Blog Archives
Gone fishing
The second week of fishing season there will be a sign on our front door, ‘Gone Fishing’ and at least once a week thereafter through to late fall. We never go the first week of the season because all the danged amateurs who think they know how to fish are out there crowding the river banks. It takes most of them about a week to decide that they’d rather do something else. We didn’t get out at all last year and we both missed it.
Fishing amateurs are easy to recognize. They arrive with brand new tackle more suited to lake or deep sea fishing than trout streams. They spend more time untangling their line than they do wetting it in the river. An amateur will place him/herself directly across the river from anyone else that is fishing and throw his or her line atop the other person’s line—definitely bad form.
The amateur will trash the river bank. We clean up after ourselves and pick up any other trash we find. Our parks department supplies plenty of trash barrels but the amateur, the slob fisherman, and lazybones visitors to our lovely parks don’t bother to use them. Most of the fish we catch, we release.
DH and I always have at least two cheap rods and reel set ups in our vehicles that we will often gift to some child who is interested in fishing but doesn’t have the proper tackle.
Two years ago, a couple had their nine year old grandson out near our favorite fishing hole. Someone at a store (that will remain nameless) sold them a lake pole, a horrible reel, plastic worms, and fish hooks only suitable for deep sea fishing. None of them knew what they were doing and they were all getting frustrated, so while DH kept them busy, I slipped off to my car and pulled out one of our give-away set ups. DH and I patiently showed the boy how to tie on a leader, put a proper hook on, and bait it. We took turns teaching him how to cast his line. Fifteen minutes later the delighted boy pulled a decent sized trout out of the stream with his new fishing pole. Hours and many fish later, the grandparents and the boy were ready to leave. The boy brought the ‘borrowed’ fishing pole over to us—my favorite part is when we tell kids they can keep the rod and reel. Their faces are priceless.
Warm enough today
The filters thawed at last. (Although, which you will see shortly, not without a minor mishap.) I was able to back wash them and add fresh water to the pond. The Koi are happy and it was warm enough to have three bullfrogs hanging out in the water this evening. I do wish this weather would continue, but it’s January and it’ll never happen.
Early this morning DH managed to catch that I’d left the filter on rinse yesterday instead of remembering to put it back on filter. (Things like this happen when I try to multitask too much.) Yesterday the still frozen filters weren’t even trickling so there was no water loss until today when they began to thaw. Fortunately, DH caught my mistake before the water level went down more than an inch. However, scrambling to correct that and get the hose in the pond to add water exhausted him.
The filters are functioning. The waterfall is falling. The fountains are working…all is right in the garden. We’ll wait for spring to find the leaks in the waterfall. For now all we can do is try to keep everything operating as best as we can.
Happy New Year!
A toast!
A toast to my dear readers…
May most of your wishes be granted.
I’d never say all, for a person needs to dream.
Good health.
Long life.
May the love of friends and family warm you.
Smell the roses.
Dance as if no one is looking.
Sing with joy.
Keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds.
And please keep on coming back here.
Have A Happy Holiday!
Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year we hope it brings you joy, warmth, wishes granted, and love.
With all our love,
MW, DH, Gavin, and Patty
Frozen ground and lots of rain equals a lake
We now live lakeside and didn’t have to move or spend a fortune. It rained all day and with the ground frozen, the rain had no place to go. The yard is now a lake, and by this time of night, a frozen lake. It’s a good thing that the rain stopped earlier tonight or the Koi might have had a chance to explore the grounds. Knowing them, they would’ve camped out at the back door and waited for food.
Patty doesn’t like wet weather so she only asked to go outside today when she absolutely HAD to go. Gavin doesn’t mind rain, doesn’t like snow much, but the rain he tolerates. He always wants to go out and gives the ‘go out’ bells a good workout every day. Yes, there are days that I want to choke him with the bells.
Bells ring.
“You were out five minutes ago. You peed on everything that is upright. You don’t NEED to go out.”
Bells ring.
“You can’t possibly have to go.”
Bells ring.
“ARGH! All right I’ll take you out.” I put on boots, coat, hat, and we go out. Gavin tinkles on the Tulip Poplar, barks at nothing but the wind, and heads for the door. We go in.
I take off my coat, boots, hat, and settle in front of the computer to work again. I type one sentence.
Bells ring.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
Hookers, Johns, and night-time photographs
I know it’s weird that I take pictures of the gardens at night. The whole night-time photography thing started in a strange way…
I live in the center of town in a rather quiet area, slightly off the beaten path. For years, we had a high hedge along the side of yard. This attracted a certain problem. What was the problem you ask? Hookers and their Johns discovered it. At first, I’d let the dogs out and allow them to bark at the strange cars but I began to fear that these people might try to harm my darlings. My tactics changed quickly when one man became confrontational and we had to call the police on him.
After such an experience, you tend to try to find easy ways to move them off without being confrontational. Having a camera’s flash go off several times in their direction certainly does the trick. No, I don’t take pictures of them or their cars but they don’t know this. Should they try to confront me, I can prove that I am innocently taking pictures of my gardens and pond.
I’ve found that when I photograph the gardens at night the colors of the flowers and Koi come up clearer and most natural. There is that deterrent thing too…
Doggonedmysteries 