At the hospital

You have to appreciate heritage

Let Me Introduce You To My Little Friend

She is brand new so don't mind the jelly they put in her eyes or the fact that her hands are blue. When they are new it takes a little bit for circulation to stabilize...

#1 arrived on 7/21/10 at 4:41 pm

Tipping the scales at a clean 7 lbs 11 ozs and 19" long

She is Beautiful and you will not be able to convince me otherwise.

waterbath

Shhhh. It's a secret!

Presents for my newbies...

Close up.

In Every Kingdom A Rain Comes Pouring Down (Camping with Kady)

Sneaky campers

Camp day one

This is what it looked like most of the time we were there. Weather wise? Not to bad. Wind, rain, sun, rain, etc. but mostly cool and wet. Went swimming. The water was very cold.

Tending the Campfire. most of the wood was to long. a little chainsaw would have been very handy.

Look Kady, I made Fire!

Dramatic clouds at dusk on the fourth. I found it odd that clouds usually have flat bottoms and this one had a big curve the exact shape of Barito which is beneath it.

Hiking around the Island

Footpath

It always amazes me the things plants will do to thrive.

This Coral Mushroom was about the size of my fist. I believe it is some sort of Ramaria...

Granite falls

Beautiful morning Light

Sun filtering thru the trees

The Story of my Life

Its time for new linoleum at the 8th place... carpet, countertops, light fixtures etc.

Hey, you ever notice that while you are working hard other people just seem to stand around?

Woods Walker

Look at all the Balsamorhiza.

I believe you can eat it.

Sometimes its nice to just go for a hike...

Raku II

I think this is a better photo of the color variation on my Raku pot...

At first I felt it was way too coppery so I dropped it back in the kiln for just a couple of seconds and got a more satisfying variation from the reduction and then the re oxidation.

Raku

So, Mike and I set out to have a Raku firing. It was fun. Boys playing with fire and all that. First we fired up the kiln. Then prepped our combustibles. News paper, Pine needles and sawdust. you know good flamable stuff.

Here is a shot from my phone (Actually they are all from my phone) of the smoldering cans with hot pots in them... I used one of Coleens old popcorn tins. Mike used a garbage can.

Here is a shot of some of the finished product.

Sadly, Mike lost three pots. All told I think it was a success even with the loss. I can still hear what sounded like popcorn coming from inside the kiln. "Learning experience" and all that stuff.

5 brothers fishing with their Father

Well it appears that fishing in April is not so bad. Chris swore up and down that you can't catch fish in April. So the first night trolling I caught a 9 lb. 10 oz. 31" Mackinaw. I just happened to be using a silver and blue M2 Flatfish. The same lure that Chris said must be broken because you can't catch fish with it...
The next day we decided to try Drop Shot. I missed the first 20 bites by not setting the hook hard enough. When the fish are down 150-200 ft. deep, you have to really set the hook. Once we figured it out, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. When we caught 7 in quick succession we stopped and called it a day. The next day Josh caught one as well as Mike. Two days later Dad, Jim, Mike, Josh and I caught another 13 and called it good. With this drop shot method, it really is just too easy.

Beach fires with your brothers are alright too, even when they last until 4AM. This can make it unlikely you will get up at 6 to go fish with your Father. 8 or 9 is much better after coffee.
We tried to get to Muskegon to get try a little Trout fishing but there is still too much snow. The road was soft and covered with a combination of slush and hard packed snow. Runoff is pretty good as well

During a lesson showing Mike the finer details of the Palomar knot, Chris buried a Gamakatsu Drop shot hook in his finger and had to go to the emergency room in Newport to get it taken out.
Ouch!

Lake

Heading to the lake for some shooting, fishing, hiking and shrooming etc. I'll let you know how it goes.

The unsuccessful hunter gatherer

So I decided to go out looking to see if I could stumble on any Morels. I didn't have any luck. I did however find lots of mushrooms including some false morels, not really what I was looking for. I did however have a wonderful hike and spent four or so hours wandering around. I find the change in perception quite fascinating. One minute you are standing on a carpet of Pine needles and the next you realize there are mushrooms everywhere. It reminds me of those Magic Eye posters you used to see. I haven't quite figured out if I am too early or too late but I have my eyes set on getting some Morels...

The Pack a.d.

So I decided I would get myself downtown and see a show... I just happened to see that "The Pack a.d." was going to be at Sunset Junction for there last stop on their tour before returning to B.C. So I figured that since I missed them the last time they were here I shouldn't miss them this time. All told it was an amazing show Becky and Maya tore it up and I ended up getting in at 4 in the morning due to some unforseen waiting. By the way, their new album "We Kill Computer" hits April 27th. Check it out.

Grandpa II

Well, I figure I should just throw this out there since a good bunch of you know already...
I am going to be a grandpa again. First in July and then in September. Crazy huh. Well it is amazing and cool and confusing and all that stuff but hey, sounds just like life right?

Easter

Well, Sunday seemed like a wonderful day for a hike so I spend 4 hours walking around Tower Mountain. It was muddy on the way up with paches of snow that hadn't melted yet. Some hooligan made a mini snowman halfway up the trail. The wild flowers are starting to bloom in the places that the sun hits. I even made it back with no Ticks so all in all a good day. I counted 17 cars back at the bottom when I was leaving so I guess I was not the only one who thought it was a good Idea. I ended up upstairs with Tim and Patty for a nice dinner of Prime Rib, Potatoes, Corn, Rolls and Lemon Meringue Pie. Quite a peaceful Easter.