When I was much, much younger, I couldn’t wait for things to happen and was very impatient when they seemed to take an eternity. Thankfully, at least for my peace of mind and along with the wisdom that comes with getting to an older age, I have learned that waiting a little bit is not so bad and as much as I still want instantaneous gratification, waiting for a while longer has its rewards, as long as the end result is as good or better than what was originally anticipated, that is.
This is very true for my current state of affairs. For those of you that have been following my blogs, you know that I am in the process of selling my house of 35 years and moving full time into an RV named the Eagle. This is a long and carefully planned out move in what will probably be my final adventure which, with any luck, will last a few more years.
The point of this blog is to show that patience for me is very difficult as I slowly, oh so very slowly, get the house ready to put on the market. I wander around from room to room and am completely lost as to what to do next. What is saleable, what should I donate or give away to friends or anybody that will take it, what is trash and when should I get that 10 cubic yard dumpster on site for that stuff that nobody is ever going to want. Which makes me wonder why I still have it anyway, whatever it is. Humans are hoarders, or some of us are. It may not be a conscious thing but we put something off to one side and there it stays for all eternity until such times as this when it somehow sees the light of day again. Then you ask yourself the question of “Why did I keep this in the first place?”. Of course, there is no sensible answer to that question as things were different at the time of keeping. Like all things in life, we change as we grow older in likes, tastes, colors viewpoints, girlfriends and even wives and I don’t know it we will ever be any different. Well, I should say the girlfriend and wives thing for me is a thing of the long distant pass and my only relationship to count of is with my dogs. Oh, I still have a few friends especially among my neighbors but everyone else is just a memory. That is, if they are still alive and even if they are not, I still remember the good times with them.
I did make the first moves to donating the very large Koi yesterday. I have learned the hard way that there is no resale for these fish and I want them to go to good homes. Donating them to members of the Austin Pond Society, the group that I have belonged to these past several years, I will know that they will be going to the right people that really care about their fish. Yesterday, I met with the rescue group, Jeannie and husband Steven accompanied by Barb, the President who came over to look and see what needs to be done. There are probably between 30-40 very large Koi some of which are nearly 3 feet long plus another 40 or so of last years Koi babies which are now between 8-10 inches in size. That is in the two large Koi ponds and in the smaller Goldfish pond, it contains probably at least 100 Goldfish of all sizes. These are much smaller than Koi and only grow to about 8 inches long. They are also much hardier and easier to keep due to their smaller size.
We discussed the process and how we should go about it and came up the a plan. So, when we are ready to go, I will begin the process of pumping down the water to at least half of its current depth and then the Rescue crew will come in and finish lowering the water to where they can isolate the fish and then catch them one by one until the pond is empty of anything fishwise still in it, There are turtles in the ponds and unless someone specifically wants to take them, they will stay where they are. I would like to see that Clarence, the very large turtle and Herbert, the turtle donated after spending 10 years in an aquarium, maybe find a new home. After the fish are caught, they will be distributed to the waiting members who will have been notified prior and ready and waiting with their very large containers, complete with aerators. These large Koi quickly use up the oxygen in small containers and without the above mentioned aerators, would die in transit. The plan is to do this over 3 separate weekends for each of the 3 ponds.
As I have mentioned before, this is probably one of the harder parts to selling this house. Everything else is bricks, stones and wood and only of material value. The fish are different and although I don’t love them as I do my dogs, I still care for their welfare and only want the best for them. They have given me much pleasure for the last 30 years not only in watching and caring for them but also in the actual building of the ponds themselves. Some sadness too when they have died and I have had to net them out to recycle them over the fence to feed other critturs. Such is the way of Nature.
I will do my part in getting the ponds ready for the fish sale but on the actual day of each sale, I will be in Henly in the Eagle as far away from the sadness as I can reasonably get. Probably with a bottle of wine for company. This will go on for at least 3 separate weekends and when I return after each sale, I will clean out the ponds and then refill them keeping the pumps running to add to their beauty without having to worry about the fish. Can’t wait to get my water bill after the refilling as we are talking around 12,000 gallons of water to replace. . This will also give me more opportunity to be away from the house whilst awaiting the final preparations and the actual sale.
So the plans are in place and things are moving forward. Now all I have to do is find some of that patience that we talked about.
Don’t forget that older posts including my poetry can still be found at https://pondblog2011.com
Written 02/08/2021
So you wrote that on the 8th, has the process started? I love koi. Years ago we went to an arboretum that had koi ponds and I wanted to spend the entire time visiting with the koi. They’d eat the food out of my fingers. It was so cool. Sending hugs to you as you transition to your next adventure. I am sure there is sadness as you lived there for so long and loved the ponds and their inhabitants!
I was very careful not to have any favorites as they often die for no apparent reason and I hate to mourn them. Besides, somehow, being cold blooded creatures, they don’t invoke the same sort of feeling as other warm blooded pets do. Of course I will miss them but not too much.
What a staggering undertaking—I just can’t imagine moving those giant fish. Thank goodness that the Pond Society will step in to organize this for you. They really do provide such a vital service.
Jeannie and Stephen have got it down to a fine art. Now we are down to 2 ponds which will happen on the 28th. I won’t be there again as that is not what I want to be a part of.