Fishcam1

Since I cant really see very far into the tank, I decided to try taking a video of the fish.  I dont have an underwater camera, so I took an old video camera that has a "night vision" setting, sealed it in a Ziplock bag (the kind with a double seal), and sealed the top of the bag with duct tape (good old duct tape).  I tried to hold the camera in the water near the light so the camera could "see" better. 
As you can see in this video, I didnt get a great picture, but considering my resources, its not too bad.  You can see a couple of fish swim by a few times in this video.  Sorry for the camera movement, but I was doing this blind, with both arms submerged past my elbows in 56 degree water.
Maybe with a little practice, patience and a brigher light or two, Ill get better at this, but for now, heres Fishcam1.

Ive seen a picture of someone elses tank with a section of the tank cut out and a piece of plexiglass somehow secured over it.  I dont really want to introduce more possible leak sites, but if I can find out how to seal it well, I might do that next year between sets of fish.

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Successes beans and Failures peas

Fish update - had a couple more floaters last week.  The nitrogen levels (bad stuff) were off the charts.  I added some bacteria (aquarium starter found at Petsmart) to hopefully take care of the nitrites, and turned the water pump on 24x7, instead of running it for a half hour every hour.
The nitrogen levels are back down near zero now.  I dont think it was because of the bacteria.  It was probably the water pump.  Running it half time just couldnt keep up with the waste from the fish.

Plant update - I think I will harvest as many of the beans as I can tomorrow to make room for leafy greens (probably spinach and lettuce).  The beans are looking good, but the plants themselves are starting to wilt a little.  Im pretty happy if I just end up with a few beans.  I really didnt expect any, since its not recommended to grow flowering plants for the first year.  I really just wanted to see a plant growing, and thats what I had at the time, so I planted them.  Plus, it seemed less likely that the beans would wash away than something smaller, like a lettuce seed.  Here are a couple of pictures.

Beans - October 6

Beans - October 24

The peas, on the other hand, arent doing so well.  Actually, the ones that are near the window seem to be doing OK, but they are not flowering.  Not sure if thats because they take longer to mature, or if theyre just not happy plants.  The ones furthest from the window wilted and turned brown.

October 15 - Dead Peas :-(

I also recently planted some strawberries.  I know, another flowering plant.  But I figured they make good potted plants, so what the heck?  Plus, I think they were on sale at Gurneys since its the end of the season.  The way they are shipped, they dont look like much.  But they are doing surprisingly well so far.  Guess well see what happens this winter.  I think I bought ever bearing, so even if they dont flower any time soon, they should survive the winter indoors.

October 6 - Strawberry plants received

October 15 - Strawberry plants

October 24 - Strawberry plants - doing pretty well

And heres one last picture which illustrates why I am doing this as an indoor project.  This was a big storm for the first one of the season, but once the sun came out around 3:00pm, it almost completely melted.  I thought we were going to lose some tree branches with this storm, but the sun came out just in time.

October 8 - First Snow of the Season

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30 August 2011

Heres a picture of grow bed #1 today.  Peas are back against the little fence, lettuce is in the middle (tiny plants), and bush beans are in the foreground.

I just ordered trout feed - would you believe theres such thing as Purina Game Fish Chow?  LOL!!!  Thats actually not what I ordered, but I thought it was funny.  I ordered BioTrout from a nice man named Walter at Bio-Oregon.  BioTrout contains more protein. 

Im hoping to add fish in a week or two.  My ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are all good, and the water temperature has finally gone down a little.  According to what Ive read, trout dont like water to be over 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and last week when our outdoor temperatures were getting high, so was the temperature of the water.  The water got up to 68 degrees, but I was afraid it would keep getting hotter, so I didnt want to introduce baby fish to a hot tub.  Unlike some parts of the country, though, I think the danger of an extended heat wave is pretty much over in Colorado Springs, so it should be safe to get the fish.  If trout prefer cold water, just wait a few weeks, they will love it here! Now I just need to wait for the feed to arrive and figure out how to get up to Fort Collins during the fish places business hours. 

I was hoping to get brook trout since I think they would be more content to hang out in a pool of water, but the fish place only has rainbow.  Besides, I was going to name them Brookie 1, Brookie 2, etc....Now I have to think of new names.  Rainbowie 1?  That just doesnt have the same ring to it.  Silvery 1 through Silvery 40?  ;-)

Whatever, they will all taste good on my plate next year.

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30 second rule

Whew! This cracker with Amaltheia Organic Dairy cheese
landed upright on the floor! I can still eat it!

If you dont know the 5-second rule, someone is bound to tell you about it at the crucial moment: when you drop food, if you pick it up within 5 seconds, its still safe to eat.

Right?

Now we have a handy flow chart -- The 30-Second Rule, A Decision Tree, created by Audrey Fukman and Andy Wright at SFoodie -- to help us figure out whether it really is safe to eat that dropped food.

Click to enlarge the following photo.

(This blog entry is a public service of Yummy Montana.)

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Fishy mis Adventures Part I The Feast

WARNING - some of this might be a little graphic for the PETA set.  Or for squeamish people (like me) who prefer to buy their meat already dead and wrapped in cellophane.
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After watching what appeared to be a few rather large fish swimming around in the tank for the past couple of months, we decided to take a few out for dinner.  The water is still too dark to see the fish very well, so we werent sure if they were really that big, or if it was a trick of the light, but what could it hurt, right?

So, on January 3, my son and I pulled a few out with a net, but they were way too small, so we put them back.  We did this a couple of times, until we finally came out with a few that were smallish eating size.  Not wanting to allow my fish to suffer by letting them die of suffocation, we put them in a bucket of water and took them upstairs.  I had done a few searches on how to "humanely" kill a fish, and the most popular way I found was using something that stabs them between the eyes, stabs their brains, and supposedly instantly kills them.  I didnt trust my skill at getting just the right spot through the skull, so I decided I would try the next best thing (IMO)...chop off the heads.  I knew killing the fish would be the least pleasant part of the entire aquaponics process, but its got to be done. 

The Six Fish We Decided to Eat

First of all, this method turned out to be very messy.  In hindsight, this should have been very obvious.  Usually, by the time a person cleans a fish, it has been dead for at least a few minutes, so the blood circulation has stopped.  Chopping the head off a live fish - blood spurts everywhere, all over my kitchen counters and all over us.  So, first lesson - dont chop the heads off of live fish.

Fish out of Water

Yuck

Ready for the Grill...or so We Thought

Next, just like the proverbial chicken running around with its head cut off, the trouts nervous systems are still active, even after they are dead.  Flopping around, gills moving.  Ricky even found a little tiny fish heart that was still beating several minutes after the fishs death.  Gross.

Thinking the drama is over, we put the beheaded and cleaned fish on a cedar plank to be grilled.  Apparently, the nervous system was still active for longer than we thought, because when my husband went out to the grill to check the fish, a couple of the headless fish had "jumped" off the plank and onto the grill.  Weird.

Well, either way, dinner was good.  Fish, rice, corn, and naan.  I was so excited to taste the fish that I almost forgot to take the picture.  So, here is the half-eaten, grill-jumping fish.  Yum. 

Trout Dinner

Stay tuned for Fishy (mis)Adventure Part II - Trout Rapture....

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A new bakery in town

Who doesnt love a nice bakery? Big Timber happily welcomes De Notre Cuisine ("From Our Kitchen"), where locals are enjoying freshly baked cinnamon rolls, scones, and muffins, accompanied by Yellowstone Coffee, Tumbleweed Teas, and Ghirardelli hot chocolate.

Many people lined up at the summer Tuesday farmers market to taste Jay and Kristine Vallandinghams fruit tarts, artisan breads, cheese crackers, granola, fleur de sel caramels, and rosemary cashews. Now everyone can find these tasty treats year round in a cozy shop on the main street downtown.

The bakery opened January 26 and still looks a bit bare. But Jay and Kristine have delectable plans. Chilled shelves will showcase lemon cream tarts, eclairs, deli items, and more. The menu will include breakfast foods like savory croissants and sausage rolls. One room will be a gourmet market, and in another groups will gather for catered meals.

But for now, customers are welcome to sit at a table to watch the world in Big Timber go by or warm themselves by the fire, knitting and sipping tea.

Kristine also points out that if you dont see something on display, ask for it. You can order anything and expect prompt service.

"If its not on the shelf, it doesnt mean we dont have it," she said. "Special orders are not only expected, theyre encouraged. We like to be useful to the community."

Cakes and fancy desserts might take 24 hours, but if you get in early to order dinner rolls, they could be ready that evening. While youre in the shop, look through the book of photos of past culinary marvels, and you will be ready to order red velvet cake, iced cookies, and a dozen other goodies.

My enthusiasm for baked goods can easily be whipped up to a frenzy. But without letting my emotions get out of control, I can say that the food made by the Vallandinghams is very nice indeed. I noticed this last summer at the farmers market, where the fruit tarts always tasted fresh and the rosemary cashews were a perfect balance of savory and sweet.

During my evening visit near closing time at the bakery, the oatmeal raisin scone was light and flavorful. This morning, a cinnamon roll was soft, with exactly the right amount of spice and sweetness, even with a coating of sugar icing.

They could have truthfully named this bakery Just the Right Touch.

De Notre Cuisine

104 McLeod Street

Big Timber

406-932-5115

Tuesday - Friday, 9 am - 6 pm

Saturday, 9 am - 3 pm

Sunday and Monday, closed

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