Susan Palmer's Exquisite Now

Stuff gets done here

recent posts

  • Waiting is also an action

    I don’t know what to do. One of the yoyo loaches (Botia almorhae) in my fish tank is ailing, its body kind of pocked looking and thin. Doesn’t resemble any of the images of sick fish I’ve seen online. Ten days ago I thought this fish was close to death. It was languishing on a rock, panting, hanging kind of sideways. I thought I’d remove him from the tank so as not to infect the other fish with whatever he had, and quarantine him in another small tank. But catching him proved difficult in my heavily planted aquarium and I figured I was just burning what little energy the poor fish had in avoiding capture. So I stopped. The fish hasn’t died yet. Is looking marginally better. None of the other fish in the tank appear to be ailing.

    I’m reminded once again that when I don’t know what to do, it’s OK to wait. When I don’t know what exactly it is that I don’t know, doing nothing is better than doing something that will complicate the issue and might be worse. But it isn’t easy, doing nothing. In our hurry-up culture we don’t really go for patience.

  • Giant sucking sound? Algae eating fish

    The albino plecostomus, would probably have serious disadvantages in the wild. Pale fish against a dark river bottom likely would get snapped up right away. But those of us with aquariums, man, we love this algae eating critter. Easy to see. Feeds itself on tank algae. Kinda funny lookin’. with a big old sucker mouth that attaches to plants or tank glass or rocks. Like ’em. Probably going to name them.

  • Moon and stars for the moment

    Post-work Friday, me ‘n’ Andrew tired and cranky and trying to get out the door for a two-hour drive to meet friends at a cabin on Odell Lake. We halfway don’t even want to go because we are so tired and so cranky. But we committed and by 7:30 p.m.,. we’re on the road. By 8:30, we’re less cranky.  By 9:30 we’re slip-sliding in the snow and then walking into the cabin where our friends have a fire going in the wood stove, the wine open and a board game underway. After getting settled we walk out to the meadow where a brilliant almost full moon and several bright planets are shining down on us.

    All tired crankiness forgotten. All petty hurts from the week gone. Healed.