It’s been awhile since I last blogged but I do have a life outside of koi keeping 😄. The pond builder and I have been traveling and work has kept us busy (koi keeping is not exactly a cheap hobby).
I have been steadily getting my yard ready for winter. Many plants have been cut back and I just ordered some rolls of protective fabric for the plants. My daughter and I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and I’m inspired to tackle a dahlia garden next year and a little beehive. My two hens, Vida and ChiChi, have been rehomed with a member of my koi club. I’m not missing them since the thought of taking care of them over the winter was unappealing.
The cool weather was also our cue to consolidate the koi in the lower pond. We are having some new concrete work in our garage next week so the koi will have to stay outside a little longer. I think the pond builder is planning on building some sort of greenhouse top for the lower pond. Last weekend, while the weather was still nice, we pulled a few koi out into the bowl to take a closer look.
last day in the upper pondNatsumi is healing very nicely. I’m she look even better next summer for the UMKC koi show.Here’s Poppy, a sanke koi we purchased at the Koi Acres auction. She barely fits in the 30 inch bowl.Sumiko seems slow on the length but is getting some girth to her.Mio the kohaku is looking cute.Abbott has grown a lot this summer. We plan to pump up the color food this spring…
Yesterday we decided to move the koi. Using our big net from Southwest Koi, we transferred all the koi in about 45 minutes. That’s a little record for us! We started a little before sunset and managed to get them all into the lower pond before it got dark.
a little chaos with everyone in the lower pondend of the season for the upper pondthe new home (at least for a few weeks)
We decided to add a second light to the pond so we could see the koi more easily from the house. The pond builder didn’t seem to mind working outside in the low 40s, in the dark and on an empty stomach.
the pond builder is hard at work as usualeveryone is checking out the skimmer
The koi spent most of their first day together eating algae off the wall and peering into the skimmer. The lower pond’s location makes it very convenient to feed. I am able to open up my dining room window and toss the food pellets into the pond.
A little side note on our travels. We happened to be in Dallas during the annual Dallas Koi Show and of course we spent a little time around the vats. The show is held at the Bass Pro Shop in a nice covered venue adjacent to the store. It’s always fun to go to a koi show to see koi friends and view some really nice koi. My favorite koi at this show was a huge karashiogi that was easily over a meter long.
new and old friends at the Dallas Koi Showsome of the Dallas Koi Show entriesDallas Koi Show – pond builder and me
More fun koi stuff to write about this upcoming weekend – it’s the last mud pond harvest up at Koi Acres and we’ll be building some sort of protective cover on the lower pond.
