Okay it’s not Christmas but we’re super excited to host a fun koi event on the farm! The amazing thing about koi people is that they’re willing to travel pretty far for a few hours devoted to koi. Judging friends Michelle Gravenish and Gerald Ellison are flying in from Minnesota and California respectively. Michelle even convinced Gerald to pick up some Krispy Kreme donuts (invented in North Carolina). Koi friends, Steve and Sandy Zimmerman and Felicia Santos and Carl Brinkman, have helped with equipment and set up to support having a koi dealer in attendance. And of course, we have a very nice koi dealer and family – Bristol Koi Farm – from Florida.

Steve and Sandy drove over two 7′ vats this month. I’m not sure I would want to be driving on the North Carolina roads (where everyone thinks they are a NASCAR driver) but Sandy is a pro.

Steve has a long list of “to-do” tasks. There were a few steps to prep the water for the incoming koi. We make sure the water is free of ammonia and add some salt which will relieve stress. Steve has a gadget for everything and has us monitoring water temperature throughout the event. I did struggle with the aerator setup. I had the new air stones in the vats, turned on the aerator and… no air in the vats. I’m texting Felicia and Steve – “hey I think there is something wrong with the aerator…” The crisis moment passed when I realized that I had left the protective cap on the end of the air stones (duh).

Along with the prep for the incoming koi to be sold, pond builder and I made sure the farm areas looked presentable, directional signs, order pizza, etc. Since it’s pretty hot in North Carolina, we thought a mister might be some cooling relief for guests. I really like it and might leave it up all year.

The sale koi for our event come from Bristol Koi Farm, Florida. Alex and Parinaz brought in a variety of koi, koi food and other koi pond stuff. Michelle and I helped with some of the unloading and it’s always fun to spend time looking at koi without the crowds. Three really large koi, some lovely showas and a variety of tosais. Something for every budget. All of the koi did well after 16 hours in the bag.

More about our first koi event on the farm later this weekend! (I can see pond builder’s eyes rolling already, but he’s such a good guy, he’ll support more events. 🥰)

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