Nectar

I can hardly believe how quickly this summer has passed.  This summer the water lily blossoms set up a schedule exactly timed to my work schedule.  They bloom on Tuesday mornings and sink by Thursday afternoons, denying me the pleasure of their blossoms.  I can count on one hand the number of lilies I've seen wide open this summer.   I think it was my leave of absence last summer, when I spent hours with my feet propped up observing the otherwise unnoticed events of each day, that I decided to work part time.  I realized that I was missing too many of the things that are really important to me.  I've missed the wrens and chickadees when they fledge.  The baby fish in the skimmer wait much too long to be rescued.  I've missed the chipmunks dragging long strings of lysmachia into their rocky front doors.  The cardinal flower has come and gone before I can really look at it.  I've missed the young catbirds turn from carefree juveniles to ardent berry hunters.  The bench at the back of the yard has only been used a few times, and on one of those occasions I spied a robin patiently waiting on her nest in the hollies.  I never saw the babies.  I've missed my own autumn nesting too many times.  I want to bake crusty rolls and cinnamon breads, freeze soups and blueberries, jar tomatoes.  Hubby asks me why I want to stop working when I have such an interesting job.  The answer is always the same, but he doesn't really understand.   Life is too short, and I am simply am missing too much.  

The mornings are crisp and clear now, with the hint of yellow busses, book bags, and new clothing in the air.  Our summer has been so dry that brown leaves litter the lawn, but I can see the bright red winterberries bunching up on their stems, and the spice bush leaves are beginning to fade into yellow.  Looking out of the window in my powder room, I see a cement bird bath, a large butterfly bush, and beyond that the pond.  Since the butterfly bush first bloomed it has been visited by all sorts of creatures from hummingbirds to skippers.  Red admirals frequented the bush all summer, but for the last couple of weeks two tiger swallowtails have been regulars at the bush.  One has lost one of its tails and the tip of its wing, but it still visits every day.  Soon it will disappear completely and its caterpillars will fold up into a leaf and winter over.  Soon the fish will sink to the bottom, and the warblers will make their appearance, stopping over on their trek south.

Attack!

One morning a week or so back, I took my morning coffee outside and sat on the bench next to the pond to feed my fish.  I immediately noticed that all of the potted water plants were upended, and all the floating plants were dislodged and had moved into the mouth of the skimmer.  There were roots and pieces of plants everywhere.  Absent was the roiling knot of fish that normally greets me as soon as the green fish food bucket is in sight.  I could see dashes of orange and black and yellow and white hiding under the water lilies, but not a fin or scale would venture out.  That damned blue heron - the one that tried to land on the porch roof last month - had surely paid a visit to my pond.  They never forget where to find a meal.  Most of my fish are now a good 8" to 10" long.  It's a wonder a heron would even try!

I tossed a handful of food onto the water. Eventually one fish dashed upward and snatched a mouthful.  Following suit, another whizzed across the surface and disappeared back to the lily roots.  One by one, they mustered the courage to come out of hiding.  I counted them. Two large fish were missing, and none of the little ones had appeared at all.  One orange fantail goldie was stuck on the bottom with only one side fin moving..  drifting off kilter, fluttering up an inch, and sinking again.  A puncture wound was visible on it's left side.  I was sure it was a goner.  It's months away from leaf time, but Hubby and I put the netted dome over the pond anyway.  It makes me sad to know the dragon flies can't get to the blooming pickerel weed, though I notice the bees and skippers have no trouble getting through the netting.  And the frogs just keep on croaking..  I think they can just crawl under if they want out.  (Yes "they".  There are now two of them.) 

The fish have recovered from their trauma.  I know this for sure because they are dashing out from under the lilies as soon as they see me with the green bucket. They following me around the edges of the pond until they form that tight ball of motion where I toss their food.  The rocks on the right side of the falls slid into the water, probably loosened by that big bird tromping around on the edges looking for a way in.  So I donned my highly fashionable waders, and into the pond I waded.  As soon as I was fully in the pond there were a dozen curious, brightly colored shubies swimming in and out of my legs and bumping into me.  I have to shoo them away from my arms and hands while I lift the rocks out of the pond.  Silly fish.  But the really good news is that one of the missing fish and all the babies have reappeared.  The other missing fish, a black fantail goldie that I had nicknamed "Ghost", is clearly gone.  The orange fantail goldie is back to her old self, though, waddling through the water as only a fat fantail can.  But now she sports a half inch long beak tattoo on her left side.

I am on a new kick..  a new knee thing.  I started using the recumbant bicycle to strengthen my knees when I discovered that biking on a real bicycle didn't hurt them, but in fact actually made them feel much better in the days after.  Walking hurts. Standing too long without moving them hurts.  Sitting too long without moving them hurts. Then I found this book by Richard Bedard called Saving My Knees; How I Proved the Doctors Wrong...    Now I'm not a doctor, and I can't say this will work for everyone, but wow!!  He is describing to me what I am finding through my own experience!  Only difference is, he didn't have the arthroscopic surgery like I did.  Still, I am hopeful.  In the last couple of weeks I've noticed a marked improvement, and I've started a knee diary.  Time will tell, but I'm very optimistic.  He also has a website and a blog..  I recommend anyone with knee pain to give it a read.  http://www.savingmyknees.com/