Since the kids have all started blogging, we have felt left out and want to rectify the situation. It's not like we have lots to say, but we do want to make our voices heard in the world. I suppose this will be a venting place or a place to share some ideas about life and its vagaries. Whatever it ends up being, our hope it that it will be entertaining and enlightening to those we love and respect.
Last Saturday I went fishing on Strawberry Reservoir with Josh and his lovely wife, Heather. This was Heather's first trip but Josh and I have been there many times. The day was pleasant and the weather was mild as we arrived and began our ministrations to the aquatic friends in our lake. It seemed, for some time, as though we had forgotten to apply the proper deodorant, for the fish were avoiding us and so were the other boaters. Heather was the first to receive notice that the finned friends were willing to collaborate with us on this mission. She pulled in a nice looking cutthroat trout and proudly held it up for us to see. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera out the fish had flip-flopped itself back into the watery abyss from which he had come. Then it was another lengthy wait until Josh was able to raise a scaly beast from the depths of the 'agua-pura'. Again, I was struggling to get the camera ready and Josh gave up and released his catch before I could record the event (I suspect it would probably do all our posterity great service if I was not allowed to be the photographer on these little trips. That seemed to be Josh and Heather's consensus, as they took the camera from me for the rest of the day) :( .
But there is justice in the fishing world and the following will prove that fact. Our time to fish was fast approaching its close so we began the long "paddle" to the shoreline to remove ourselves and our equipment from the water. Having tried many different flies during the day and having no success, I desperately resorted to a fly purchased recently because it looked a little different from anything I had used before. I guess it was sort of a muddler/bunny combo and was in a dark green color. For some reason, we stopped near each other and I was handing something to Heather when I noticed my rod bouncing up and down with great fervor. Grabbing the rod and setting the hook, I felt the satisfying pull of a good sized fish at the end of my line. When landed, I realized that this was a healthy cutthroat and was of decent length (don't know for sure how long because my stripping apron was not on my pontoon. I would guess about 21" or so but all fishermen think their fish are larger than reality). No sooner had I sent my fly back out than I was rewarded with another fish, comparatively similar to the previous. And when I cast my offerings a third time, it was but a few short minutes until the twin brother of the second came to rest on my lap for a brief visit. Life was good and my failures as a picture taker had been removed from the history of our trip because of my fabulous success.
Ahhh, but fate (and I am sure, a loving Father) intervened to restore the humbleness that is necessary for all those who pursue the piscatorial habit. When my last fish had been released and the glow of success had begun to fade, we again prepared to return to shore. Sadly, the state of the weather had changed...and not for the good. What had been a mild and pleasant day had suddenly become a blustery, windy, nearly hurricaney afternoon. And having the larger of the three watercraft in the group, I was most susceptible to the forces of nature that fell down upon us. Oh, it is a surety that Josh and Heather struggled to push their boats through the water, but my pontoon was nearly impossible to push any closer to the shore while this typhoon was blowing away at us. It seemed that for every inch I crept closer, I was pushed back a full 12 inches away. There were moments when the flashing of life's images was beginning to start in my head and I chided myself for allowing a silly fish to take me so far away from my homeland and family. OOOOHHH, the misery and the pain that would be with my family and friends when they pulled my lifeless body from the deep of this dastardly body of water!!! If there had been paper and pen on my person, there might have been an anguished goodbye letter written to my sweetheart and companion. But alas, none were available and so the fins on my feet continued to paddle up and down and desperately try to save the wretched man that I am.
Anyway, it was hard to get to shore but we eventually made it and got loaded up and on our way. We made it home in time for Teresa and I to go to the Hale Theatre and Josh and Heather went to see a movie. My knees hurt considerably but other than that, it was a wonderful day with my two children and some of God's little fishy creations. I hope we can do this again very soon (but as I mentioned to Teresa, I will have an electric motor on the pontoon the next time I try this stunt).
My first entry seems to ramble some, but it is a good indication of how I write and how I look at things. Hope you enjoy and I really hope I can keep up with this in some orderly manner. See you next time. MW
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