I love reimagining fish tanks and then re-designing and re-creating them. I’ve taken advantage of being sheltered to re-do our 39-gallon tank. I ordered some thin and graceful bear grass, and a new centerpiece, a Bonsai Driftwood in the form of a tree.

It is a wonderful thing to meditate on, or just sit and watch. The fish love it and drift slowly through it. I left a few quartz rocks inside.

When I was a kid, fish were my refuge, my safe space, a place I learned to be creative.

My tanks are all-natural, with no plastic or ceramic figurines. The fish are all community fish, like the animals on Bedlam Farm, they all get along, or they leave. This is how I treat nasty people on social media and this is how I treat fish.

I’ve created my own eco-system – plants, moss, catfish, bottom feeders and scrapers.

Nasty or aggressive fish leave quickly. I don’t really consider myself an artist like Maria, but I do feel like I have a gift for designing these small worlds and making them comfortable and habitable. I am grateful to have a fish tank now. In the late afternoon, during my Peaceful Hour, I like to start off just staring at the tank and the snails and the busy shrimp and catfish cleaning up the bottom.

I  lose myself in that way and drift off to a peaceful place. I guess I get to play God with the fish tank, and I guess I like that, even in this small and insignificant way. The Bonsai Driftwood was a good choice.