Brief update of fish, no fish and cicadas

A quick update on a post from earlier in the month...

My lone angelfish is thriving (so far!). In fact, it spends more time out on display now than it does hiding. I should know from past experience that angels like to be solitary creatures.

We've taken a couple of spins on the pond this week.  The fish aren't biting that well, but I did manage to catch a few (including a big one!).  At least I remembered my camera and got some photos this time.  The first will appear in my SSS entry this weekend.

The cicadas are STILL singing at full blast.  They sound like they've changed location a bit, but they're still at it.  I've seen several clinging to the window screen when I've opened my bedroom blinds in the mornings.  I've also seen a number of carcasses littering the yard.  I even had one bean me right between the eyes when I was out scooping poop in the backyard last week! 

Fish, No Fish, and Cicadas

I currently have two tropical fish tanks, a 23-gallon hex-front flat-back in the kitchen and a 55-gallon rectangular tank in the living room.  The kitchen tank houses a gourami and a tiger barb.  The larger tank has two glowlight tetras and three large silverdollar fish.  I recently saw the cutest little angelfish at WalMart and decided to buy some for both tanks.  In addition, I got a plecostomus for each tank to cut down on the need for algae scraping.  *sigh*  My fish obviously didn't roll out the welcome-wagon for the newcomers.  Both the plecostomus and the angel I put in the small tank are dead.  I found the bones of the former this morning and all traces of the latter were gone within the first 24 hours!  Of the three angels and one plecostomus I put in the larger tank, only one lone angel remains.  I've noticed it hides all the time.  Good luck little angel!

We've had so much wind and bad weather lately we haven't been able to do any fishing.  We finally gave it a go yesterday evening.  Temperatures have been fairly chilly during the past week and there is a lot of new water in the pond, so I wasn't sure how well we would do.  It was really slow at first, but my husband ended up catching three - one of them fairly large.  Me?  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  The sad thing is I forgot to carry my camera with me and I missed some nice photo opportunities.  Cows, Cormorants, Canada Geese....all sorts of nice "naturey" things.  Oh, well.  Maybe next time.

I should have waited a week to post about the Cicadas.  The volume of their "singing" has doubled and there's no doubt now what is making it.  It's truly amazing!! 

It's a beginning

Last Friday evening we made our first venture of the year out on our pond to see if the fish were biting. After a slow start, these two finally made the effort worth my while. Both were caught using plastic worms and were tossed back to be caught another day. I'm anxious to go again, but the weather hasn't cooperated. Too windy over the weekend and too stormy today. Oh, well. It's not like I don't have the entire summer ahead of me.

It's a whopper!

Last weekend we attended a 90th birthday reception for my husband's aunt. It was a grand affair at her church with lots of friends and family. A real celebration! One of those in attendance was a woman who had worked for his aunt for many, many years. When she saw my husband she teased him saying he never brought her any fish like he promised. He just laughed and said he would bring them to her this week. Friday was the first chance we had to make good on his promise. Thank goodness the fish were biting!!

Here's the stringer with my catch. Notice two of them are rather large. We each use our own stringer so one of us doesn't have to miss out on fishing while stringing the other's fish! How competitive is that?!

This might be the largest fish I've ever caught. We didn't have a "de-liar" with us but I think it was five pounds or better!

I really looked rough in these photos so I cropped my head out, but you can still see my fancy rubber boots!

An unexpected outing

We usually do most of our fishing in the Spring and early Summer. After that it just gets too darned hot. Once things cool down in the Fall it gets dark too early and we're usually busy with other stuff.

This afternoon my husband came in from doing some chores in the pasture and suggested we try our luck since he'd seen some activity in the pond. I had about an hour to spare, so I agreed. Besides, I was curious to see how the pond looked. He had mentioned earlier in the week that it was lower than he had ever seen it before.

We quickly gathered our gear and headed to the pond. He wasn't kidding!! The water level has probably dropped at least three feet! We had a couple of small storms pass through last night, but the little bit of rain they provided mostly just settled the dust. Since there were fire ants in the boat and we were pressed for time we just cast from the bank. He caught a fairly decent bass along with something that got away before he could reel it in. I managed to snag three small bass. All of them went back in the water for another time.

Not much of an adventure, but it was a pleasant change of pace. Actually, the best part of the outing was getting to wear my new rubber boots! Aren't they snazzy? They sure beat my old black ones!

Mooooo!

I came home from Bible study today to find a note on the counter:

"Gone to get cow food. Be home ASAP"


Something about that just made me smile. I never dreamed 30 years ago I would live in the country, enjoy hunting and fishing, and have livestock.

Life is good!

Late afternoon at the pond

Sunday afternoon was beautiful so we headed to the pond to see if the fish were biting. We both threw a few casts from the bank just to see what would happen. I caught this nice bass right away with a plastic worm!

While walking down the bank I saw a bass guarding its nest next to an old stump. Can you see it at the top of the photo?

I mentioned before that we have a nesting pair of Canada Geese that return to our pond each year. They were keeping a close eye on us as we fished our way around the pond.

Here's another bass I caught. We were keeping them as long as they were about a pound or better. I threw back several small ones, but this one was definitely a keeper!



This little guy, a muskrat, was swimming very close to us. Not very smart!

Yet another fish I caught! We ended up keeping a nice mess of them. I lost count, but I know it was in the double digits.

It was a great evening to be out on the water. The mosquitos weren't too bad.... maybe because of all the dragonflies and swifts diving around.... or maybe because I took the butane-powered bug repellant. The usual wood ducks came in as it started to laten. I love to hear their whistles. We also saw several red-headed woodpeckers. In the distance I heard a pileated woodpecker and an owl. In this last picture I think I was trying to photograph one of the woodpeckers. Instead, all I can find is a cow in the lower left of the pasture. Oh, well.

The rest of the week looks too busy for fishing, so we're off to try it one more time tonight!

Let the fishing begin!

It's that time of year again. The weather is warmer, the world is greener... and the fish are starting to bite!

Our first attempt was on Monday evening and we set out with high hopes. My husband got a few hits on a spinner bait, but in general the fish weren't cooperating. Thursday evening was a little better. Armed with a shiny new spinner bait of my own (my first), I caught a nice bass right off the bat. I reeled in a second one with a plastic worm, then lost a third which broke my line, taking my new spinner bait with it.

The actual fishing might not have been great, but it was nice just being out on the pond. I get a real sense of peace and serenity out on the water, taking in the sights and sounds around me. Gazing out over the pasture, I could see the cows and donkeys grazing and heard the occasional moo or bray. We saw some blue-wing teal and wood ducks along with a pair of Canada Geese that have spent several summers nesting on our pond. Both evenings our yards dogs decided to join us. Mama Dog is an impressive swimmer. The first evening she and Blue swam out to the beaver hut. They climbed all over it trying to sniff out the residents whom we had seen in another part of the pond earlier. The second evening, while Blue and Jed watched from the shore, Mama Dog repeatedly tried to swim out to the boat, scaring every fish in the vicinity I'm sure. What seemed cute at first quickly became annoying. I hope she doesn't make a habit of it!

Changing the subject.... I was browsing other blogs today and discovered a book challenge I wish I had found earlier! I've already read ten books this year that qualify and the challenge only calls for twelve. I would go ahead and join, but I would need to go back and write reviews for all those books. That's a challenge I'm not up to. Maybe next year.

A peaceful evening

Everyone to the north, south and west of us got lots of rain over the weekend. We only got about half an inch. I’m not complaining, though. It moistened the ground, greened things up a bit and definitely cooled things off.

The cooler weather had us back on the pond fishing last evening. We weren’t the only ones taking advantage of the respite from the heat. A herd of deer moved through the woods and into the pasture where the cows and donkeys were peacefully grazing. Four Gadwalls circled the pond a few times along with the usual Wood Ducks. Something, either an otter or a juvenile beaver, cut through the water not far from us a couple of times. Best of all, the fish were biting again. Neither of us caught many, but I did reel in a bass that probably weighed close to four pounds. Nice!

It was one of those evenings where I couldn't help but look around and praise God, thanking Him for all my blessings.

“The LORD has done great things for us,

and we are filled with joy.”

Psalm 126:3

A Heyday

Or maybe that should be a hayday.

We still haven’t gotten any rain at our house, but it was overcast most of yesterday and the high was only 86. We decided to give late afternoon fishing one more shot. The fish weren’t biting, but we did have a little excitement.

We kept hearing the cows mooing. More so than usual. Sure enough, we soon saw two calves that had gotten out and were frolicking around outside the pasture. Fishing poles set aside, we headed to the pasture side of the pond so my husband could get out and start rounding them up. Meanwhile, I took the boat across to the dock to get the truck and head back to the pasture. (I’ve gotten pretty good in the john boat with a single paddle)

The calves were herded through a gate into the pasture and the escape route was located (a tree over the fence). That wasn’t the only problem. Somehow, the rest of the cows had broken through the fence into the area the hay is kept. They and the three remaining donkeys were having a grand ole time at the “hay buffet”! That required opening more gates and shooing everyone into a different pasture until repairs could be made this morning.

So much for a peaceful evening of fishing. Now, moving on to puppies…

Their eyes should be opening soon, so I’ve been checking on them daily to see what I could see. To my surprise, I saw more yesterday than I anticipated. More puppies, that is! There are nine of them, not seven! How will we ever find homes for all of them?!?

Another bass

Catching the big bass last week has inspired us. My husband is going for an even bigger one; I want to land one as big.

Yesterday evening was good, but produced nothing larger than about four pounds. I caught seven or eight including the one pictured here. It was the biggest of the evening and probably the biggest I've ever caught. Hard to believe it's only about half the size of the one he landed last week!

Sorry for the quality.... I had to crop it down to get myself out of the picture (believe me, it was bad!). You can see a little dirt smudge on the fish where I dropped it in the bottom of the boat trying to get it off the hook.

Happily for all of last night's fish, they were released to be caught again.

Big Bass

It’s been a good week for fishing on our pond.

Friday evening my husband and I caught about twenty decent-sized bass. I was reeling them in right and left and caught several that were three pounds or better.

Last night I spent much of my time snapping pictures, but did manage to catch one small yearling bass. In contrast, look at this one weighing more than eight and a half pounds my husband landed! He was pleased to see it considering our pond hasn’t been stocked for that many years. They’re growing nicely!



Here are some of the photos I took. Enjoy!

Wisconsin Winter BOW

The seed was planted at the LA BOW clinic I attended in April of 2008. I had already heard about winter BOW events while at my first workshop in 2007, but a conversation with two women from Wisconsin at the LA BOW made it seem “doable”. It stayed in the back of my mind until last summer when I mentioned it to a college friend.

Jenny and I talk once or twice a year, bur rarely see each other since she moved to Chicago a number of years ago. A few years back she and her husband opened a branch of their business in Boise, ID where she now spends most of her time. Always a fitness and outdoors enthusiast, she jumped on the idea of attending a workshop together, particularly a winter workshop. It all fell into place from there.

Last Wednesday we both flew to Chicago to begin the adventure. Another friend of Jenny’s, Lori, set out with us on Thursday for the drive to Wisconsin. An overnight in Steven’s Point put us in the Treehaven vicinity for the start of the event on Friday morning. Set up like a traditional BOW workshop, each participant signed up for four classes. Both evenings featured a guest speaker with the addition of a raffle and silent auction the second night.

Jenny and I took ice fishing, dog sledding and snowshoe 101. My fourth class was trapping, hers outdoor survival skills. Lori was in a different snowshoeing class along with geo-caching and skijoring 101 & 102. Other options were cross-country skiing, sewing with fleece & fur, gun safety, Dutch oven cooking, and wreath-making just to name a few. I cannot tell you how much fun it all was!! Not a cold weather person, I wasn’t sure how I would handle the climate. Friday the daytime temps were in the low 20s and in the teens on Saturday and Sunday. However, I dressed as they recommended (in appropriate layers) and never really noticed the cold. All of my classes were a total blast, but I think dog sledding was the best. I learned so much about so many things! Even though I still consider myself a warm weather person, I’m no longer intimidated by frigid, snowy weather.

I would love to post dozens of photos chronicling our WI BOW adventure here, but instead I’ll narrow it down to a few of my favorites. Enjoy!


One of our ice fishing instructors, Jenny and another camper. This is the power auger we used to bore holes in the ice.


Here I am setting up a "tip-up". We also learned to set "tip-downs" and spent some time jig fishing in the warming huts.


In the snowshoeing class we hiked two miles through the woods and across a bog. No groomed trails for these outdoors women!!


After learning all about the furbearers of Wisconsin and various trapping methods, we had the opportunity to help skin a badger. Here's the pelt after it was skinned. It still needed to be fleshed out and tanned before becoming an educational tool for the WI BOW program.


Here's Lori skijoring. I had never heard of the sport before signing up for this workshop.

These are our dogsledding instructors. They brought two sleds and 14 dogs to the workshop. Since adding dogs only adds power rather than speed, we just used two dogs at a time. The course was a little slick and, being novices, they wanted us to be able to control the dogs and have a good time. I was proud of myself... I didn't tip the sled over or lose control even once!

AR BOW, Round 2

I just can’t say enough good things about the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program! My first workshop was in September of 2007 when I attended the AR BOW weekend in Ferndale, AR. I had such a good time I knew I’d have to do it again. In April of this year, I attended the LA BOW in Pollock, LA. Despite a few differences in the setting and setup, overall it was the same great experience. This past weekend I went back to the AR BOW for a repeat performance.

Two friends rode with me to the facility at Ferndale on Friday morning. One attended the LA BOW with me last spring; the other had never attended a BOW event. The fourth person in our room was a woman from California whose husband’s family has land in our community. They’ve just started spending some time in Arkansas and that’s why she signed up for the program.

The Arkansas program gives preference to first-timers, so this time I didn’t get all my first choices in classes. I don’t think there’s any such thing as a “bad” class, so it really didn’t matter. I was just glad to get in to the program at all. Friday afternoon I took Stream Ecology. We got lots of hands-on experience testing the water in a nearby stream for chemicals, turbidity, temperature, etc. We used nets to take samples and find out what types of bugs were present… which also help determine the “health” of a stream. Saturday morning I made lots of neat things in a Nature Crafts class. It was fun despite the injury I received from a hot-glue gun. There are some folks that just shouldn’t be allowed to use glue guns….namely, ME! Fortunately my injury didn’t keep me from having a great time learning to tie flies in my Saturday afternoon class. Everyone made five: an Olive Wooly Booger, a Scud (fresh water shrimp), a Peacock Soft Hackle (nymph), a Cone-headed Shad Streamer, and an Elk Hair Caddis. My final class on Sunday morning was Basic Duck Hunting. I’ve done a fair amount of duck hunting in the past, so it was pretty much a refresher course for me. I haven’t been in quite a few years, though, so it got me psyched up to go again this year.

Just like last year, the food was wonderful; there were lots of great door prizes and fun freebies just for attending (as well as give-aways in the classes) and fantastic entertainment both nights. Sponsorship is generous and the raffle items are top quality. Various BOW programs handle their raffles differently, but in Arkansas each participant is given five tickets to risk as they choose. I spread mine out between the three fishing packages available. I was thrilled to win the first raffle announced: A Pflueger Lady Trion spinning combo rod and reel with a Shakespeare 2-tray tackle box (filled with goodies)! I only had one ticket on that item so it just goes to show…one is all it takes!

My next goal is to attend a Winter BOW somewhere. There are several states that host them and I’ve already started doing my research. I’m not really a cold weather person, but I figure I can handle it for just one weekend!

Water lilies

The water lilies are growing in our pond at an alarming rate! I'm not really worried about them taking over since our pond is pretty big (about 12-15 acres), but we will have to start eliminating some of them soon.

This morning I decided to go out in the boat alone, armed with both camera and fishing gear. I managed to catch (and release) three bass....one of which was 3 or 4 pounds. I snagged two others (one big, one small), but both managed to get away before I could get them in the boat. I know the towel distracts from the fish in the photo, but it's the only way I'll handle them! (go ahead, call me a sissy)

Despite the fact the lilies are a nuisance, they are rather pretty when blooming. Here's a poem about lilies to go with some of my photos:

WITH A WATER-LILY
by: Henrik Ibsen

See, dear, what thy lover brings;
'Tis the flower with the white wings.
Buoyed upon the quiet stream
In the spring it lay adream.

Homelike to bestow this guest,
Lodge it, dear one, in thy breast;
There its leaves the secret keep
Of a wave both still and deep.

Child, beware the tarn-fed stream;
Danger, danger, there to dream!
Though the sprite pretends to sleep,
And above the lilies peep.

Child, thy bosom is the stream;
Danger, danger, there to dream!
Though above the lilies peep,
And the sprite pretends to sleep.

'With a Water-lily' was originally published in 1863. This English translation by Fydell Edmund Garrett is reprinted from the Westminster Gazette of May 6, 1903.

Toasted Zucchini Snacks

Here's another zucchini recipe that I found on the Taste of Home website. (contributed by Jane Bone of Cape Coral, FL) I thought this one was pretty good, but I would have liked it better on something other than rye.

Toasted Zucchini Snacks

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

36 slices snack rye bread

• In a bowl, toss the zucchini and salt; let stand for 1 hour. Rinse and drain, pressing out excess liquid.


• Add the next eight ingredients; stir until combined. Spread a rounded teaspoonful on each slice of bread; place on a baking sheet.


• Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly. Serve immediately. Yield: 3 dozen.
  
  

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After supper tonight we decided to do a little fishing. I caught two of the three bass pictured on this stringer. My husband caught the other one along with two smaller fish he threw back. The keepers were about three pounds each.