The First Full Day

I woke up to find a beautiful morning outside, so I went a-photographing to see what could be got.

1. This is the view of the pond across from my bedroom window. It had a rather good sunrise across it, which I missed because I enjoyed it through the window rather than through the camera lens.

 2. This is another pond. You can't see in the photo, but it's spider season and there are zillions of baby spiders leaving silk over everything. It's beautiful because everything shines that little bit more.

3. This is some of the landscaping and gardening looking back towards the house. It's not just a koi farm - it's a very pretty koi farm.

 4. Acer palmatum 'Bloodstone' in the sales area

 5. The sales area is really rather 'bedecked' with plants, which make it feel much more exciting than just a sales-area-with-tanks. I also learned about the innovative air-driven water circulation, which means no need for a water pump and the air is aerated externally to the tank, so the surface of the water is smooth and you can see the koi to their best effect.

6. The all-important money tree. Can you guess why it's by the till?

 7. Also in sales - the Cuttlebrook Koi Commitment; Dedicated to the perfection of Nishikigoi. Beautifully written and set in stone, influencing all the koi keeping which happens here.

 8. And no idle words are spoken, either - the evidence is plain for all to see. Dedication and fastidiousness pay big dividends.

9. A bit 'mistical', as the place is very warm, but the tosai house is a lovely place to be - huge great vats of tiny koi eager to come and be fed and show off their beautiful colours.

 10. The clearing made yesterday by the reed beds. 3 trees down, and a LOT more to go. Today I was taught how to make a bonfire with the mottoes 'Butts to the wind' and 'Keep it tight'...!
The ends of the sticks/branches/entire trees must be facing into the wind, then the flames can be fanned through to the smaller stuff (leaves and twigs and whatnot) then the larger stuff can be pushed in after it. By packing it tightly and neatly, the flames are more likely to take and roar through the pile.

 11. Grautuitous reed bed shot.

 12. That pile is higher than my head. We moved at least half of it onto the bonfire. We need to burn more tomorrow.

13. It's a big, big pile!





In other news, I got invited out this evening as Mark was the guest speaker at the Kangei Koi Club. I was warmly welcomed and even allowed to join in the quiz they had about their recent garden show and spent a nice time looking at some of the beautiful fish owned by their members. Mark did a great talk on what it means to run Cuttlebrook Koi Farm, how it came about and how he and Lisa maintain it and manage it, as well as some of his aspirations for the future (I won't give too much away - come for a visit and ask him!) and a thoroughly nice time was had.

First ever koi club meeting - a resounding success.

(Oh, and they had a raffle and I won a bottle of red wine. Did I mention that? Resounding success.)