daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
I paused briefly in the parking lot to take this photo of a cloud directly overhead. One quick snap and then to the car to escape the Texas summer heat. Clouds are amazing, though, aren’t they? ☁️
This photo is in response to the Photo Challenge “Look Up”.
Have a great Sunday, fellow humans! 😜
Hi! Today was another scorcher. In the photo above, the asphalt looks dark and wet, but in reality it was just so hot that the tar took on a different look. It seemed like it was ready to melt into goo!
I was on my way to the local fish store to buy another Siamese algae eater and check out some of the live plants. There are some benefits to having real plants vs fake in the aquarium, the most important is that they improve the condition of the water by absorbing ammonia and CO2. But they also are a lot of fun to grow!
You will have to do a little trimming once in a while, but it’s not often and it is very easy. If you turn off the filter and then trim, the cut leaves will float up to the surface and it’s easy to gather them.
I didn’t buy any today, though, just looking and deciding how to plant the new aquarium. I have lots of ideas, but am thinking about what the focal point of the aquarium should be. Will it be a large rock (think mini-Half-Dome), a nice piece of driftwood, or perhaps a striking red plant? I haven’t decided yet… but I think I want to plant a bunch of small ground-cover type plants, and then some tall grasses in the background.
There is a whole art of aquarium design called “Aquascaping”. It’s fascinating and beautiful! Most of the tanks are very wide (and large) for a nice panoramic design, but my tank is a “tall” style, so it will be a bit different, and there are not many aquascaping examples out there for this type of aquarium. So, I am taking my time to figure it out. I did find this site that has a lot of nice layouts and the plants they used to create them. It’s a huge help!
I hope you had a nice Saturday!
おやすみなさい！
– B 
I finally watched Umimachi Diary today, and loved it! It’s a simple story filled with some touching moments and beautiful scenery – it takes place in Kamakura, which is one of my favorite places… of course it is by the sea. 🌊 (Umimachi means seaside town) I wouldn’t mind living in a small town in Japan… in fact I am hoping Mariko finds a nice place for us to live like that in the future. The four main characters live in the family house, which is old but very nice… I think Mariko is looking for something like that too for our future home! 😇
Anyways, this Umimachi Diary is a slow, heartfelt, and realistic movie – you won’t find any action or suspense here. But if you are in the mood for a well-acted, beautifully filmed movie, I can recommend this one. Please enjoy the trailer below:
こんばんは！Hello! How was your Friday?
Today after work, I stopped by our neighborhood pool for a bit. It was so hot out today – it got up to 97° F! The pool was nice and surprisingly, there weren’t a lot of people there. I laid out on the recliner for a bit and read, but then it started getting too hot so I came back home. I’ll probably head back out tomorrow though. Maybe in the morning before it heats up. 🔥
You know, we pay a Homeowners Association fee every month, and it pays for our two neighborhood pools, so I should take advantage of them. They are actually very nice, with lifeguards on duty, a shaded pavilion, and shower facilities too. I know Koa loves going to meet his friends there (and he’s old enough to not need adult supervision). I wonder if he’d mind if I was there at the same time?
Anyways, I hope you had a great day!
おやすみなさい
– B
