The new koi are all doing quite well. We shortened the quarantine process significantly for the goromos and they are now swimming with their pals in the upper pond. They were in quarantine with the dealer for the last two weeks so I don’t feel too bad. Yesterday, Mikki and Devin Swanson brought our koi to us from Koi Acres. After placing them in the quarantine tank, we went out for sushi. About 90 minutes later we came home and Devin said “hey, the pump isn’t running…”. One of the goromos had jumped out of the tank, getting through the net that covered the tank and luckily landing in the bin holding the water pump. Only a little damage to the dorsal fin. Phew!

The nice thing about hanging out with the koi dealers is that you get so much information about koi, appreciating koi better, improving your own collection, etc. I really liked that they knew the breeders for the different koi because it’s another interesting facet to explore. When Kevin Pham of Genkikoi visited last month, he was able to identify the probably breeder of some of our koi. I am amazed to say the least.

Haven’t thought much about names yet for the latest koi.

We’re still working on the endless landscaping chores. There is a wooden deck being built on the north side of the pond where we used to have a gravel path. Pond digger is hoping to have it finished this weekend (maybe yes, maybe no…). We did pick up two new evergreens for the pond area. We keep trying different species because not all evergreens make it through the Minnesota winter even if they are supposedly for Zone 4. Some of our mugo pines have not fared well after getting frost burn this winter.

The endless chores around the pond are not so bad when you have two people working. The koi really like to watch the pond digger working near the water. They will hover and appear to be curious about what crazy things he is doing. I also hear the pond digger talking to the koi. I’m thinking he’s a little koi kichigai or maybe just kichigai in general 😉