What are you doing today?

[Back in the fold]

Actually, at 71, I consider myself blessed. While I DO have minor aches and pains now and then it isn't often and I take zero prescription drugs.

That is always going to be my goal . No drugs , no pills , no prescriptions , no treatments . There’s no cure in a bottle anyway .

 

[Back in the fold]

Velvet . A dread thing that’s been around for many years . I myself have never been plagued with it . Legend has it that it will show up if your source water comes from a pond , lake or reservoir but not from rivers . That could be why I’ve never seen it as my water comes from the Mighty Yellowstone River . At the risk of raising Gary’s hackles , it’s always been thought that SALT ( gasp ! ) added as a precaution killed it before it shows up .

 

[GaryE]

Salt is a good preventative, and is fine to use for fish exposed to salt in nature. Otherwise, it becomes a medication we can use in tanks as it's needed for specific problems. Velvet loves softwater tanks that are crowded, with leaf litter. I use salt in my Nothobranchius set ups because they tend to crowd, and those fish are really bad at fighting velvet off.

I don't have raised hackles. I flare my fins!

 

[Back in the fold]

I use salt in my Nothobranchius set ups because they tend to crowd, and those fish are really bad at fighting velvet off.

I have not used salt with my Nothobranchius but I do near daily large water changes . The water I keep them in is hard and alkaline . Oh ! Guess what ? It’s just about time to wet my first bag of rachovii eggs !

 

[anewbie]

I shot a bird I shot a bird:

I pointed my phone at it and snag this trophy; will teach him to stop following me.

(it is a wild bird in a park near where i live that followed me around as i made the 4 mile walk)

Not sure if it is a peregrine falcon or sharp-shinned hawk? I'm sure @WhistlingBadger would know. There was also a pesty bald eagle that was hunting for his chicks while the mother stayed in the nest but they were way way way up there. Oh and some annoying turkey that wouldn't shut up.

 

[jaylach]

I shot a bird I shot a bird:

I pointed my phone at it and snag this trophy; will teach him to stop following me.


View attachment 378862

Nice shot!

 

[fishorama]

Pretty bird! I vote young 2nd year red tailed hawk. Look at those big feet & red in the tail. More of a rodent hunter than a bird eater, although they'd be happy with either. I used to do wild bird rehab & watching but I'm long out of practice.

 

[GaryE]

That is always going to be my goal . No drugs , no pills , no prescriptions , no treatments . There’s no cure in a bottle anyway .

I wish I could say the same, but the inherited diabetes takes its toll. I've known it was coming for decades, and kept it at bay with lifestyle and diet til I was in my early sixties. The pattern in the family was to be hit solidly around 50, so that worked to a point. Everything's under control, my levels are excellent and all, but the dreaded pills and needles are a big part of that. Every morning, 3 pills, every week, an injection. It's annoying for 30 seconds a morning, but it sure beats the alternative. Before the treatments, it had started running on me.

So I think we should work at not needing pills and such, but when the body trips you up, you're gonna fall. Then, you're stuck taking care of yourself with a little medical help. I have a lot of fish to take care of!

I hope I never get stuck with so many pills I rattle when I walk. But you do what you've gotta do, so you can keep doing what you want to do. I used to have a no meds goal too, but you get Ich, you've got to dye yourself blue sometimes.

 

[anewbie]

Pretty bird! I vote young 2nd year red tailed hawk. Look at those big feet & red in the tail. More of a rodent hunter than a bird eater, although they'd be happy with either. I used to do wild bird rehab & watching but I'm long out of practice.

I think you are correct - i assume the lack of red excluded it but since your comments i checked and younger ones lack the red and otherwise it looks very similar. definitely not a falcon.

 

[fishorama]

@anewbie It takes some birds (& some fish) a couple years to get to full adult coloring & there's a lot of variation too. Some raptors are easier to ID in flight by wing shape & tail shape & bands. I keep my Golden Guide to Birds of North America & both Peterson's Eastern & Western Field Guides handy. Size it also hard to judge. We had a smallish male Coopers hawk or a large sharp shin female on our fence for over 20 minutes 1 time. I kept hoping it would turn so I could see its tail shape & bands to know which. Definitely a bird hunter, the fearless squirrels came within a couple feet of it, eek! Living dangerously! But we have lots of spare squirrels, lol

Today I corrected my taxes due to IRS not giving clear answers anywhere I could find!!! & I looked everywhere!! It used to be much easier, grrr. A matter of $4 on state & $18 feds. We will get very, very small refunds so I'm proud I guessed so close! My new ink came yesterday, so I think I'm good to print & snail mail

While I'm in full complaint mode, my birthday is in ~2 weeks. My jury duty notice is for 4 days after that. My husband's colonoscopy is for 2 days after that & I'll need to take him & bring him home. We share a car & he cannot drive home or take a taxi or Uber. I really would not mind too much, civic duty & all that, but gee whiz! I'm hoping my jury pool doesn't get called to show up

& back to meds. I take 3 very old inexpensive 1s. Sometimes a 3 month supply of 1 is $1.49 but last refill $0. What?!? I don't tend to argue about free, but can that be right?!? I did ask...

 

[GaryE]

One of my neighbours hit and killed a deer last week, when it bolted out of the trees as she was getting close to her house. I confess, as a failed country person, I've been worried it might have been my dog's deer friend. That deer is an intensely curious beast that has played with my dog a few times, even doing the head down invitation to play I thought only dogs did. I've watched it grow up and while the rest of the herd seem generic to me, that one sticks out.

Happily, as I was drinking my coffee this morning, the herd passed close to the house and there it was, staring at me as usual. They're all feeding beside the garage/fishroom now - a fat looking crew considering the winter. There are seven of them out back, and about ten younger ones across the road out front. They're like guppies with antlers (when they have antlers).

It's looking like Spring. The lighting has changed. But the temperatures haven't yet. We're getting there! I hope that if you're where a winter is, things are on the change there too.

 

[Lanpenn]

Does anyone here went to Goethe-Institut? It seems to be a nice place to start to learn German. I recently received a PDF copy from Instituto Martius-Staden, a book named "Deutsche Söldner In Brasilien", from Helmut Andrä. I ask this because it seems I stagnated with my German learning in Duolingo (it seems that the robot is rebelling against me and not recognizing me when talking certain German phrases).

A few days ago, I went to another job interview. It seems that this time (once again), another person was selected.

This 14th, I went to another yoga event. Although it was warm, it was fun.

Credit: Júlia Anjos (@storymakerjulia)

Photo taken by me. A large tree...

The ugly 2015 Toyota Etios X 1.3 manual transmission is waiting for me. We will have to bring him to the mechanic once again, thanks to annoying noises next to the passenger front seat... photo also taken my me.

My Artemia culture is doing okay. This photo below is when they were more reddish, probably related to a lack of oxygen. Nowadays, even under an extremely slow flow rate from my sponge filter, they are not reddish nor swarming on the top of the tank anymore. Yesterday I measured, and the salinity was 58 grams per liter. I plan to increase even more.

I am trying to let my beard and moustache grow more and more, the first time since I was conceived in the uterus. If this will work, I do not know. My face is more rounded. I am not a visagist.

I intend to go to a thing called "audiência pública" (public hearing?) concerning Córrego Lambari pollution, which receives complaints from several inhabitants who have lived around for several years, and without an apparent solution. It is related to effluent discharge. Since I have a degree in Biology, I may contribute to the discussion. As a matter of curiosity, when I visited the surroundings of the small stream, I found some fish that seemed to be Poecilia reticulata or Phalloceros caudimaculatus.

 

[Back in the fold]

The weather was ideal today so I got up early and changed the pre-filters in my R/O unit . Three month service there .
And then . . . . . I got myself fed and watered and took my bike out and rode 44 miles . It was glorious !

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I shot a bird I shot a bird:

I pointed my phone at it and snag this trophy; will teach him to stop following me.





(it is a wild bird in a park near where i live that followed me around as i made the 4 mile walk)

Not sure if it is a peregrine falcon or sharp-shinned hawk? I'm sure @WhistlingBadger would know. There was also a pesty bald eagle that was hunting for his chicks while the mother stayed in the nest but they were way way way up there. Oh and some annoying turkey that wouldn't shut up.

It's something of the Buteo tribe...my guess would also be a young red tailed hawk. Excellent picture! It looks puzzled.

 

[MattW]

Was scrolling through videos and found this one. An interesting way of keeping fish by simulating natural weather cycles where they are found.