Sun!

Thank goodness!  Some time last night the clouds moved on, the sky cleared, and the sun is poking it's head up over the trees.  Hooray!  Everything is so lush and green, but we really need sun and should almost be able to hear things grow today.  The cardinals are singing, "What, what, what cheer. What cheer."  Me too!  It's been a really tough week at the office, far too much to get done, and I have not been sleeping well. Gray skies and endless rain didn't help.  Why is it that sunshine makes things more bearable?

Josie got her stitches out and everything checked out great.  She was not very happy to walk back into the clinic until she remembered that they have CATS that wander around.  When the Tech took her into the back for the suture removal, I had to warn her that Josie considers cats to be "house squirrels" and fair game. Dr. Jim took a look at her foot and said it turned out perfect.  She hasn't been bothering the wound on her cheek at all and it's almost completely healed.  What a great patient she was, never fussed about not getting her walks or spending extra time in her crate.  Although Ron normally walks her, Josie & I did a celebratory walk last night and I annoyed her by not allowing her to grab the rabbit that crossed the sidewalk in front of her or the bird that flew right over our heads.  Josie the hunter.

The parents of my new fish

New fish arrived on Wednesday.  Another species of wild livebearer Phallychthys fairweatheri "Dickfish".  Know I need to recheck the spelling on the genus - that does NOT look correct.  (It is.) These are "pedigree fish" because they came with location information which is important for wild fish - those not being commercially bred.  Pedigree fish are direct descendants from the originally imported fish, with no other strains mixed in.  The location info for these fish is Collected by Jaap-Jan de Greef in Rio Pucte, Guatemala in 2005.  I paid for 6 babies and the seller sent 10, all of which survived the trip and are doing well. 

I now have two tanks of new livebearers, as the Illyodon cortesae youngsters are also doing very well.  Hopefully they will grow up and produce for me some day.  The problem this summer will be keeping the fishroom from getting too warm. Because the whelping area is also in the basement, and because I will use a heat lamp for Reebok and the babies until they are 3 weeks old, the basement will get warmer than is ideal for the fish.  Wish I could afford a portable ac unit for the fishroom itself?  The dehumidifier that runs in the fishroom gives off quite a lot of heat.

This area has to be turned into a nursery

Where to start?  This weekend I have to turn the front side of my elderly basement into a whelping area, not an easy chore!  I have always envied people who actually have a whelping room.  I have extra bedrooms, but they are in the upstairs of my two story house, and it's too difficult to keep mom and babies upstairs - NOT handy for getting anyone outside.  So this weekend will be devoted to fixing up a whelping area in the basement.  Reebok will be comfortable with it, as she stayed in the big crate on the right when she was in season, and enjoys following me around the basement when I do fish chores.