Fishbrook Pond was a lovely outing yesterday. The lean-to is in rough shape from what I remember but it has been a dozen years since we have hiked up there. The dogs loved the walk up, but like Linda and me, were less boisterous on the hike back. Much harder to walk downhill than uphill on my legs and lower back, Linda's too. Although we keep active with some physical labor, we are not what we were, and I feel it this morning. Cooked hotdogs and had a side of pasta salad for lunch. Did a little fishing after gigging some grubs from beneath a log. Caught a couple of very small trout, 8 inches or so. Released them as is our norm although I am not against the occasional bread and butter trout sandwich mind you.
Anyway, one of the main reasons for the hike was observation. It is funny how much detail one can find when actually looking. Watched the behavior of what I believe are fathead minnows as they zoomed about the shoreline amidst the downed branches and exposed rocks. Saw how plants were intermingled and how different they are near a spring as opposed to still backwater and wetland. Watched trout surface to what I think was a Caddis Fly hatch, (could not get close enough to observe but the time of year is correct for this pond). We spent about 2 hours hiking up, the State lists the trail as 8 miles but if you know the arear it can be a 6-mile walk. Visited Herm the Hermits cabin site on the way down so it was more like a 3-hour trip back. The cabin is gone, and I do not know what happened to Herm, He was in his 40's when I was in my 20's so I would guess he has left the mortal coil. Anyway, there are some minor remnants of the cabin, but it has been demolished and toted away for the most part by DEC I imagine. Herm was a character I used to enjoy visiting with my friend Mark in my more adventurous days. Herm lived alone and spent his time on Sleeping Beauty Mountain for the most part. Would see him at the local Ft Ann pub every once in a bit too. Learned a bit of woodlore from him and now wonder what happened to him.
Our observations gave us some ideas for the big centerpiece tank that is in our future. Need to do some thinking and learning about water movement and then trying to make it work in a 48-inch glass box. Of course, will also need to learn more about the fish we choose for such a tank for obvious reasons. From what I observed we will go for a tank with a calm surface and gentle flow close to the bottom. Study, study.
This morning did a WC on the 37, 9 gallons out and 9.5 gallons in. Our fish friends seem well adjusted and are doing what fishes do. Removed another dozen snails, seems an endless task but do not want to use chemical, although some mornings it is tempting. All five tanks were fasted yesterday so Linda boiled up some peas and carrots to give everyone a treat. She feels guilty about fasting the fish.
Today's chore, when the temp rises a bit, is to finish the deck framing and raise about 9 inches above the ground and level it. I will also install some conduit through the joists and pull sone 12/2 WG wire so that Chris can tie it into the box he attached to the basement wall. This will feed both the gazebo and the pond pumps. We use solar for lighting at the pond. The gazebo may well wind up being the pop-up we used last year, although it will sit on the deck. We develop a "fun" budget the first of the year based on what we want to do. We did not anticipate a fish room when we did the budget and that has dented the fun fund pretty deeply. Wood is not a major expense for us but the electrical, tanks, extra plumbing, and various pieces of equipment are all undefined expenses. I am not whining mind you just being my normal fiscally responsible self. We have zero debt and no interest in accumulating it to save a year on an optional building project whose only real function is decoration. Our pond area is relatively bug free and we rarely use it during rain so a screened building is a luxury that can be put off a season if we so choose. Linda will be reworking the budget as soon as I give her the numbers for both the outside and the Dining room becoming fish room.
Anyway, time to do some stretching and movement to loosen up the moving parts that were shocked into use yesterday.
This photo is not mine. A friend sent it to me a couple of years ago. Yesterday we packed our old Minolta SLR and did not bring anything electronic. This is where we picnicked on the pond yesterday however.