Tag: pets

こんばんは!

Today’s post title are two unrelated things, but whatever… I don’t really care.

First, the cats! 🐱🐱 My goodness they are crazy. Although they are sisters, they have definitely got their own personalities. I’d have to say that Anko, the tuxedo cat, is the stranger of the two.. she has a goofy way about her. As you can see in the photo above, she loves to hide and act silly. And her favorite position to nap in is on her back. Bizarre!

The calico, Yuzu, acts more like a big sister, taking care of Anko and grooming her. But she also has a little bit of a mean streak, and is super-sneaky. And she uses her teeth and claws to great effect. If you are relaxing with a blanket over you, watch out for your toes!

And the other subject of this post is that Koa has had his first Cross-country meet!

There were four middle schools competing today and his school came in second overall, with Koa placing 55th. He said he had a lot of fun and enjoys running. 🏃 I love that.

I think it’s pretty cool that he is in cross-country, since both my brother and I ran cross-country in high school. I really never expected either of my kids to run in school, so this is a pleasant surprise!

I didn’t see this first meet, so this photo was taken when I picked him up back at his school. I wanted to get him in his cross-country uniform, but he had already changed. 😞 Anyways, the photo is not that great, with that distracting tire on the left side, the tree sticking out of the top of Koa’s head, and the car hitting him from behind, but I like his smile and that the photo marks a little bit of history. 😊

I hope you had a nice Tuesday!

おやすみなさい！

– B 

こんばんは！Hi!

This evening we set up Bay’s new aquarium, which is actually our old aquarium, but since we got a new 20-gallon tank, Bay wanted the 10-gallon tank for his room. I was happy to give it to him because I remember when I was his age I also had an aquarium in my room. 🐠

Yesterday I helped him clean the tank, by taking out the old gravel and rocks and then he scrubbed the glass to remove the algae that has built up over the years. He also cleaned the filter pump and aquarium hood. It’s looking good!

And today we went to the local fish store to buy some new substrate and a couple fish. Since I kept the old biological media, the water should be cycled pretty quickly. I recommended Bay start out with a couple of Siamese algae-eaters, and then do some research as to what kinds of fish (and how many) would do well in a 10-gallon tank. He also wants to put some live grasses in it, which should be pretty cool.

I remember when I was in middle school I had a 10-gallon tank in my room… it may even have been smaller. Perhaps an 8-gallon? Anyways, the filter system we used was very different back then. We used one of those vibrating pumps that drove air through a tube and into a plastic filter box. The bubbles would create a current that would keep water flowing through the filter material. It was a loud system! But I loved that little aquarium and it gave me years of enjoyment. Our guppies lived long happy lives and we raised a lot of little baby guppies!

When I was in high school, I had a larger aquarium, maybe a 12 or 15-gallon tank, using the same filter system. But I was able to get some different kinds of fish – platys, mollys, plecos, and tetras. I loved that tank as well! I remember spacing-out looking into that aquarium for hours while listening to Environments records… ☺️

During college I had another aquarium in our dorm room. It was a cool plexi tank and I think I had a couple mollys and a little frog. This tank had an under-gravel filter system, but still used that loud pump.

These days, the pumps and filters we use are the impeller-type which are quiet, efficient, and easy to maintain. I’m sometimes tempted to get one of the air-pumps so I can have some cool bubbles in the aquarium, but I’m satisfied with how the aquarium is set up now.

I’m really happy that I’ve had an aquarium in my life since I was young. It’s a fun and relaxing hobby that can be so much more than “just taking care of fish”. I hope that Bay and/or Koa continue with the tradition!

おやすみなさい！Good night!

– B