Finding our rhythm, and losing our Bobbie... again

 We sold the last batch of trout in the casita pond last Monday - 150. The men cleaned the pond before we transferred the 1,000 fish from the big pond into the empty casita pond. I say 'we' because I was part of the team this time. I was in charge of drumming an empty pail with a stick. The idea is that while Martin is catching the trout with a net on the far end of the pond, and Kevin is counting and filling up the trailer, I'm walking back and forth at the other end of the pond making noise to entice the fish to swim toward Martin. It really does help save a lot of time. Once that was done, the men cleaned the big pond.

Then on Tuesday, we started the process all over again, but this time transferring all 5,000 trout from the cedro pond into the big pond. I was in charge of keeping the pails full of water, ready for the fish that Martin was catching and once the pail was full of fish, Kevin and Jairo would lug the heavy pail to the trailer hooked up to the ATV (quad) and would drive it down to the big pond and release the fish. We timed it and it took 45 seconds one way... it's so important to limit the time the fish were in non-oxygenated water... it was all time-sensitive. While they were releasing the fish, I was filling up a new pail ready to start again. The whole task of moving 5,000 fish took 3 hours. We found our rhythm and things went really well. Good job done!

This week, we will be selecting the larger fish of the 2,000 in the chicken pond and transferring them to the cedro pond. And so it goes. The trout are looking big and healthy. And it appears the electric fence is also doing its job... we've not lost many along the way.

In other news, we hosted three lovely young ladies for two nights. They are from Washington, DC and had been travelling around Costa Rica for the last night days. We were their last stop before flying home. They bonded with Bobbie McGee quickly, especially Bridget. Unfortunately, Johanna (the one on the far left) really wanted to see a Quetzal, but no luck this time around.

Read their guestbook comment here.

Johanna, Lexy, and Bridget (and Bobbie McGee)

Tonight, we're a little worried. Bobbie was hanging out with me for most of the day, but when we went for our daily walk at about 2 pm, she went through the front gate and we assumed she went to visit Martin and Clara at their restaurant. It's Sunday, after all, this is her routine. She goes for a visit and then comes back a few hours later... and always before dark. It's now 9:30 pm and she's still not back from her adventures. This is unlike her. Kevin went on the ATV to check to make sure she wasn't hurt on the road somewhere, but it's too dark to really see anything. She came to us as a stray and we do our best to provide a good home for her, and dearly hope she returns. We miss her already. Mostly, we hope she's safe and not injured. She is getting a little older and maybe stretching her boundaries... just like any teenager.