Ohio Country Journal: pond fish

Who We Are

The past few years, the area where I live, Crawford County, Ohio, has seen a wonderful explosion of younger families who are embracing the joys and challenges of living off the land. Because of them, amazing things are happening which have been embraced by our community. Farmer’s markets have been created and on-farm stores have opened. Families dedicated to growing organic produce and naturally raised meats are meeting the public’s needs for locally raised foods. And at the heart of this movement are the women.

Ohio Country Journal is my attempt to share the essence of farm life, focusing on, but not limited to, women. My goal is to bring you into our circle of friendship by inviting you to share your stories and experiences with us. You don’t have to be a full time country woman to benefit from joining us; you just have to be you.

The full-time country women featured in Ohio Country Journal are an inspiration to anyone who dares to follow her dreams, whether it is to live in the country or to bring the country life-style to their urban neighborhoods.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Fishy Business, Part 1

This bullfrog doesn't seem to mind living in scum. But we sure do mind having algae take over our nature pond. Lucky for us, Crawford Soil and Water Conservation District sponsored a pond fish drop off, so we ordered scum eating fish to help take care of the problem.

Today is the first part of our adventure in stocking a pond with useful fish. :)

Marcheta *gone fishin'

Pick up day was May 16th. It was a BYOB (bring your own bucket) type of deal, so before heading to Bucyrus, we had some prep work to do.

The buckets had to be lined with plastic bags. You'll find out why later.

It was also a BYOPW (bring your own pond water) deal. After lining the buckets with kitchen trash bags, Jim loaded them on the scoop of the Kubota and headed to the pond to add water. He chose the tractor because we are still working on this pond and the ground around it was too muddy for the truck.

The last prep step was to take the four water-filled buckets back to the truck, load up, and head out.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A Random Day

Today has been one busy crazy day! It started off by going to Crawford Soil and Water Conservation District in Bucyrus first thing to pick up the fish we ordered for our nature pond. There will be a story about this in the coming days.

It is nearly 2:00 p.m. and we are just now home from doing odds and ends; such as taking a super to Nelsonstrail. Bob and Sue are the maple producers that I wrote about last winter. They also keep bees. The Nelson's property is along a creek and Bob is pretty handy to catch wild swarms of bees. He promised to nab one for us, but need a 'home' to put them in. Again, there will be a story coming about this experience, too.

While in town we took a ton of "stuff" to the recycling center...got a whoppin' big check of $28.00 for a whole pick-up truck load...LOL. But, I always feel that this is better than clogging up the landfill, so it's all good.

I have a few hours before my writer's club meeting, which I plan to start on the up-cycled garment that I posted about last winter: the one where I took elements from a sweater to use in this garment, and made leg warmers for Ava from the sweater's sleeves.

I am glad to finally have time to work on this. PLUS, she may get a chance to wear it on Saturday, giving me the extra 'push' that I need to Get 'Er Done. :)

Random days like this one are fun, but I gotta tell you, already I am as tired as if I had done hard labor all day.

Whew!

Marcheta *Randomista