Saturday, March 1, 2014

Hi, Everyone,
Thanks so much for stopping by my website. Please share information here, so others can learn to not be victims of domestic violence and abuse, but be survivors!

Well, it sure has been a very loooong winter here in Ohio! And another snow storm is on its way Sunday evening into Monday! Another "snow day" for hubby for sure! If no school, this will be the eighth day they have to make up!!

Our pond sure took a beating this winter. It will have to be redone starting in the spring. When we had all that snow on the ground (about 8"), and the few days it warmed up, all the snow melted, plus some rain arrived and the whole liner in the pond hooved up! The many fish were in dire stress! They were struggling around the edges where there was only about 3-4 inches of water to survive in, so hubby and I frantically removed over 90 fish by hand and put them in 5-gallon buckets of water and then hubby filled the old garden tub out back behind the tractor shed and we put them in there temporarily until we could get some more water in the pond with the hose we attached to the pump in the basement. We weren't able to add much but it was enough to put at least 30 fish back in. (I also scooped off pond sludge with my nets and skimmer and threw it into the yard...back-breaking job!)

The remaining fish, we took down to the neighbors that have a huge pond (small lake), in 5-gallon buckets. (( wanted to catch a bunch anyway to thin out the population, and this was the perfect opportunity!).

The owner cut a hole in the 3 inches of ice on the pond near the bank and their little boy was so excited to help put the fish in their pond. He did good and was very gentle with them after I showed him how to take each one out of the bucket and release the fish into the water.

We also discovered when the liner hooved up underneath, it also displaced many of the stones around the edge and also the walkway is really out of kilter. Some stone actually slid into the pond.  Hubby got several cement blocks and placed them around the edge of center area to make a larger pool of water for the remaining fish. This did help some as now it is 18" deep in the center instead of 6". (normally it is 30" in the center!). Some of the liner is still up at each end but at least the fish can survive in the center part. We were able to put the heater back in the water to as it helps with keeping the ice from freezing over completely and release the ammonia in the water that kills the fish!

Now that the ground is frozen again, it will be a while before the liner can recede. As soon as it warms up before the "monsoons" hit this spring, we will have to add more cement blocks to try and keep the liner from coming up all over. What a job and a mess!

I've been really busy, and recently spoke on domestic violence and abuse and my WISH group at a church nearby. Our advocate and also the Intern from Kent State, plus the two ladies who are working really hard to get our domestic violence shelter up and running in our area also spoke. It will really be an asset to the community and when it is in place.  April 1st. is opening day, and will be a safe haven for women who will need a place to stay, (and children too), when needed. (I also sold one each of my books-yea!)

I volunteered for a fundraiser yesterday and go back again this morning from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the APL.

The kitties and the dogs are doing well and the new kitty, Minnie, is really fun! She fetches her toys and brings them to me in the morning and places them on the bed! The older cats still aren't quite sure of her, but Tigger does play with her sometimes, but Callie is still holding back some!

Take care, and until next time, stay safe, and be a survivor! No one deserves violence and abuse against them!

Becky :)