Have you ever wondered what Fish think when they are being moved? I wonder do they even think? We moved our fish from our 125 gallon aquarium back out to the pond today.
They actually grew up in the pond originally. I bought them online when they were about 2-3 inches long, and now they are 8-10 inches long (and much easier to see in the pond!) And then of course there are my wonderful Plecos, that are 10-12 inches long, the one is a monster!
We brought them inside for winter 2 years ago because I knew nothing about keeping fish in the pond for our semi-harsh Colorado winters. I kept half of them in the aquarium last winter and put the other have outside with a heater. I lost those other half, because apparently you have to have not only a heater, but also an aerator, and who knows what else..
Anyway, we decided to sell our large house and cash out in the crazy housing market going on over here right now. Many houses here are having multiple offers with folks in bidding wars, and selling for average 6% over listing costs (or more). We plan to use this opportunity to downsize (with a lower interest rate). We will also be moving approximately 2,000 miles away, and don't believe the tank would survive the move without generating many leaks. Not to mention the hassle and amount of space it would take up in moving truck!
Our real estate agent thought having the fish in the pond would be good to help generate interest and help sell the house. I agree, it's the first thing anyone asks when they come over, "Is there any fish in the pond?" Well, now we have 7 fish and 6 giant Bullfrog tadpoles swimming around to entertain visitors during the showings.
Our plan is to move to Vermont where we can reduce the size of our house to something more suited to 2 people, reduce cost to prepare for retirement in a decade or so, and increase the size of land to be further away from other people lol.
The empty tank is being sold as the nearly empty house will be soon. That's where I've been the past week or two, spending every spare minute not working my day job cleaning out trash, purging old items, doing minor house repairs and prepping the house for showings. The realtor and photographer came out yesterday and took their photo shots for the listing so it's starting to feel real.
I'm just a little sad to leave this place that I've loved for the last 8 years, but also excited to start a new adventure. We had a lot of drama and struggles in this house while we were here (dealing with ex, kids in and out, starting, running, selling a business, toxic job, etc.) It feels like we are now putting all that behind us, purging it as we are purging MANY other things (I'm a bit of a pack-rat), at least 10 large trash cans and 4 trailers to the dump are gone!
Looking forward to more posting time soon. I plan to spend some of the forced away time for showings out taking pictures and flying my drone!
So just as these fish are an amazing part of nature, adapting well to their move back into the large pond, I keep reminding myself that we are also an amazing part of nature. Able to adjust our locations, our surroundings, our circumstances and keep moving forward until the next lifetime.
Enjoy!
