Tragedy at Lake. Two killed, one missing and presumed drowned. But...who the heck are YOU??

Can a fish drown?

I dunno. But our fishies met tragedy this summer while they were on vacation.

About three years ago we bought a mixture of five little 40 cent feeder fish of various colourings and put them in our tiny little pond which is too shallow to overwinter fish. There's not enough room below the ice to support any water or oxygen for them.

Only two of these little creatures managed to survive and grew quite large. When the cold weather approached, I didn't have the heart to just let them freeze to death so I bought a 50 dollar aquarium for the 80 cent fishies and we kept them indoors for two winters. If you want to see what life was like for them in the aquarium, click here to watch a video of their activities (Note - I didn't choose the music in the video - my son happened to be 'jamming' in the background when I was filming). It will also explain why I called them "Chase" and "Chasee", both females. Each year they would wait expectantly all winter for the warm weather when they could finally go on vacation to the lake (we never let them know it was just a pond).

This past summer was a tragic one. My husband went to step outside on the morning of our anniversary, and there was an icky orangey mess on the porch right in front of the door. The only way we knew it was a fish was by the tail that was distinguishable. Raccoon? Cat? Not sure. But it was sad after all our efforts to keep the fish alive. It was Chasee. Tragic.

Chase looked so very lonely in the pond and would simply stay out of sight without swimming much. So off I went to the store to spend more money buy another fish about the same size so that Chase would not be alone. Bigger fish are $3.99....not 40 cents but price was no object.

What a beauty I picked. I thought it best to get another female. This fish had some white markings on the orange body and reminded me of a Creamsicle.

Chase began to chase Creamsicle right away and soon they were inseparable.

Well, as fate would have it, there was another upset to the pond in spite of our best efforts to secure it from wildlife, and Creamsicle was found on the front sidewalk one morning. The prospects weren't good to revive her. Obviously whatever animal did this did not really want fish for breakfast. Poor Chase. Alone again...naturally.  But tragically, not long after that, Chase just simply vanished without a trace. Drowned? Did she jump? This was a vacation gone completely wrong.

Now I will admit I was a little giddy sad as I cleaned up the aquarium and put it away, knowing I wouldn't be maintaining it this winter.

Yesterday, my husband did his ritual clean-out of the pond which tends to be the recipient of  leaves and debris. He usually sucks all the water out each year with a shop vac and covers the pond to keep out snow and ice. I was in the backyard sunning myself and listening to a robin on a most unusual warm weather day in mid November. He called me over with a little flower pot in his hand and said, "Look at this!!".

I looked. Dirty black sludge and slime. Mmhmm.

"No LOOK!", he insisted.

I peered into the pot again. Dirty black sludge and slime.

"It's a fish!"

Uh huh.

I continued to stare at the mess. Then the slime moved. Freaky.

I couldn't see how this moving, slimy thing was a fish, but when it was taken and put into a nearby birdbath....sure enough....it was a small black fish. Sooooo. Either this thing had survived in that pond for several years, avoiding ice and freezing and shop vac sucking....or it was a product of the conception of two female fish....or perhaps Creamsicle laid some eggs before leaving this earth?

Isn't she just so....so.....ugly worth keeping? 

Alas Hooray! I get to dig out the aquarium again for Mystery or Lucky or whatever we shall call this blackish/grey fish who eluded us in the dark waters of the lake. We will need to be rearranging the house a little to accomodate this tiny guest and I guess I'll be paying a visit to the pet store to spend more money get a few more fish rather than have one solitary sole soul in the tank.

You know, I never really liked fish. But it's amazing when you watch them swim for a few years you actually get attached to them think of more than just Omega 3's or the health benefits of eating them. More than just slime. More than just a lot of work to provide a morsel for a cat, raccoon, or heron. So much more.

Stay tuned for more exciting videos of the lives of fish...coming soon to a blog near you. Bet you can hardly wait.

Is there a better country?

I hate war. Who doesn't?

We could argue the politics...the morality....the horrors of war. My heart nearly stopped as I watched the 'shock and awe' of the Iraq war - knowing behind each blast were families of innocent people being wiped out in a moment of time and the infrastructure of their country destroyed. Was anything worth that cost?

War is so much different now than it was in the days of the First and Second World Wars. We do not always know where the enemy is - there is not necessarily an obvious battlefield.

All of the politics aside, on this November 11th Remembrance Day, I have paused to reflect on our Canadian soldiers and the sacrifices they have given, and continue to give. I may pause for a moment on this day, but those who have lost family military members must vividly remember every day...every hour.

Canada now has a thoughtful way to help us remember on more than just Remembrance Day. If a Canadian soldier falls, rather than being buried overseas as in the past, they are escorted home to travel along the Highway of Heroes in Ontario. Traffic on the busy highway is slowed as motorists consumed in their own busy lives are suddenly faced with a stark reminder that their freedom was bought by one such as this who is now carried past them - whose voice has now been silenced, yet their lives speak volumes. Crowds of Canadians with Canadian flags stand for hours in all kinds of weather on overpasses along that highway to silently salute the soldier as he or she passes beneath each bridge....each one honoured for their ultimate sacrifice. I wish that we have seen the last of those motorcades.

Our country of Canada is not one that has faced invasion or needed to defend itself. Rather, it chooses to go to places of unrest in the world.....fighting if necessary....but trying to rebuild, befriend and assist people in need whose countries have been ravaged by war and ruthless oppression. We have lost too many in the quest to do so.

We are a country of peace and freedom.  And we go with the mission of restoring peace and freedom in other nations.

Whether our troops should be away from home or not.....

they are.....

and today we salute these heroes and support them in their efforts.

New song

One evening about a month or so ago, I came into my living room and sat down to read. I could hear my son's guitar-playing emanating from the basement. It was quite loud, but not the rock music he reserves for the band he plays in.

(Too often his best music is reserved for the wee hours of the morning when I'm often asleep, though sometimes I have the good fortune to hear it.)

I can't even describe what I was hearing. He had blended various strains of his creation together using his computer, and I felt suspended in time as I sat mesmerized....listening. I felt tears welling in my eyes because there was something intensely moving and inspirational in what I was hearing. It was like it lifted me into worship though there were not even any words being sung. I breathed a prayer of gratitude for the gift and a hope for it to bless others.

Just then my son's girlfriend arrived, said hello, and was about to make her way downstairs to see Jordan. I motioned to her instead to sit down for a moment and just listen. She sat down for only a moment before tears began to well in her eyes as well. She voiced exactly what I had just been thinking - that there was something inspirational in the music that Jordan was creating, and it moves her to worship as well. For a few minutes we sat silently teary-eyed and in awe of what we were hearing.

Today our son is 21 years old. I cried throughout his entire baby dedication ceremony on a Sunday Christmas Day in 1988. And now he's got me misty-eyed again....

Love you Jordan. Happy Birthday.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth....and He'll keep giving you a beautiful NEW song.