https://images.hive.blog/p/pBMyo3B2Sao45kGEB1kRY9cJBFGQnrPp2qChGHkgVjzu1y6XFCd4yc3hN4zYEHsreEfwfDeh7Kit1AgsPXn8JZrqpC9iwRC5vgrMWPtQzjbGAshruScsJnsfVwEkWgNjAEdZnCgbHdit4uWYNEhmrZFx2pLTYknz7ka11vQwCSGK3Hok?format=match&mode=fit

Okay, it's not quite Sunday here yet, but it is for everyone not on the American continents!

I know that I've been somewhat quiet for awhile.
Life has been annoying and busy for the moment - something which seems to get worse as I get older.

Aquaria

We've had our ups and downs with these - experiencing losses that I didn't expect, some of which might have been our fault, some which definitely were not our fault... leading us to learn about things like Dwarf Gourami Disease and other things that afflict over-bred "pets."

We have baby guppies, baby mystery snails are hope to have baby shrimp soon enough. But (once again), the more I learn about some aspects of the pet trade, the more aggravated I get by it.

Since coming back to the US, I had long shunned places like Petco and Petsmart as being places where people go to "collect animals." And honestly, I feel that way even more now.

Despite this, we now have "multiple tank syndrome" featuring:

a 29-gallon aquarium full of guppies, neon tetras, a female betta, mystery snails and neocaridina shrimp (plus a bristlenose pleco).
a 20-gallon (my younger daughter's) with a pair of pearl gouramis, some danios, some otocinclus catfish, mystery snails and shrimp (and a pair of bristlenose plecos.)
a 20-gallon (my older daughter's) with a couple of female bettas, some ember tetras, mystery snails, cory catfish, a pair of bristlenose plecos and will also get some shrimp when I have a few extra.
a 5-gallon isolation tank currently housing a male betta, a bristlenose pleco and some shrimp.
a 1-gallon isolation tank currently growing out some hornwort and a few juvenile shrimp.
a 110-gallon stock tank (outside) with cheap comet goldfish and a dozen Chinese/Japanese trapdoor snails. This combination should be okay in our cold Rocky Mountain winters.

All tanks are planted - with constant efforts to increase the number of plants to allow us to make the most efficient use of our tanks. (Yes, I know we have a tendency to overcrowd a little which is why the plants are so important - please don't criticize - we're working on it!)

I also plan to put together a "sales" tank for the excess guppies and mystery snails. (Currently moving males around to reduce the offspring for the moment.)

One of the most interesting things during this time is noting that most of the fish and plants I've obtained through ebay have been much better quality than what I found at Petco and Petsmart. I've only had a couple of losses that could have been blamed on shipping or myself. One of the more notable losses was from the "dwarf gourami disease" which wiped out four apparently-healthy fish in the matter of days.

More reading is required to work out the direction I wish to take the fish in the future. Something along the lines of hardy and not hurt from the industry, but right now, I'm not even sure how to research this.

Farming & Gardening

The chickens are doing well and we're getting eggs. Not quite the numbers we'd like, but these are mostly older gals and can't be expected to lay every day.

We got some guinea pigs a few weeks ago - a birthday present for my husband who loves these little piggies. I've had to learn quickly, but we love these guys too now. I've even planted up a small patch in the back yard for some supervised play/grazing time for them. Just waiting for it to grow long enough now.

Gardening is getting off slowly, though I've been able to find some fruit plants that I couldn't get my hands on last year. So, I've planted some raspberry canes and a gooseberry bush. I also have some herbs and strawberries, some of which are doing well and some are suffering because I didn't do well enough at "hardening them off" and/or they don't like my current planting situation. (The former is more likely because one variety of strawberry plants are doing much better than the others.)

Photography

I took a few pictures recently, but it's been a bit low at the moment - partly because I'm missing a charger (from moving) and fighting some other batteries. I've ordered more batteries and a replacement charger, so that should be better soon.

Health

I'm still fighting my personal struggles in this area - learning what foods trigger blood pressure spikes and what I can eat and keep off the medications. The answer is mostly carnivore with some fruit. When I don't trigger bad reactions in my body, I am not so tired and get more done.

Writing

I had a couple of really good months this year, but the past few weeks have been a bit "blah" - probably about the time my husband got a change of hours meaning we have to get up earlier. I'm trying to get to bed earlier to compensate, but it's not the easiest thing to manage.

I've just started serializing Phoenix a story based on a personal fantasy I had a number of years ago. I still need to upload it to Draft2Digital for sales, but I haven't got there yet.

Back to writing on my Decima set now (the plague afflicting Terrenden in 888 TCE), but found I needed to stop for a few days to firm up some characterization - especially on a character who features in Phoenix as well - she had long told me this was a possibility. The characterization work is now done, so hopefully, this week, I can work on the actual writing again.

Homeschooling

This is my other excuse for not doing more posts. It's a good excuse too as it's far more important than a few dollars earned on Hive. I spent some time working out my elder daughter's high school curriculum and began our Summer School this week. She has chronic fatigue like I have, so it's important to keep working when she is able. This summer will be fairly low key, working on some math skills, handwriting, art, home economics and broadway musicals! That part will be fun.

Ships and Trains

I'm still watching the ships and trains.
I am frustrated with some of the changes on the StreamtimeLive cameras which include poor operation of the often-fuzzy/blurry cameras. Boatnerd does better, as does Duluth. I think Streamtime needs to up their game to keep up with places like Virtual Railfan - before they develop a Virtual Shipfan and outstrip their competition.

Here is one of my favorite captures recently from Duluth - of the Paul R Tregurtha:

and the Duluth Harbor Cam video of her arrival

Retrograding Planets

Oooh boy!
Pluto is retrograding... as is Saturn and Mercury.
Since Saturn started, we've had an endless battle with electronics - losing two laptops, two monitors, experiencing electronic faults with our dishwasher, the stereo in my car... my mother had her phone stolen... It's been rough so far! Only another two weeks of Mercury, but several months more of Saturn.

Summer Solstice

As part of our homeschooling curriculum, we're focusing on the upcoming solstice much more than usual. Hopefully, some of these projects will make it into posts. So far, we've made string windsocks, like the ones that were so popular in the 80s... but homemade and very inexpensive. As soon as the girls finish theirs, I'll write up the post.

Anyway, that's how it is with us - how are you?

Note: switching from the "freewriters" community to the "home edders" community over "rules"... Freewriters don't want me crossposting - and even though I haven't this time, I don't like that kind of restriction, so this is my answer for the time being.

Ship image from Duluth Harbor Cam. Please visit their channel - there's lots of great video there.

Past issues...

2021
Happy 2021 to Everyone! (New Year's Day)

2020
Feb 2, 2020 - Flu Sucks!
Feb 9, 2020 - Planning 2020
Feb 16, 2020 - Skating and Eating and Writing, Oh My!
Feb 23, 2020 - Chicken Scratchings and Graphics
Mar 1, 2020 - Inspections R Us
Mar 8, 2020 - New Chicks
Mar 15, 2020 - Pandemic Hits Writing
Apr 5, 2020 - Fools in April?
Jun 14, 2020 - Of Gardens and Vibes
Oct 6, 2020 - Drawing the Line - When it is time to quit (Not Sunday)
Dec 15, 2020 - Winter, Writing and Winging It (Not Sunday)

Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
verified author on Goodreads
(Buy my books at Books2Read and at LBRY)
find me on Twitter