 3 puppies that are alive, and we both focus on that happiness and not the ill fated loss.

 

I am happy Mother and the 3 sable puppies are doing fine, very sad that I lost one.... was it stillborn and that is why she didn’t tend to it?  While I was trying to revive it by massaging and even breathing oxygen in to its tiny mouth, Sonata was tearful ... and so was I .... This was one of those times, you realize you didn’t do enough, and you can’t undo and do over. That’s life, one time through is all you get. It is also one of those times you will always remember the sad loss and the finality of death with no recall. There should have been 4 puppies but there is now only 3.

 

I hear Pekingese breeders tell me how their large litters of 5 and more were born in the middle of night while they were asleep or during the day while they were away at work... other breeders tell me of their losses, sometimes losing the Mother and all the babies.

 

I will take my losses, but also learn more keenly that life is not to be taken for granted as a certainty or even a knowable outcome .

 

The Ups and Downs in Life

The Ups and Downs in Life

 

 

A friend invited me to go with her and her husband to see a litter of Pekingese and to help her to decide whether or not to buy one of the puppies. They were late arriving, and when they did arrive they explained they had been in a minor car accident; a jeep rear ended them just about a mile from my home.  Accidents are one of the downs in life, having to deal with the insurance claim, the vehicle repairs to the broken tail light and dented bumper with scratches, and upset to plans.  But they were happy nevertheless and we were still going to go look at the 8 week old Pekingese puppies, perhaps just what they wanted and have been searching for. This evening was an up occasion for us.

 

I got in their SUV and we were on the way to Cave Creek, Arizona (North of Phoenix) to possibly select their new Pekingese puppy, it had to be a girl puppy to be a mate for their AKC show quality male, Mofasha. After a short drive on Interstate I-17, then turning off at Care Free Highway, we arrived at a lovely new home. The air was crisp and clean, stars shining brightly in the winter's night sky. The Christmas wreath on the entry door hinted their was happiness in the home within.

 

We were welcomed by Chris and her family.  A Christmas tree with lights twinkled through the front window and holiday decorations, some still in boxes, seasonally added to our warm welcome. It was the most unusual home I have ever seen.  We entered into the front hall with a living room at street level and 8 or so steps leading up to the dining room and kitchen where the Pekingese puppies/parents were .... once in the kitchen you go down about 10 steps to a lower level family room or 10 steps up to the bedrooms and bath area (2 cats were sitting on the stairway looking at us quizzically).  The kitchen had an open balcony overlooking the family room with fireplace below and from elevated kitchen level and dining room, an open balcony looks down to the living room where we had entered.This home had more ups and downs than any I had ever visited before. Chris works for Farmers Insurance Agency, and I am sure she works with customers, their life's ups and downs daily.

 

Jeri and her husband were jubilant and immediately knew they had found their Pekingese puppy plus we were very surprised to learn Chris had another litter of 5 Pekingese puppies only 5 days old and there was one female in that litter also.  Jeri joyfully put a deposit on that one too so now we were all up, smiling, and satisfied with 2 new Pekingese puppies selected.  Chris showed us their pedigrees, we could see the puppies parents were exceptional in every way, and Jeri got the necessary AKC application registration papers after paying Chris for her new puppy. We said thank you, said our goodbyes then left with the warm new puppy cradled in Jeri's hands.

 

Safely returning to my home, I invited Jeri in to give her some puppy biscuits, an exercise gate to make a safe area for the new puppy, and some training pads. She looked at my Pekingese and held the one new expectant Mother soon to have a litter of Pekingese puppies just in time for Christmas, the same Mother of her male Pekingese, Mofasha, born last year.  We hugged one another and said goodbye.  Tonight was an up time in our lives and memories are made up of moments like these.

 

I laid down to go to sleep and did so quickly.  It had been a long day.  The next morning I thought about how many up and downs there are in our life just like the up and down stairs in Chris's many levels home.  The next time you are down, look for the stairs leading up.

 

 

 

 

Koi Pool Maintenance

]

I have learned that the Koi Pools do require daily maintenance .... perhaps my filters/pumps are not large enough for the number of fish I have in the (2) 300 gallon 5 ft diameter pools because almost daily I have to backwash the filters (about 10 minutes per filter and twice weekly clean out the 3 sponges in each pool's filter (about 20 minutes per filter) ... I have also had to learn to clean the pumps' interior components crevices and surfaces, removing the impeller and flushing out the debris gunk that collects inside. I could double up the filters/pumps 2 to a pool or simply buy a larger model of filter/pump. I have the winter to think about the best thing to do to reduce required maintenance. The large 750 gallon 8 ft diameter pool in the front requires minimum maintenance since I upgraded to the a larger filter/pump. Each spitter in all the pools have their individual pump adding to the workload needing regular cleaning. I have collected or created some of my own common sense cleaning tools and purchased others custom suited for cleaning and maintaining the pumps.


Because I chose natural pool environments with live plants, there is more work than if I could use a chemical to prevent algae and not worry about real live plants and their needs. The dark green velvet algae that collects on the interior surfaces of the pools contribute to dirtying up the pumps in addition to the fish waste, but that algae must be tolerated and other single cell algae more troublesome is killed by the ultra violet light in the filters (blue green algae and string algae). The fish do eat the algae and so do the snails that are happily at home in the Koi pools. The snails came with the hyacinth water plants Darlene gave me.


This morning I removed the fountain from the pool outside my dining room window and thoroughly cleaned its internal parts, also the exterior, then stored it away until next Spring. That took about 1 1/2 hours. The fish will not need the water cooling fountain during the winter months as the water is naturally cool, even cold now that summer has ended. Each fountain (1 per pool) has its own sponge filter and pump to push the water also requiring additional periodical maintenance.


With all the extra work required to keep the water clean and aerated, there is little time to just sit and enjoy watching the fish, but at dawn and at dusk I enjoy feeding them and watching them swim eagerly around to me for their meal of Tetra Vibrance food. The Koi and goldfish are now young adults, each is 7-14 inches long and still growing. They are very healthy, colorful, and seem happy in their water homes. I have satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment realizing how they have enhanced my home with their vitality and beauty. Yes it is a lot of work, money for equipment and food, but they energize and complete both my life and my home as return on that investment.

Video of Tree Heart and My Way (new Pekingese parti-color puppy)

ART IS WHERE YOU FIND IT ...

ART IS WHERE YOU FIND IT ...

Cleaning the Koi and Goldfish Outdoor Pool

Koi Pond Regular Weekly Maintenance

PhoenixKoiRescue.com

Shorty@ShortyPen.com

Water Changes
The MOST IMPORTANT thing you should do with your pond, is to remove at least 15% of the water in the pond EVERY WEEK, and replace it with new fresh water. Doing this solves many problems, and dramatically increases your water quality, and let your koi's immune system keep them healthy. Real koi kichi (koi nuts) change 15% of the water every day. Evaporation is a big issue here in Arizona. As water evaporates, it leaves behind minerals in the water, so if you only "top off" the water, what happens is the minerals build up and screw up the water quality. Keep in mind that koi came from rivers, which are continually supplied with fresh rain water.

The biggest reason that people don't do regular water changes, is that it can be a pain to do. Also very dangerous, if you forget and leave the hose running & change too much water, you will shock your fish and kill them. I have koi in tanks, for for me it is as simple as installing a drain valve in the side of the tank at the 15% level. So I open the valve, the water drains down to that point and I come back later to close the valve, and fill it back up.

Most people have ponds in the ground, so a gravity drain is not a solution for them. Another technique I have found that is very effective, is to setup a special pump that is used for your regular water changes. The automatic shut off pump hangs over the edge of the pond, and is suspended so the pump's intake is down at the 15% level. Then you use a crank timer switch (like used in steam rooms, or public bathrooms) to run the pump for the appropriate time. If the pump stays on for some reason, it can only drain down to the 15% level, and will not pump your pond dry. Every pond is different, so you need to figure a solution that works best for you.

Filling Your Pond - use a sprinkler
Tap water has clorine in it, and koi naturally investigate waterfalls (and streams of water) so if you fill your pond with a hose, the koi will swim right up to the hose and start breathing water that has a concentration of chlorine in it. This may burn their gills and cause damage. One solution is to spray the water with a sprinkler head. This spreads the new tap water over a larger area to quickly dilute it, plus the aeration helps to evaproate the chlorine from the water.

Filling Your Pond - Use a water timer
One really good solution is to use an yard irrigation type water controller like used to water your lawn. The average size backyard koi pond is 5000 gallons, and 15% of that is 750 gallons, which takes about an hour to fill from a garden hose. So you can see how easy it would be to turn on the hose and accidentally forget about it. If you talk to others at your koi club, you will find that many people have accidentally left the hose running (sometimes overnight or all day) and killed all of their collection by accident.

PH and Baking Soda / Oyster Shell (chicken grit)
An ideal PH for koi ponds is around 7.2 to 8.2. Ponds built from concrete and with a large amount of rocks in the system tend to keep their PH balanced just fine. Ponds which have a plastic liner and all plastic parts tend to have problems keeping their PH at an acceptable level. If your pond PH drops below 7.6, then you should add baking soda to increase the PH. Add 1 cup per thousand gallons, per day until the PH is back up to the proper level. A better, longer lasting solution is to add some crushed oyster shell which will slowly dissolve and buffer your water, so it will keep a stable PH. Crushed oyster shell is commonly sold as "chicken grit" at local feed stores, about $10 for 50 lbs. Just put some chicken grit in a net bag, and put it in your pond near water that is flowing.

Filter Flushing & Cleaning
You should flush your filter at least once per week. The good bacteria in filters aerobic, and the newer colonies perform the nitrate conversion process at a much faster rate than old colonies of bacteria, so by flushing the filter you get rid of the anaerobic muck, and also sluff off the old colonies of bacteria, so new ones can form. I have a home made barrel filter that I installed a knife valve in, so for me it is as simple as turn off the pump, open the valve and stir with a stick. Whatever filter you have, configure it so that it is easy to do, so you will do it more often.

Full pond clean out - WARNING - you can kill all of your fish!
Good filter designs collect water and debris from the bottom of the pond so you never build up a muck layer. However many ponds I have seen in people's back yards are not configured that way, and they have layers of muck, leaves and debris. That muck layer builds up over time, and then occasionally owners do a big "clean out". This is very dangerous and can kill all of your fish in just a few minutes. What is happening is that that muck layer creates an anaerobic environment which harbors toxic bacteria and substances. If you disturb this area while the fish are in the pond, it will release those toxins in the water and kill the fish. So if you want to perform a big "clean out", you should remove all the fish to a temporary holding tank (like an intex swimming pool) and then perform your clean. After the clean out, get the pond running again for at least 3 days, and then you can start to replace your fish a few at a time.

My pond water is clear, doesn't that mean it is healty water?
No. Clarity has nothing to do with the quality of the water. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all toxic to koi. You can have perfectly clear water, and kill your fish, or significantly stunt their growth. To see what levels you have, you need to test your water with test kits.

Feeding
Koi can be pigs and consume mass amounts of food, and on the other hand they can survive on small amounts of food. The more you feed, the bigger they will grow, but keep in mind that you need a filter that is big enough to handle the amount of food you feed. Koi can survive and be healthy on as little as 0.5% feed rate, per day. On the other hand, owners looking to get maximum growth are known to feed up to 3% feed rate per day. If you feed less than 0.5%, then the koi start to become stressed, and start having health issues.

The way to calculate your feed rate (the amount of food you feed), simply calculating the body weight of the koi you have, and figuring the dry weight of the food you feed. So if you have 29 lbs of koi (464 ounces of koi), then a 1% feed rate is 4.64 ounces.

You should split the food and do multiple feeds per day. Koi are grazing fish, and their system works better getting a little bit of food at a time. A common feeding schedule is to give them some food first thing in the morning when you wake up, then some right after you get home from work, and the rest right before you goto bed. If you can split it into 5 feedings per day, they can process the food much better.

NOTE: If you find uneaten food in your pond, then something is wrong. Either you are feeding too much, or you have water quality problems, or your filter isn't big enough, or something else. Also see below about the temperature to stop feeding.

How To Calculate The Weight Of Your Fish The simplest method I have found is to make estimations based on the length of the fish. What you do is place something in your pond that you know the length of, such as a decoration or even just a stick. As the fish swim past the item, you can see how long they are compared to that item. You can even take photos as they go past, so you can look at the pictures to help with the comparisons. You then make a list of all the fish you have, and how long they are. Now that you have their lengths, you can use the following average lengths to figure how much they weigh. This may seem complicated or laboursome, but you really only need to do it once or twice a year.

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Typical Weight of Standard Fin Koi, Per Their Length (including tail fin)
4"     0.62 oz 5"     1.21 oz 6"     2.09 oz 7"     3.33 oz 8"     4.96 oz 9"     7.07 oz 10"     9 oz 11"     12 oz 12"     16 oz	13"     20 oz 14"     26 oz 15"     30 oz 16"     40 oz 17"     45 oz 18"     56 oz 19"     66 oz 20"     77 oz 21"     82 oz	22"     102 oz 23"     120 oz 24"     134 oz 25"     150 oz 26"     160 oz 27"     180 oz 28"     210 oz 29"     230 oz 30"     150 oz

How To Calculate The Dry Weight Of Your Food
First you need to figure what container and scoop works best for you. I personally use a peanut butter jar and it's lid as the measuring cup, however many people use a big plastic jar and a real kitchen type measuring scoop. Whatever measuring scoop you use, put 10 scoops of food into a container and measure it with a postal scale. Then take that weight and divide by 10, and you have a pretty accurate weight of one scoop your food. Write that on the scoop, so you know how many scoops your fish need. For an example, I found that my peanut butter jar lid holds 1.75 oz of my pellet food.

Homemade Koi Food
I have seen a number of large healthy koi that were fed regular koi pellets PLUS large amounts of table scraps. I have become convinced that feeding your koi fresh foods is essential, because processed & dried foods seem to destroy the nutritional value of the ingredients. There are lots of recipies on the internet of how to make your own koi food.

For the food I make, I take koi pellets and run them thru my blender dry, this makes a powder. I set that aside, then blend up a bunch of vegetables to make what looks like a milkshake. I then mix that by hand with the powder, plus wheat germ, wheat flour, corn meal, and other random stuff to thicken it up. I split that up into portions that are the right size for 1 week of feeding. Then I move one portion to the refrigerator, and pull off chunks daily to feed to my koi. Not very scientific, but my fish like it. Also I feed cooked shrimp, and cooked tilapia.

Winter Break - No Feeding
A koi's metabolism is mostly based on the temperature. At temperatures between 60 and 87, you should feed the full daily amount. At temps between 56 and 60, you should cut the feed rate down to 0.75% or less. After the water temp drops to 52 and below (and stays down there), you should stop feeding until the temp rises back above 52 and stays there or above. The koi go into a slow state and mostly sit on the bottom of the pond during this cold time, and they don't process the food very well. This is a normal part of their yearly cycle, they build up a lot of fat in the fall to carry them through the winter. Your filter will mostly die off also, so in the spring when you start to feed again, feed lightly for a while to build the bacteria up again.

Hot temperatures -- reduce feeding
One of the problems we have in Arizona is the water temperature can rise very high, I have seen temps as high as 96 in my tanks. One summer, the water stayed at 96 for about a month and a half. The koi reduce the amount they eat when the temp gets above 88, so if you notice this, then cut back on the amount you feed.

ART IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Art is in the eye of the beholder ...

My Way Today

Castaway's affectionate call name is "My Way" or just "Way" .... No Way, yes Way! She was born July 27, 2010 and is 60 days old today, 8 weeks and 4 days, or 2 months in this life of hers.  She was attacked by her Mother at 2 weeks of age which I believe happened because her Mother might have been suffering from

Eclampsia

Eclampsia is the sudden onset of clinical signs associated with low blood calcium levels (hypocalcemia) that occur in lactating (nursing) bitches. It is caused by loss of calcium in the milk and is often combined with poor dietary calcium intake. This condition is different from eclampsia in women, which is related to blood pressure abnormalities prior to birth.

Predisposing Factors

More common in dogs than cats

Toy and small breeds most commonly affected

Large litter size

Highest incidence with the first litter

Poor nutrition during pregnancy

and lactation

Possibly worsened by use of calcium supplements

during pregnancy

Seen most commonly two to three weeks after-birth, although can be seen as late as six weeks after whelping (giving birth)

 

or some other severe medical problem which caused her to turn on her puppies in order to save her own life ... the owner gave 3 out of 5 surviving puppies to Adell Lantz to rescue and then Adell offered this one to Jeri who traveled to Palm Springs to get her and brought her to my home to see.... Jeri showed me the "scratch" on her eye and I noticed the eye injury needed immediate vet care and so that is how I have her now.

 

This morning  I observed her eye is healing back to normal  and the small depression filling in.  There might be some slight scar tissue ... too soon to tell ... and if so the vet will prescribe some drops to treat it.

 

Her eye did cause me anxiety and distress, and of course the need to treat it with medicinal drops and oral antibiotic does require additional time during the day and night.... This is in addition to learning Way's "norms" and making sure she was eating and getting enough water and fluids  as one would with any new puppy....  My heart and home is a little larger now with Way in it. No Way would I part with her now. She has made me Way happier than life without her.  Way to go as the saying goes.

 

Way does love baked chicken and is eating some Little Caesar too ... I made some puppy formula but used canned reg milk instead of goat's milk and she isn't eating it .... I made some rice and chicken broth mush and she isn't eating it either ... Way really is a dainty eater, but she is gaining weight .... This morning she weighed in at a little over 2 1/2 lbs, and she is still small enough to fit into 2 hands cupped together .... Way has her little puppy biscuits and dry food always with her water in case she wants to chew and nibble. I bought some beef liver for  .89 cents a lb at Ranch Market yesterday and she will most likely enjoy it.... it will mash it with some cooked carrots, spinach, and other vegetables that I eat as a stew cooked in pork neck bones.

 

My Way is really a pretty little charmer and very alert, very responsive. I enjoy admiring her special beauty and especially like her parti markings....   Way seems to be content and even happy with her new home and living quarters.... Way is ecstatic when I take her outside to see the other Pekingese with her tail wagging receptively as they gather around to "inspect" the new one in their midst. 

 

Until Way develops a stronger immunity, I am not letting her outside ,and when she visits outside it is always with my protecting presence.  I have tried to keep her as unstressed as possible giving her lots of time to rest quietly to improve her eye and health healing.  The artificial tears drops the vet said for me to apply in between the medicinal eye drops 4 times daily is helping a lot to keep her injured eye wet and comfortable.

 

A friend came over yesterday to see her. She  too thought Way was cute as could be, but was not pleased with my calling her Way.... ??? Oh well, I like the name because it is most suited to Way's guiding spirit.  She is the Way to my heart.

 

As I write this,  my Way is finishing the last of her Little Caesar  meal choosing it over her baby formula of rice, chicken broth, and ground up puppy dog food Jeri gave me ....  yesterday she was jumping and barking at her toys ... grrrrr woooooooof waugh! I HAD TO LAUGH OUT LOUD! LOL!

 

Way has a 10 inch Cabbage patch doll, a tennis ball with rope at either end,  a stuffed lion about 10 inch, and a lamb chops soft toy about 8 inches, and several other toys like a styrene squeeze hamburger, and small 6 inch cabbage patch dolly,, etc......  She plays with them all and every time I look at her playpen they are moved around .... she also likes sleeping on her soft toys...

 

The white white with brown and black spots  gives her a look almost as if she were a lovable, cuddly stuffed toy herself.....

 

My friend,Suzi, said that Way would be well fed and she is right about that ..... all of us here in my home are well fed .... LOL .... but I am getting lots of exercise working around my home in various projects and maintenance, and even though I may look like a Sumo wrestler, I do feel good even though I am not up to running and turning summersaults like I did in high school cheerleading ..... reminds me .... I need to mow my lawn again (good exercise).

 

I often think about my bouncing across the the basketball court waving my pom-poms in the air yelling out the cheers leading the crowd at the games ..... they were fun and made good memories for me.  At that time I had a sleeve white Pekingese that I loved as my pet named..... you guessed it .... "Snowball" ... When I went to college, she stayed with my parents who continue to love her in my absence ... and when I got married and had young children of my own, we bought a parti Pekingese puppy from the Kansas City downtown pet store which we named "Gidget" ... Gidget was also a sleeve and looked a like like Way ..... in the 1950's most Pekingese were under 10 lbs and since then they have gotten larger and larger and larger ..... I had one couple who came to visit us bringing their 25 lbs Pekingese who they had trained to do tricks.

Removing Salt From Your Fish Water Before Re-use Watering Landscaping

Aquarium salt is widely used in the keeping of fish .... but little caution is provided warning that disposing of the salted water can harm the landscape, etc and really shouldn't be put down the sewer either .... in fact, I suspect many fish keepers are improperly disposing of their salt water from their aquariums ... (even freshwater fish water uses aquarium salt to keep the fish healthy) .... As a gardener and nature lover, I realize the permanent damage done to soil if salted .... salt accumulation is a global problem!

 

So since some of my Koi pools have significant amounts of salt, in the water (those pools that don't have water plants), I need to learn how to remove salt from the water so that I can reuse the water directing it safely to my landscape ...

 

A search of Google provided this technique..

 

How to Remove Salt From Water

By Shaun Juan, eHow Contributor

updated: August 22, 2009

I want to do this! What's This?

The cheapest way to remove salt from water is by using a solar water distiller. Think of a solar distiller as the same natural process of the sun heating water in our oceans, turning it into gas and then condensing into a cloud that drops unsalted water back down to earth. You can replicate this process by following some simple steps. These steps can also be used to remove salt from water in a survival situation.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clear plastic sheet, 5 feet by 5 feet
• Shovel
• Containers to hold water

1. 1
   Dig a hole roughly 3 feet by 3 feet and 2 feet deep. If you are in a survival situation and don't have a shovel, use anything that will dig a hole, including your hands. Dig your hole in an area that receives the most sunlight possible.
2. 2
   Place you container in the middle of your hole. Make sure your container is dug halfway into the ground so it will not tip over.
3. 3
   Use another container to transport the salt water to your hole. If you do not have another container in a survival situation, use the same container you used in Step 2. Make sure the bottom of the hole is thoroughly saturated with the salty water.
4. 4
   Place your plastic over the hole. Make sure the middle of the plastic is sagging a bit over your container in the middle of the hole. In a survival situation, any color plastic will work, but it will take longer to evaporate.
5. 5
   Anchor your plastic over the hole. You can anchor the sides of the plastic with whichever material you have readily available--tent stakes, dirt, sand, rocks. Just make sure you have a tight seal around the plastic cover so the water vapor cannot escape.
6. 6
   Weigh down the center of your plastic sheet. Ideally you can use a small stone placed on the plastic directly over the container in the hole, but you can use whatever you have available to weigh it down in a survival situation.
7. 7
   Wait 3 to 4 hours for the solar distiller to complete the distilling process. Your solar water distiller works by the sun evaporating the salty water into a gas (which leaves the salt behind). The plastic cover stops the water vapor from escaping the hole, water condenses on the underside of the plastic, gravity pulls the water toward the center of your weighted-down plastic and the unsalted water drips into your container.

Read more: How to Remove Salt From Water | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5188575_remove-salt-water.html#ixzz10ZFHkede

 

Anohter useful lesson was this one which basically provides a better understanding of how of how the above process works ... this one is a small scale removal of salt from salted water ...

 

How to Remove Salt From Salt Water

By Claudia Henning, eHow Contributor

Excerpted from .... 

http://www.ehow.com/how_5127351_remove-salt-salt-water.html

 

Remove Salt From Salt Water

All images courtesy of Photobucket photo pool

The easiest method of removing salt from salt water is a process called distillation. The water is heated, turned to a gas, condensed and collected in a purified form. The salt will be left behind. Follow the steps below and be amazed at how easy it is to replicate the distillation process yourself.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plastic bowl Small glass Plastic wrap Small rock Small pitcher of salt water (tap water with 2 tbsp. of salt added)

1. 1
   Large plastic bowl
   Pour a couple of inches of salt water into a large plastic bowl. One similar to the bowl pictured will work.
2. 2
   Place a small glass upright in the middle of the bowl. Make sure the glass is shorter than the edge of the bowl and that it remains dry inside. A juice glass would work wonderfully for this.
3. 3
   Cover the bowl with clear plastic wrap and secure tightly with tape on the edges. Keep the empty glass upright and center as you cover the bowl.
4. 4
   Use a small rock to create the condenser.
   Place a small rock on the center of plastic cover, directly over the empty glass. It should bend the plastic wrap in toward the glass without breaking through. The angle will aid in the collection of purified water. Place the bowl carefully in the direct sunlight. The heat from the sun will heat the water, evaporating it to a gas. The gas will hit the inside plastic covering and condense back to liquid as it cools. The liquid will then drip down into the glass. This is called solar distillation. The process distills or purifies the water. The longer it is left in the sun, the more pure water you will collect. What will be left behind in the bowl is the salt.
5. 5
   Remove plastic cover and try a sip of the water in the glass. You will find it to be salt-free. Distillation is done on a larger basis by providing artificial heat to salt water, collecting the steam on a cooled condenser surface and routing the purified water into a separate tank.

Read more: How to Remove Salt From Salt Water | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5127351_remove-salt-salt-water.html#ixzz10ZGbr5b6

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IT'S MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

IT'S MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS

It's midnight at my Phoenix water garden oasis home (My Song Pekingese Park), and I am awakened by a small lonely whimper. My new puppy that I took in as a rescue Sunday morning that day needed comforting reassurance and attention. I sleepily picked her up and then remembered that I need to give her a name since I planned to be taking her into the vet this morning for him to inspect and treat her eye. The left eye had been injured a few days earlier by another puppy in her litter. The name I chose for this new puppy and the one that came to my soul searching mind and heart was Californian Cherokee Castaway.

This puppy was from a litter whose Mother killed 2 of the 5 puppies, 2 weeks of age. The owner of the puppy's Mother brought the entire remaining litter into Forget Me Not Rescue in Palm Springs for Adell Lantz to save and hand feed nurture to an adoptable age. Needing to find homes for these puppies, Adell called Jeri, a friend of mine, to see if she wanted one of the female puppies. Jeri did agree to adopt the puppy Adell had selected for her, and when the planned rehoming time arrived, Jeri and her husband traveled from Phoenix to Palm Springs to get her new 7 1/2 week old puppy Saturday, September 18th.

Next day, early on a Sunday morning, Jeri brought the puppy to my home for me to see. I quickly noticed that the puppy had a serious eye injury (commonly caused by litter mates playing together too roughly digging a toenail in the eye). I told Jeri that I would take the puppy to my vet, Dr. Svoboda, Palm Glen Animal Hospital, for his expert care and treatment Monday, and I agreed that I would adopt this unpapered (but pure bred) parti-colored Pekingese puppy. We weighed the puppy and learned it was only 2 1/4 lbs. Normally, Pekingese puppies at 8 weeks are about 4 lbs or even more, but this puppy's parents were both sleeves (very small and under 6 lbs) so the puppy's weight was about right for her development.

Jeri and I were both very distressed by seeing the little puppy's serious eye injury, and we realized that vet care is expensive but also necessary. Also, Jeri really wanted to acquire a show quality female, registered Pekingese, one that she could breed to her Champion pedigree AKC registered male (hopefully one that I would have available in a few months time). My heart opened up engulfing Californian Cherokee Castaway, and now she is mine... and I am hers.

One of the reasons I am impressed by the Pekingese dog breed is that they
have one of the longest ancestral store of racial memories for a pet
developed by humans .... similarly
Arabian horses, and Koi fish do also. Koi have lived to be 265 years old. I
feel I have an awesome racial memory. One I was equipped with at birth, and
it even included future memory for my life time and my children's...

********
racial memory

-noun Psychology .
feelings, patterns of thought, and fragments of experience that have been
transmitted from generation to generation in all humans and have deeply
influenced the mind and behavior.
********
In psychology, genetic memory is a memory present at birth that exists in
the absence of sensory experience, and is incorporated into the genome over
long spans of time. It is based on the idea that common experiences of a
species become incorporated into its genetic code, not by a Lamarckian
process that encodes specific memories but by a much vaguer tendency to
encode a readiness to respond in certain ways to certain stimuli. It is
invoked to explain the racial memory postulated by Carl Jung, and
differentiated from cultural memory, which is the retention of habits,
customs, myths, and artifacts of social groups. The latter postdates genetic
memory in the evolution of the human species, only coming into being with
the development of language, and thus the possibility of the transmission of
experience. Racial memory is a concept in Jungian psychology. Racial
memories are posited memories, feelings and ideas inherited from our
ancestors as part of a "collective unconscious".

Language, in the modern view, is considered to be only a partial product of
genetic memory. The fact that humans can have languages is a property of the
nervous system that is present at birth, and thus phylogenetic in character.
However, perception of the particular set of phonemes specific to a native
language only develops during ontogeny. There is no genetic predisposition
towards the phonemic makeup of any single language. Children in a particular
country are not genetically predisposed to speak the languages of that
country, adding further weight to the assertion that genetic memory is not
Lamarckian.

*****************

From my own life experience and access to my racial memory from multiracial
ancestors, I personally believe that I do have extra sensory communication
abilities that others have not inherited and also have ancient memories that
are most valuable to me in my life. Intuition, instinct, and intelligence
coupled with a vast inherited racial memory bank are some of the resources I
value and use in my life. They are unique and individually mine and are not
common to others.

My Koi Pool Algae

A friend came to my home yesterday to pick me up for lunch and was looking at my large Koi pool which is now covered with a dark green algae on all of the interior surfaces, the water is filtered and has ultra violet light exposed to kill bacteria and the most noxious forms of algae (blue-green and string algae) but apparently it doesn't prevent the type of algae growth now existing in the Koi pool.

I enjoyed botany in college and in my choice of reading while doing home gardening. I even took a class to become a "Master Gardener" with the Maricopa County Agriculture Extension. So I will be trying to observe and learn more about the life its ecology in my Koi pool.

She asked me about it and I thought it would be a simple matter to give her more specific information about its name and attributes..... well this morning I learned there are 125,771 different species of algae! How do I go about finding out more information about the specific algae growing in my pool? My friend thinks it might be bad, but I assured her all pools have it , those that have water plants growing in them since one does not use an algaecide in a pool they want water plants to grow in also.
The "green algae" is the most diverse group of algae, with more than 7000 species growing in a variety of habitats. The "green algae" is a paraphyletic group because it excludes the Plantae. In biological taxonomy, a grouping of organisms is said to be paraphyletic if all the members of the group have a common ancestor but the group does not include all the descendants of the common ancestor. Groups which include all the descendants of a common ancestor are commonly termed monophyletic, although this term is sometimes taken to apply to paraphyletic groups, in which case they are called holophyletic.

Like the plants, the green algae contain two forms of chlorophyll, which they use to capture light energy to fuel the manufacture of sugars, but unlike plants they are primarily aquatic. Because they are aquatic and manufacture their own food, these organisms are called "algae," along with certain members of the Chromista, the Rhodophyta, and photosynthetic bacteria, even though they do not share a close relationship with any of these groups.

The major groups of "green algae" are distinguishable on the basis of their flagellar insertion (the number and arrangement of the flagella that the cells have); their method of cell division; and their habitat



http://megasun.bch.umontreal.ca/protists/gallery.html was an interesting sight and I think I believe my algae in the Koi pool is a "green algae"

Green algae:

Algae are not considered "plants" but are their own distinct life form and they do mutate creating new varieties...

I have a microscope but so far have not made a slide of "my koi pool algae"... Oh my, the mysteries of my Koi pool and the life within!

Life or Not

This morning one of my pretty Koi jumped out of the large 8 ft pool..??? I discovered him not quite yet dead while emptying my recycling can.

 

I picked his limp body up and had to decide to bury him or try to see if I could revive him.. I chose the latter. I sensed there was life, and I had hope he might be able to recover.....

 

I went back outside while writing this email and he seems to be alive since I don't see any dead body floating on top of the water or laying on the bottom of the pool... He may have suffered brain damage or may not live long because of his "accident", "bad decision to jump out", or whatever happened that he was out of the water...... but for now he is alive ...

 

How many of us consciously choose life or not, take risks, make fatal errors in life; and the lucky ones are saved and live to write about it or learn from their near death?

 

I wrote this blog post this morning on the subject of "Life or Not" ..

 

http://ymmartin.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-or-not.html

 

Each day is a new beginning .... Each day is what we make it.

Pekingese, Prayer, Peace

Sometimes, one of my Pekingese simply will not tolerate another Pekingese even with repeated efforts to teach them to not fight with one another, and then I separate them. If I can not maintain them separately, I adopt them out to a home where they can reign supreme with one on one love and care from their new owner who can provide more intensive training.

Some Pekingese are more pugnacious than others.  Some may have aggressive temperaments, so much so that they seem to provoke arguments with others regardless of who they are kept with.  Some Pekingese are introverted and shy while others are adventurous players and very extroverted. 

The Pekingese owner can observe the trouble maker versus the innocents. Social harmony among a group of Pekingese presents a real challenge to the Pekingese owner having a group of Pekingese, a challenge owners of one or two Pekingese as pets does not have to experience and resolve.  With a group of Pekingese, one can also observe the alpha leader (and those he leads less aggressive individuals) and their social group behavior.  The alpha individual will emerge creating a social order which exists among the females kept as a group as well as in males kept together in their group.  One of the joys of having more than just one or two Pekingese is studying the social interplay of Pekingese kept as a group(s).  I keep my males separate from my females unless I want to breed selective individuals which I then pair off into their private space for mating.


People, individually and collectively, are not unlike Pekingese in many ways.  They are compatible or not, and if not then it is important to study and understand how they resolve their differences to peacefully coexist.  They sometimes are ordered to have professional counseling or seek it on their own. Some reconcile their differences satisfactorily.  However, some differences may not be resolved, and may be so extreme, only one way of life can prevail causing wars worldwide.


Wars exist in all forms of life both plant and animal so to pray for peace does seem an impossible and improbable request of God. It is not impossible or improbable that God could give us vision to steer through the conflict minimizing losses and human suffering. 

To prevent wars practice peace making in your life and in your community.  Try to evolve your social ability to improve your life and that of others.  Peace begins with you and your "Pekingese" in your life today.

Root Issues of Water Hyacinths

I discovered that my water hyacinths plants in the 8 ft round Koi/Goldfish pool were dying because the fish were eating all of their roots faster than the roots could grow. Without roots, the plant dies because it can't get nourishment. I had tried different water fertilizers before determining the real cause of my water hyacinths dying then one night I saw the fish feeding voraciously on the water hyacinths.


Thinking about how to protect the roots of the water hyacinths, mulled over in my mind several solutions.... the one I chose seemed to be the fastest to do. I had some plastic baskets and some float and the ones that don't I tie the water hyacinths to the basket with fishing line to hold the basket up to surface level. After two days I can now see the new white roots growing and the water hyacinths are no longer dying.

The baskets are colorful and are solving the problem for now but I would prefer a more natural solution. I plan to cut a 6 inch wide 12 or so inches long strip out of out door shade cloth netting, and I will sew the ends together making a cylinder. I will then sew the bottom of the cylinder together and the top I will make a drawstring tie so as to secure the "bag" around the base of the water hyacinths thus protecting the roots from fish feeding on them.

My 4 Koi pools are all doing fine and have the necessary nitrogen processing fish waste cycle working effectively. One of the 5 ft pools is just for water plants, the other 5 ft pool is just for fish and artificial ornaments and has aquarium salt for the health of the fish but which would be detrimental to any water plants. The small 150 gallon pool is for goldfish and one koi which I can't catch and move. That pool is a little too warm in the high heat of Phoenix summer and the fish are happy in it. The 8 ft pool is my main pool with both fish and water plants together (no aquarium salt added).

Feeding The Fish .... a Watercolor Painting by Joyce Baldwin, Blue Ribbon 2008, Phoenix Artist Guild Art Show

(Art Show Photo courtesy of Yolanda Martin, Webmaster 2008, Phoenix Artist Guild)

I am sure there are as many answers to this question as their are readers of it.... What makes a painting valuable?


To me, the fact that I retained a vivid, ever present memory of one out of literally hundreds of paintings that I took photos of in 2008 made this painting "Feeding The Fishes" by Joyce Baldwin valuable enough for me to share it with you and insert it in this Koi-Pekingese Blog post. It truly is a Blue Ribbon winner over time and not just for the moment of decisive authoritative judging at the show (selecting her painting over all the other competing paintings). I know Joyce Baldwin personally and admire her greatly.  She is truly talented and creative.  I particularly like her subject matter for each painting she does.


Thinking about all the reasons I invested so much time, energy, and money to create my water garden pools complete with Koi fish this summer, I am sure the initial viewing, photographing, and remembering of Joyce's painting was a inspiration. It motivated me to convert the vision and message of her painting into my personal reality and space on the West side of my home.


Art inspires art. Art is the language of the soul. Is there anything more powerful in this world than art? Art is universal and timeless. Art speaks to all cultures and countries, and we can not help but respond to it.

Water Ways Unlimited

Keeping Our Fish Healthy

I caught a documentary on Sundance cable TV very early (6:00-7:30am) that began my day with a dismal raising of my consciousness of mankind's planetary destruction. Damage already irreversible....???



The program, narrated by Ted Danson and presented by Filmmaker Rubert Murray (2009), explores scientists' assertion that if mankind continues fishing at the current rate the planet will run out of fish in the ocean as soon as 2048 ... fish droppings consume carbon dioxide as explained in a paper date 2009....



Knowledge is Power .... ??? Oh? Then why do we reach the End of the Line (the title of the program documentary).... no more, for evermore .... extinction....impossible to recover or restore....... the Native American Indian's proverbial End of the Trail ???



Yesterday while shopping at a local Basha's Grocery store in Phoenix, I was waiting in line to have some sirloin beef on sale ground into hamburger (cost only $1.99/lb) .... (standing next to me was a middle aged gentleman asking the butcher for what was displayed in the showcase as $19.99/lb wild tuna ..... ?????). I was astounded by the difference in price between what I considered affordable to consume and his choice (but he did look handsome and healthy). Now I understand why fish (halibut, salmon, shellfish, and other varieties) prices are sky rocketing. The supply and the demand ratio dictates the price of the sale. Soon the supply disappears entirely no matter how much someone is willing to pay to indulge their appetite and dinner plates. Fish farming is not a viable future (it takes much more fish to feed what is being raised than product produced) .... (and this was explained very well by the program) .... also sustainable fisheries are not solving the problem either ..... what is the solution .... ????? The TV program recommended creating Marine Reserves (20-30% of the world's oceans) where commercial fishing is completely banned. Also required, the human population must stop eating fish eliminating the voracious demand for what is already beyond the peril of extinction (and by the domino affect the habitable planet's extinction).



The program stated that it costs 12 to 14 billion dollars a year to fund the marine reserves and would create a million jobs worldwide.... more than that amount is already being spend to subsidize the fishing industry detrimental to the future of the ocean's health. To effect change requires exerting pressure on governments and not the kind of pressure exerted on BP and its oil spill.... a more intelligent approach is needed. Intelligent politicians? Where are they to be found and can they get elected by the uncaring apathetic populations? :-(



I realize now why I am so intensely involved with my Koi/goldfish pool .... with water quality.... with water plants..... with the natural balance of the environment provided in which the Koi are expected to live..... land, air, water .....



Have you sustained a healthy aquarium? It is a learning experience, a rewarding one providing entertainment and relaxation, and almost always keeping fish healthy in their balanced ecology contributes to spiritual enlightenment, personal growth, and greater appreciation for fragile ecological environments.  We are all fish in the same water together on this planet. 



Here is the web site which created the program I viewed.  http://endoftheline.com/


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My Song Pekingese Park with Koi/Goldfish Water Gardens

Please visit my web site at http://ymmartin.com/ to view photos of my AKC Champion Pedigree Show Pekingese of all colors including the very rare blue.  Occasionally there is a litter of show quality home raised puppies available for adoption.

In this blog you will find news about my Pekingese enhanced with occasional photos, videos, and digital art images created for local art shows. The reader will also have posts about what I have learned providing Pekingese care and breeding quality healthy puppies.  As an enthusiastic keeper of Koi and Goldfish that I keep healthy in outdoor pools used as water gardens, that too will be reported in this blog.