BUSY AT THE KOI POND

BUSY AT THE KOI POND

So this summer has been exciting and full of adventures…. We moved into our new home and it has been a source of love and happiness for me. We are all so happy! Our home is filled with love, smiles and the smell of summer.

Our Koi Pond has been an exciting endeavor. I kind of had to get a crash course in Koi and Pond Care, as we inherited a beautiful collection of lovely colorful fish and my responsibility gene took the best of me. I also became determined to have a lovely new hobby that would still allow me to be at home and balance my already hectic professional life, and really busy home life. I have to say, being a woman in this century has its price! I want to be independent, successful, and at the same time I have high expectations of myself as a woman and wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend…. Not to mention I really want some social time and squeeze “me” time in as well…

But the Koi pond has become a source of peace, and inspiration. Caring for them has made me use some of my skills in biology, but most of the entire pond ecosystem has allowed me to coddle my sweet and tender love of nature. Every morning I visit them and feed them. They have learned to recognize my presence, and I have conditioned them to my whistle. At first, when I whistled, I fed them. Now I whistle and wait a few minutes… They come and greet me, and flap around in excitement and anticipation. This paired with my coffee and my lovely dogs at my side, allow me to feel inner peace and joy. I charge myself for the day from the source. Source of love and tenderness than I later use in my practice, where I need compassion and patience. Doctors need a source of this…. Doctors need to understand their mission in life, to be patient and encourage people in the right path to health. My Koi Pond has been a source of this, and I never thought it would be that simple.

So I would like to share with you my friends. I have several beautiful Koi…

THE WHITES (5)

1.       White Short Tail Medium to Large (White Fang)

2.       White Long Tail large, ? blind (White Eyed Queen)

3.       White Long Tail medium (Solitude Standing)

4.       White Long  Tail medium to small with a light orange tint (Creamy Estrogen)

5.       White and orange tint all over baby small (Nemo Baby)

WHITE AND ORANGE (5)

1.       White and Orange where the front half of the body is orange and the back half is white, short tail Large (Orange Crush)

2.       White and Orange and a couple of black dots- Small (Cindy Crawford C- Alice)

3.       White and deep Orange with three distinct spots over the dorsal fin and red eyes, long tail, Medium to Small (Seminole Amylin)

4.       White and Orange with a black and grey back with some spots (Calico) Medium to  Small, small tail (Flea-Ina Lymer)

5.       White and orange all over the top and back, white belly medium to long white tail- Not a Koi – Very Large Goldfish (Chubby Diabetes)

CALICO (3)

1.       Calico medium to small long tail  (Larry Hope)

2.       Calico medium to small long tail  (Moe Charity)

3.       Calico medium to small long tail  (Curly Faith)

BLACK  (1)

1.       Large all black with orange specs throughout the body (Shaft Testo).. Don’t mess with Shaft….

ORANGE (3)

1.       Large all Orange with black specs and short black tail Medium (Denver Progesterone)

2.       All deep red orange with long white tail Medium (Seminole Deep)

3.       2/3 Orange white belly medium short tail  (White horse Glucagon)

NOVELTY (2)

1.       Black, copper, and white marks through the dorsum and sides (Skeleton Insulin)

2.       White with orange and black marks short tail  (Royal Hormone)

Every day, I will say hi to them on your behalf…. Join our New Hampshire Garden and Koi Club, and we can all learn more about these lovely Koi and about caring for a pond in New Hampshire…. I am lovin’ it!

Margarita Ochoa-Maya, MD