The Care And Feeding of Grass Carp

We have a lagoon.

It isn't the kind of clear-blue water in paradise type of lagoon. Ours is a "waste stabilization pond," commonly called a "lagoon" by someone with a strange and warped sense of humor. We have a lagoon because we are too far from town for a sewer line and because our ground is officially a "wetlands" and won't support a septic tank. Our lagoon sits between the house and the road, just to the East; and it consists of a 40' by 40' depression with water in it, surrounded by a six-foot berm of dirt, topped by a six-foot fence. It is NOT attractive.

I have seen several turtles and a muskrat swimming in it, and last Fall I began to see a bright lime color floating on the surface of the water. Diagnosis?

Duckweed.

Duckweed is an invasive, hard to remove aquatic plant that can clog the "laterals" that carry waste to the lagoon, keeping the lagoon from doing its job. You can buy an expensive chemical to treat duckweed -- and treat it and treat it, repeatedly -- or you can do as I did today. I drove to Culver's Fish Farm in McPherson and bought four 10" grass carp. They LOVE duckweed, they don't reproduce, and they were cheaper than one treatment of the chemical.

Tonight my very own disposal unit of four is working away, making my world a cleaner place to live.

While in DC

I realize I'm backing up a little here, so bear with me...

I spent Jan. - March of this year in DC; I was nanny for my grandson Austin while his official nanny, Liz, was on maternity leave. It was a wonderful experience, and I recommend it highly for any grandparent. Not only did I get acquainted with my grandson, but I also got to live full-time with my daughter for the first time in 15 years and get re-acquainted with her.

While I was in DC, Austin became a toddler. He learned to walk, to babble, to stack blocks, to throw fits. He even sings! He developed a sense of humor and played tricks -- hiding things and laughing out loud. He started eating people food and wanted to feed himself, although his skill with a spoon was not too specific. His favorite foods were graham crackers, grapes, cheese, cheerios, tangerines, and tabouli...wasn't much for meat or other veggies.

The kids also moved while I was in DC, to their original townhouse in the historic neighborhood of Fairlington. It was a great place to walk, with people and dogs out at all times of the day and flowers everywhere. When I left, the cherry trees in the pocket park behind the townhouse were starting to bloom.

I was afraid Austin would forget me, but I am happy to report that at our last Skype session, he pointed at my face on their computer screen and smiled.

Happy Belated Easter!

Hope the Easter bunny came to everyone's house this year...

This week we released the queens in our two hives but not much else. It's been cool and damp -- when it wasn't raining! -- so the bees have kept inside the hives. Tomorrow or Monday we will try to do the final medication treatment and see if the queens have begun laying brood yet.

I've been missing my "babies" this week -- I got spoiled when I was in DC for three months and could see them every day. Drew has been in Taipei and Shanghai this week, and Austin has missed his daddy and been clingy with his mommy. Casey called me on Skype a couple of days ago, and Austin smiled and pointed when he saw my face on the computer...what a great feeling for Nana! Here's one of his Grampa's favorite photos from the time I was gone.

Otherwise, it's weed, weed, weed here. I've got to get the garden going so that I'm ready with space and fertilizer for the two dozen tomato plants that Van's friend is growing for me...

The New And Improved Toad Pad

Good morning! If you have found this blog again, welcome back. If you're new to the blog, "Hey!"

After a long hiatus, I am once again reporting on the doings at the Dancing Toad Ranch outside of Goddard, America. I'll try to backfill as I go along, rather than give you a long, boring batch of history to read through. Besides, a lot of you know it already, so let's start afresh.

This morning we are getting ready to receive our two boxes of bees on Saturday at the Heartland Bee Company in Springhill, Kansas. Van and I have always been interested in raising bees; and while I was in DC watching my babies, he took the plunge and ordered 20,000 of them, plus 2 queens. I got home to the message that the bees would arrive on the 11th; so we had to make a trip to Springhill for hives, protective suits, and all the other paraphenalia that goes with this hobby. We spent last weekend putting together two hives: 4 brood boxes, 4 honey supers, tops, bottoms, excluders, and 80 frames. Van is sporting a heat patch over his right shoulder from all the nailing! I am making up three gallons of sugar syrup for the initial feeding. We'll keep you posted.

The bees will not only supply some honey (if all goes well), but will also pollinate the garden and my 15 fruit trees. And they are just fascinasting to watch...