Snow Fish

The mild start we had to winter came to an abrupt end this week. Monday-Friday, Iowa had snow in various amounts. Monday and Tuesday had a winter storm warning with a blizzard warning on Friday. Dad has been clearing snow from our driveway, sidewalk, deck, and roof before having to do more clearing at work. He has been very tired, but keeps going.

My night nurse couldn't make it in Monday night and my Tuesday caregiver was ill and also couldn't come and only worked half days on Thursday and Friday. Therefore, my parents have had a busy week and I'm thankful for their care. In an attempt to make dad's life a little easier, I ended up making for another long afternoon.

A few years ago, my large plecostomus (cleaner fish) died and we quickly noticed my aquarium's algae increased rapidly. Dad purchased more algae eaters from local fish stores, but they died within a week,

or less. A friend, who is really into fish, suggested an online store that he has liked. Therefore, for the first time, I ordered live fish online. Checkout said shipping may be delayed due to weather, and I agreed. With a cold week of snow and next week forecast to be below 0, I guessed it would be a few weeks before they came. My estimate was wrong, they shipped Wednesday and arrived Thursday afternoon.

I kept tracking their progress and the delivery time continued to get delayed. Finally, three hours later than expected, the box was dropped at my door with no knock, doorbell, or other acknowledgement. Thankfully, mom was watching and swiftly retrieved the box from the frigid outdoors. Carefully opening the cold package, she eventually found the bag with very cold water and six objects in it, one that slightly moved.

Over the next few hours, she put the bag in a bowl of warm water to slowly start warming the new arrivals. As she did, movement started to increase and more signs of life appeared. When dad got home, he rearranged the lid of the aquarium so the bag could float on the water. The new fish now all seemed active and alive. Eventually, they joined the other tank dwellers and all seem happy and doing well.

Now, they have been swimming around and seem to be fine. I presume they arrived in some state of hibernation with the cold water and just needed to wake up. It's fun to see how God designed animals to adapt to different scenarios, including cold shipping boxes. Hopefully they do their job and love eating algae.

Living the quad life has unique times indeed. This week, I'll be staying inside. Hopefully it is a little calmer with other activities.