Cooling Thoughts

Monday, June 28, 2021 (In 25 days, July’s fullest moon [“Thunder”] will rise.)

What about this unyielding stretch of heat! My ranch in yesterday’s early evening totally was without shade. Hoping for a little cool while the horses ate, I went later than usual to feed, and no use, not a bit of shade. The temp, in their area, 100-deg.

I checked on the baby chickens. They were unmoving in a bit of shade cast by their Igloo but panting heavily. That heat didn’t stop them from running after and squabbling over my offering of bits of bread, which they love. Instantly when bread disappeared, they retreated to the Igloo shadow.

My cat Max has been inside most of yesterday and all of last night. He occasionally has moved, shifting from spots on carpet to those on tiled floors, always splaying-out flat.

As for Miss PattiPearl Plecos, it must be a factor of heat that early today she’s showing herself for the first time in months. She’s lived in this tank for years, is becoming a whopper.

She’s a plecostomus, a variety of catfish that grows approximately to 16″, something I didn’t know before selecting her for my new 20 gallon aquarium. PattiPearl was tiny and almost cute, would work at cleaning algae from aquarium glass. Through our years together, she’s mostly remained hidden inside a little cave. Often I wonder if she’s still alive.

All the tank’s inhabitants get along with PattiPearl, a great community fish. Someday her size will require re-homing her or establishing a larger tank. Thanks to this heat wave, at least she’s shown herself alive and well.

On subjects of fish and tanks, I’ve considered creating a water garden. They’re so cool and hold live water plants. For it, I’ll gather wild lilies from open canals and house hardy goldfish. The fish in winters would join like residents in the heated horse watering troughs.

My neighbor Frank quickly moved on this idea. He has started my plan by donating an unwanted 100 gallon trough.

An aqua-garden should be near water and electrical sources. I’m deciding on a best spot for this tank. What’s good, besides the aqua idea itself, is that despite today’s heat I’ll be thinking about water, plants, and fish–all very cooling notions.

Dear Friends: Now, going out early to beat the heat, to care for horses, chickens, goats, and plants. Diana