My New Aquarium

Well, I hadn't intended on getting a 20 gallon aquarium, but when Brian said it's only a few dollars more to get a 20 gallon from a 10 gallon, I thought 'why not?'. And so we came home with a 20 gallon aquarium for my Betta fish 'Reiki', three glolite tetras and two emerald green corydora (catfish).

After a few days, however, I decided to move Reiki back into his bowl because the tetras were nipping pretty fiercely at his tail. He seems happier back in his bowl and is blowing bubble nests (apparently a sign that they're happy).

So, with Reiki back in his bowl, I decided to add more fish to my aquarium. I added two more glolite tetras. After a week I added two gourami. Unfortunatley, they were fighting (they are related to Betta fish) and so I returned one of them and came home with three serpae tetra. I also added one more corydora as they like to flock together in larger groups.

So, here I am thinking everything is okay, but such is not the case! The serpae's are nipping at the gourami, so I'm going to buy three more serpae's and see if that solves the problem. Apparently, they like to be in schools so I'm hoping that with the bigger school, they'll leave the poor gourami alone. He's not in dire straights or anything, but I think he'd be happier if he was left alone.

So that's the beginning of aquarium life for me. I do enjoy sitting and watching the fish swim about. There's something peaceful and calming about the aquarium . . . and it draws me in . . . every time.

Ostara

Ostara came and went in the blink of an eye! As happens, life has been busy with all its ups and downs and I'm finally finding some time to get to some of the things that have been on my to-do list. Like post Ostara pictures!.

Here are some pictures of my Ostara altar for this year. I left up most of what I had for Imbolc and added a few items like the eggs I had dyed last year. I changed out the crystals adding some pretty ones that I thought represented Ostara.

If you follow my blog you'll know that last year Mary spoke to me saying she wanted to be on my Imbolc altar and so she is here and will stay on the altar through the end of May. As May is the month of Mary, I'll change the altar to reflect this special month.

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Ostara!

Happy April Fool's Day!

There are many theories surrounding the origin of April Fool's day including the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia; the Festus Fatuorum (the Feast of Fools) which evolved out of the Saturnalia; British folklore of the town of Gotham who in order to avoid losing their main road set about making fools of themselves; and according to anthropologists and cultural historians, April Fool's Day traces its roots back to a festival marking the Vernal Equinox or Springtime.

However, the most widespread theory about the origin of April Fool's Day dates back to 1582 when King Charles IX of France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar so the year would begin on January 1st rather than the traditional April 1st.

This decision caused a lot of disagreement and controversy. Although the staunchest and most stubborn continued to celebrate the new year on April 1st, others with more modern views started to perform tricks and pranks to bolster those in the opposing camp. Among the latter were several village curés who did not approve of this manner of manipulating the calendar. Consequently, as around this date the fishing season was closed for spawning, some people made a habit of keeping the last fish they had caught and let it rot. Then, on the sly, they placed it on the doormat of the presbytery.

Others believed that the days surrounding the first of April marked the end of Lent when it was customary to give sweets to those they liked, while to the others they gave a fish! Children got wrapped up in the game and made imitation fish which they gave to their friends and relatives as jokes.

Some like to think of April 1st as an important holiday for breaking up the monotony of a long winter and its accompanying depression. It’s a day for jokes and pranks with laughter guaranteed. In this context, television and other local media broadcast several hoaxes - France sold the islands of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to Canada in exchange for the province of Newfoundland; the Confederation Bridge collapsed; Ontario was handed over to the United States; the St Lawrence River would soon run dry, and so on.

I personally like to believe the legend that says a girl born on April 1st will become a quiet and peaceful woman. Her calmness and silence, following the example of a fish, will be widely acknowledged and appreciated, because unlike other women, she will know how to keep a secret . . .

(Adapted from an article by Myriam Fontaine)