Lichenwood Rambles

White Lotus for Lughnassadh

Yesterday the White Lotus in the Lichenwood Koi Pond began to open in a perfect Chalice of divine white light.  The flower held its petals protectively around the forming seed pod.

This seed pod holds more seeds than any of the Lotus plants I have worked with previously.  The energy of this particular Lotus is one of absolute purity of spirit, love of the highest order.  It is a living prayer.

Today is the peak of the bloom of this sacred flower.  All is hushed and reverent in the surrounding area.  It is hot today.  Dragonflies and Butterflies float and soar over the pond and gardens.  I have set a bowl to catch the energy of the White Lotus.  I never know how the process will unfold.  Especially when I feel certain that the flower is not to be cut from its stem.  Other Lotus plants have offered petals, or communicated firmly that I was to take the flower and place it in the bowl.  White Lotus asked that the water from the bowl be poured over the flower in blessing and then caught, cascading into the bowl from the blossom.  I then placed the bowl inside the Genesa crystal with the intention that only the White Lotus energy enter the bowl.

This process is ongoing as I blog.  We are at the height of day.

The White Lotus continues to radiate its brilliance in perfection of a cloudless Lughnassadh sky.  I am reminded of a favorite chant, "I am whole.  I am filled with light."

Turtle Returns

click on the picture!

This weekend my flower essence students were here.  I had wished and prayed that the Lichenwood Eastern Painted Turtle would come home to the pond during this special weekend.  On Sunday we were at the table creating environmental sprays with essential oils and flower essences when Daryl came in from the garden to tell us that Turtle had returned.

Earlier in the day we had been brainstorming about a flower essence case and one of the students had suggested that a Turtle animal essence would be perfect for the client because it would allow her to protect herself appropriately; to set up proper boundaries between herself and others.  I do work with Daniel Mapel's Wild Earth Animal Essences , but I do not have the full repertory.  Turtle is not among the essences that I have from that line.  There are several flower essences that deal with boundary issues also (the Yarrows, Motherwort, etc.), but there are times when particular clients are more aligned to an animal essence for a particular issue.

One of my students is particularly aligned to working with animal archetypes in healing.  She and I immediately left the table and went out to the pond.  We began to give Reiki to the pond and its inhabitants.  The fish drew the most energy and expressed their worries over recent pond events.  We had introduced two small yellow Koi the previous weekend only to discover that they were not healthy.  We had to scoop them out in a net and isolate them in a tank with meds.  Even this failed and by Sunday both fish had died.  Meanwhile I had moved the Genesa Crystal to the pond's edge with the intent of healing the fish.  As we stood by the pond sending Reiki and communing with the Koi, up from the deepest part of the Lichenwood Pond came Turtle.  The water is crystal clear at this point and we could see Turtle's journey from the black depths to the surface.  It was a wonderful experience. 

I decided to set an essence bowl and attempt to co-create a Turtle essence.  I placed the bowl within the Genesa with the intention that only Turtle energy enter the bowl.  By early evening the essence was complete and I had confirmed through pendulum testing that only Turtle energy was present.  This is an exciting new chapter in my journey with the co-creation of vibrational essences.

Moving Day

Here are the Lichenwood Koi and Goldfish in their winter home in the greenhouse.  Look carefully and you will see one of the black koi to the left of the other fish.  They are hard to spot, but beautiful. 

Daryl drained the pond yesterday and we captured all the fish.  Theoretically the fish could overwinter in the pond, but in years when we have done our best to keep sufficient surface area from freezing, we have still experienced a toxic build up of gas from decomposing plant materials that killed most of the fish.  We have now settled into a late fall routine of pond draining and cleaning and moving the fish into winter quarters in the greenhouse.  Gradually the fish will slow down their metabolisms in the greenhouse holding tank.  They will stop coming up to the surface to feed when the water temperatures dip.  Eventually they will enter a kind of suspended animation at the bottom of their winter home.  Ice will form on the water, but we can easily keep the water open with a simple fish tank heater.

You have to look very carefully to see all the fish in this picture.  Click on the picture and you can see a full sized version.  The black Koi named Copper (because of his handsome copper colored fins) is visible here, and deep below him the colorful little fish called Shy Guy (he is one of the most wary fish in the pond) is lurking.  The fish at the top of the water are (left to right) Big Spot, Ghost, and King.  Unfortunately the Golden Queen and nearly all of the Koi babies became supper for a pond predator.  We are not sure, but we surmise that we had a heron visitation or two or three.  We are already researching methods of pond protection for next year.

Apparently the mysterious pond predator was not as fond of large goldfish.  We still have quite a few.  My one remaining fantail was missing in action.  I'm not surprised.  He was so bloated and lazy that I was almost able to pick him up out of the water as he slept on the surface of the smaller pond.  He was easy pickings!

Red Lotus: Final Bloom

This is the last flower offered by the Red Lotus.  It's just as mesmerizing as the previous blooms.  The interplay of light and petal is otherworldly.  The forming pod is quite fascinating.  Each pod has a different number of seeds.

Lotus seeds are miraculous in their ability to germinate successfully after many years time.  I once read that Lotus seeds over 1300 years old produced living plants.  No wonder the Lotus is part of the creation myth of several cultures.

Petals on a Pond

The petals from the third Red Lotus Bud have sitting on top of water lettuce for two days now.  Water Lettuce is so prolific, that it is covering nearly every inch of the koi pond.  The fish love nibbling on it and hiding under it, drifting in the cool murkiness of the Water Lettuce root system.  The fish are doing their part by providing lots of nourishment for the plants.  Forget euphemisms.  Shit happens, and fish shit makes healthy pond plants.  Since we can't use all this Water Lettuce, some of it will have to become compost starting this weekend.  Our pond enjoyment will be greatly enhanced when we can see more of the fish and less of the Water Lettuce.

The last Red Lotus bud will bloom next week.  By then the pale pink petals of the third bloom will have fallen to the bottom of Lichenwood Pond.  New seed pods will form, adding their own beauty to the waterscape. 

Bonkers for Baby Fish!

Yes, we're going bonkers for baby fish at Lichenwood!  Look at all the little fish we've captured so far.  We're keeping them in a little aquarium on the deck until we can find new homes for them in other people's garden ponds.  If you're interested, let me know.  We have plenty to share.

Fish spawn when the pond water warms up to 70 degrees.  The males chase the females agressively and beat against their sides which helps them to release the eggs which are then fertilized by the males.   It is rare for even 50% of the little fish to survive. 

In early spring we had three large black koi (two males and a female), two large white spotted koi with orangish head markings one male, one female), a large yellow female koi, and six goldfish (no idea on how many of each gender).  There was a lot of chasing, splashing and spawning in late spring, and now we have an undetermined number of baby fish.  Some are koi, some are goldfish, and some are very likely sterile hybrids.  Some are very plain, kind of brownish silver.  These are probably the goldfish.  They will brighten up and turn orange in time.  The ones that are already colorful are either koi or hybrids.  We won't know for certain until the little koi are old enough to grow the typical carp whiskers.

The pond cannot handle so many fish.  These little guys are eating and pooping machines.  We have to change the aquarium water daily.  It was imperative for us to catch the babies and place them in an adoption holding tank.  They turned out to be really good at evading a net.  We had to resort to a minnow trap.  I wouldn't have known such a thing even existed, but Wendy's husband Clyde likes to fish. He had a minnow trap and generously lent it to us.  That's how all the little fish changed their address from pond to aquarium.

   

We baited our trap with dry cat food belonging to Buffy T. Cat.  This is only fair since Buffy eats a snack of Koi food each morning and evening as part of the fish feeding ritual.  One sure way to lure Buffy indoors is to call out, "fish food!".

The fish are curious and can easily get into the trap to investigate the cat food, but they cannot find their way out.  We have discovered that some fish are smarter than others, however.  The really colorful fish that we are virtually certain are koi do not seem to be as easily fooled by the trap.  They eat the cat food from outside the trap!  To this day, they are still swimming with the big fish.

In late fall we will drain the pond, catch the fish and put them in a holding tank in the greenhouse until spring.  We cannot keep all these fish, so we are on a mission to find new ponds for these little guys.  We sent some home to Tom and Colette's pond in Deerfield.  Hollynn will take two of the goldfish to her dorm room at the end of August.  That still leaves a lot of fish.  Sigh.

Did you know that it is illegal to keep koi in the state of Maine?  This law went into effect five years ago and people have had their pet koi seized.  Koi can easily live for 50 years and it is very easy to get attached to these pets.  Maine is trying to protect the environment from idiots who release their unwanted pond puppies into wild ponds and streams. 

Got fish?

Lotus Metamorphosis

As the Red Lotus flower wanes and the petals gently fall into the water, the very impressive seed pod is growing.  I saved the pods from last year's Pink Lotus bloom and have used them on the altar.  As I did last summer, I will leave the stalks and pods alone until it's time to move the Lotus into her winter home in the unheated basement workroom.  The next flower looks as if it will open tomorrow or the next day.

The full moon in Aquarius in the hours just after midnight is hitting powerful spots in my natal chart.  The Saturn/Neptune standoff is complicating things.  I feel the need for introspection and quiet alone time, so will close with just this brief update.

Red Lotus Blooms!

I awoke on the traditional cross quarter day, Lughnassadh, to find that Red Lotus had bloomed.  Great thanks to all the forces of Nature that collaborated to create this beauty.  Blessed Be.

Floating on a Lily Pad

It’s hot outside.  In the house it’s a cool 77, outside by the pond it’s 90 degrees and rising.  Plants in the pond are delighted with high humidity and warmth.  Their roots are cool in damp earth under water.  This scarlet water lily was a Mother’s Day gift from my son Kirk which makes it that much more beautiful to me.  I feel cooler just gazing at the flower floating on the pond's dark waters.  The fish take shelter from the sun under the water lettuce, lily pads and lotus leaves. 

Frogs perch on water lettuce.  Their slight weight causes refreshing puddles to form on top of the leaves.  They are comfortable and secure in their element. 

The Red Lotus is stretching ever higher with swelling buds.  Lotus leaves display a striking sun design.  There is no doubt that this weather is their weather: the climate of the Nile, the source of all life.

It's pleasant to zone out and enter a trance-like state on a day when we have been advised to take it easy.  There's no guilt, on a day like this, in simply sitting in air conditioned bliss by the window, or under the shade of wisteria leaves in the pergola, staring at floating water lilies with the unfocused eyes of a day dreamer.   Gliding with an ease and grace that my body remembers from childhood days at the lake, moving weightless under the surface, the koi are stirring.  My mind is free to flow in tranquil stream of consciousness from one thought or memory to the next, diving deep like a fish, or remaining suspended above all the lies beneath, floating like a lily pad.

Red Lotus Update

What a beautiful morning!  The storms of last night changed the atmosphere and although it is still hot, the air is less saturated and it's easier to move and breathe.  Look at the growth on the Red Lotus!  Another bud has emerged from the pond waters, so there will be three blooms to enjoy in the coming weeks.  I am guessing that we are 7-10 days away from bloom.

Each morning it's our custom to come out to the small deck over the pond to feed the growing fish population.  It's very pleasant to sit in the wisteria covered pergola and quietly take in all that is happening in the yard and garden.

Here's the feeding frenzy that results once the floating koi food sticks have been tossed upon the waters.  At the top of the picture is the dominant male koi, white with a salmon colored head and a few black spots.  Toward the center you will see the large yellow queen of the koi population and at the bottom, if you look carefully, you can see some of the colorful baby koi fish.  There are probably a hundred baby koi in the pond.  This is way too many for the health of the pond.  We will be looking to give some away to good homes as soon as we can figure out a way to catch the wiley little fish.  So far we've had no luck netting them, but my friend Wendy says her husband has a minnow trap, so perhaps we'll try that.