Photos A Walk in Nature

[Just Tom.]

The squirrels are planning ahead too.

This year for some reason it seems like we have a bumper crop of acorns. Lots of fat squirrels in my yard…

 

[Just Tom.]

Rode my bike down to Fletcher’s boathouse in DC today, via a circuitous route - 39 miles in all.

Here’s my best Johnnythefox impression:

It looks like they are replacing the old fleet of wooden boats with aluminum ones…

 

[gentleman_edc]

I hope they don't get rid of all the wooden boats, I am happy to know that they are still open and the cove hasn't completely silted in.

 

[CelloDan]

About 3 weekends ago we took my Mom camping who was visiting us for a few days.
She is not able to visit us too often so we really enjoyed our time together.

We used Serena "sans mast" to transport us and our gear to an island were we set up camp.

My Mom LOVES fishing. Unfortunately she only gets to do it when she is with us.
A few years ago she lost a big Smallmouth right by the boat. We had gone on "Esperanza" that time. I was quite upset at myself when I realized the reason she lost it it was because of faulty equipment I had provided her.
On this recent trip she lost another big one... and again it was my fault I was quite upset at myself for not chequing my gear more carefully.

However the next day she finally caught her "lunker"

And she kept on catching more , big mouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, a pike, bunch of bluegills !!!
What a day !

I only caught this one

Verijero got the honour to help clean some of her catch

Evening bonfires in the fall invite for moments of reflection enjoying each others company

 

[Prester John]

About 3 weekends ago we took my Mom camping who was visiting us for a few days.
She is not able to visit us too often so we really enjoyed our time together.

We used Serena "sans mast" to transport us and our gear to an island were we set up camp.

My Mom LOVES fishing. Unfortunately she only gets to do it when she is with us.
A few years ago she lost a big Smallmouth right by the boat. We had gone on "Esperanza" that time. I was quite upset at myself when I realized the reason she lost it it was because of faulty equipment I had provided her.
On this recent trip she lost another big one... and again it was my fault I was quite upset at myself for not chequing my gear more carefully.

However the next day she finally caught her "lunker"

And she kept on catching more , big mouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, a pike, bunch of bluegills !!!
What a day !

I only caught this one

Verijero got the honour to help clean some of her catch

Evening bonfires in the fall invite for moments of reflection enjoying each others company

Wonderful pics and lovely family, Dan.

(¡Yo quiero mi verijero! Ordered three months ago--but patience....)

 

[JJ_Colt45]

About 3 weekends ago we took my Mom camping who was visiting us for a few days.
She is not able to visit us too often so we really enjoyed our time together.

We used Serena "sans mast" to transport us and our gear to an island were we set up camp.

My Mom LOVES fishing. Unfortunately she only gets to do it when she is with us.
A few years ago she lost a big Smallmouth right by the boat. We had gone on "Esperanza" that time. I was quite upset at myself when I realized the reason she lost it it was because of faulty equipment I had provided her.
On this recent trip she lost another big one... and again it was my fault I was quite upset at myself for not chequing my gear more carefully.

However the next day she finally caught her "lunker"

And she kept on catching more , big mouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, a pike, bunch of bluegills !!!
What a day !

I only caught this one

Verijero got the honour to help clean some of her catch

Evening bonfires in the fall invite for moments of reflection enjoying each others company

It looks like a wonderful trip Dan!

 

[CelloDan]

Wonderful pics and lovely family, Dan.

(¡Yo quiero mi verijero! Ordered three months ago--but patience....)

Gracias Vince
(mine took a little over 5 months)

It looks like a wonderful trip Dan!

Thank you ! It was great having my Mom visit us, being able to take her out on a camping trip and seeing her enjoying fishing so much. She has mobility issues and it had been a long time since she had been outdoors like that.

Last weekend Diana and I had our last trip of the year.
The weather was fantastic and the adventure turned out to be a very memorable one to wrap up the 2023 boating season.

Sailing on the 1000 islands region of the St Lawrence river.

And fishing of course

This pike just killed my new Rapala lure

Found a nice beach to settle in for the evening/night

Filleting fish on the shore = my happy place

I am getting better at pike. Got some nice fillets, the middle part (minus the guts lol ) will be used for fish soup.

Let's get the fire going

The plan is to cook the fish directly over a rock sitting on the hot coals

turned out great
( except for the part where I dropped a portion in the sand while flipping it and had to wash it and put it back on the rock )

A beautiful October evening

Early the next morning

Fish soup for lunch ( Diana politely declined so I got to enjoy it all )

Knife content

 

[Chui]

- wow, how special are those fishing trips CelloDan - thank you for sharing

I was born in Kenya, love the wild, love fishing - my dear ol’ Dad introduced me to all that as a kid. Now, at this ripe old age, I want to retire soon if I can, and get stuck into some……….not so easy in Iill UK.

Keep telling my wife that a trip to Canada is on my bucket list - to take a float-plane, land on some remote lake surrounded by beautiful forests………..camp, fish, sip whisky by the fire, gaze at the stars…….. One day, eh

Thank you for your photos, and, how nice to share such times with family too, to see the joy in their eyes and smiles.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

It looks like you two had an epic summer. Thanks for taking us along!

 

[RLB0414]

CelloDan looks like a couple great trips. Very nice fish that were landed. That smallie was awesome

 

[redsparrow]

CelloDan good to see someone living life to the fullest... thanks for sharing amigo!

 

[CelloDan]

- wow, how special are those fishing trips CelloDan - thank you for sharing

I was born in Kenya, love the wild, love fishing - my dear ol’ Dad introduced me to all that as a kid. Now, at this ripe old age, I want to retire soon if I can, and get stuck into some……….not so easy in Iill UK.

Keep telling my wife that a trip to Canada is on my bucket list - to take a float-plane, land on some remote lake surrounded by beautiful forests………..camp, fish, sip whisky by the fire, gaze at the stars…….. One day, eh

Thank you for your photos, and, how nice to share such times with family too, to see the joy in their eyes and smiles.

Thank you for the kind words !

I will really miss these trips during the next “too many” months of cold weather.
Out in nature is where my anxieties and worries seem to evaporate and I am truly at peace, happy, just living in the moment.

I hope that your Canadian trip becomes a reality… I liked how you described it

It looks like you two had an epic summer. Thanks for taking us along!

De nada , appreciate the encouraging comments !

CelloDan looks like a couple great trips. Very nice fish that were landed. That smallie was awesome

That smallie was great
I am so happy for my Mom as I know she really wanted, for a long time now, to catch a big one
She is now the undisputed family record holder

CelloDan good to see someone living life to the fullest... thanks for sharing amigo!

De nada James

Earlier today we crossed the border to travel to Saranac Lake and pick our daughters at camp where they have been for the past 4 months.
They loved it so much that they arranged, once school started, to keep working part time at camp and do their schooling online.

But camp is closing this weekend so home they must come

On our way to camp I stopped by the UPS store to pick up my BF knife.
Tracking had been stuck in “ out for delivery “ for several hours
When we got there there was no knife ;( so we decide to wait a little in the parking lot before continuing on our trip.

15 min later got the text on my phone that it had been delivered

Saranac Lake, NY, in the fall

 

[RayseM]

My Brother you lived your summer perfectly. Simply beautiful Dan - great memories being made while in the moment living is golden. What a TREASURE.

 

[RayseM]

On a more prosaic venture - an afternoon this week to go for a walk in nature - we visited a favorite preserve for mushroom hunting.
This year though, in spite of the great amount of rain, the mushroom harvest has been rather pitiful. OH well, we still enjoyed our walk about.

 

[Jolipapa]

On a more prosaic venture - an afternoon this week to go for a walk in nature - we visited a favorite preserve for mushroom hunting.
This year though, in spite of the great amount of rain, the mushroom harvest has been rather pitiful. OH well, we still enjoyed our walk about.

Here are a few highlights.

Nice long views in this relatively open woods (open for around here).

View attachment 2353727

A few REISHI that were still nice looking on the outside but pretty overcooked and buggy on the inside.

View attachment 2353728

A very spectacularly unusually striated shelf mushroom. A bit buggy too or I would have brought it home as decoration.

View attachment 2353729

A lovely feathery batch of mystery moss. We brought some home and set up a terrarium. Maybe next year this will transplant nicely onto our property. Come to find out - it is called a PLUME MOSS.

View attachment 2353731

AND THEN - the highlight, every time, of this particular walk - is this KING CHAGA. It is by far the biggest specimen I have ever seen in one place. Trouble is - it is 20+ feet in the air, on a hillside and a long hike in so carrying a ladder is wicked impractical. I have a plan to harvest but could be a bust. No climbing gear or tree felling involved. More as it happens. In the meantime, I watch its grow bigger.

View attachment 2353735

It hangs out better than a foot!

View attachment 2353736

Someday soon...

Nice walk in the forrest ! For investing the KING CHAGA you need the ACME inflatable ladder, available in the best Looney Tunes!

 

[RayseM]

Nice walk in the forrest ! For investing the KING CHAGA you need the ACME inflatable ladder, available in the best Looney Tunes!

That could work! I also have considered:

1) Strapping an ACME rocket on my back and having my wife light the fuse. A fly by with a wack from a heavy thumper of a branch would do the trick.

2) Engaging a group of assorted size friends. We would stack up on each other's shoulders and the little kid on the top of the pile with a 1.5 lb hatchet would provide the coup de grâce.

3) My real working plan ~ 60 feet of line cut in half, my French Amy surplus cable saw attached between the two ends. Toss the line over the chaga - pull the cable saw into position and then saw away. Sawing Chaga, from my experience, is difficult. It is surprisingly dense. Always easier to wack it off with a heavy blow. It does break away pretty easily. Still, the cable saw is aggressive and I am patient, so an accurate throw with my line and an hour or so later of sawing - I should have a chunk of chaga land on my head.

 

[CelloDan]

My Brother you lived your summer perfectly. Simply beautiful Dan - great memories being made while in the moment living is golden. What a TREASURE.

Gracias hermano !

It was a beautiful summer indeed and very therapeutic as well, a time for healing after the difficult times of the past almost two years now since Diana's diagnosis.
She enjoyed it very much.

As we were preparing Serena for the winter she became a bit emotional and told me, once again, how much she cherishes our little adventures.
She is already dreaming of next season

I suggested to her we get a bigger boat and dock it a marina that way she would have more room and increased comfort however she wants NONE of it.
"No way you are selling Serena" she told me.

The truth is we both love the very minimalist trailer sailing way. A bigger boat at a marina would get boring rather quick.

As I've heard it say: " The smaller the boat. the bigger the adventure"

At the risk of oversharing, lol, here is a video I took on our last evening of the season

Here are a few highlights.

Great walk mi amigo
Love the knife and enjoyed learning about the different mushrooms

Someday soon...

Keep us posted Ray !!!

Today we prepared Serena for winter.
I changed the oil and winterized her outboard
I also made a wooden frame to go over the cockpit area to hold the weight of the and help it slide down and prolong the life our tarp cover.

I also picked my Canal Street stockman to tote ( generous gift from Ray ) and to remind us of our many Rideau Canal adventures ... and start dreaming of next season

Tomorrow... I think we should go for a walk

 

[RayseM]

You are always close to me Dan. You and Diana are the best! Never worry about oversharing - with this gang.
That's still a very fine knife!

 

[CelloDan]

 

[Horsewright]

My daughter on her first charter boat deep sea fishing trip:

The hospital that she works at (in the ER) put the trip together. Wasn't till everyone was aboard and she realized she was the only woman signed up:

Here's the knives:

Her filets made some wonderful fish tacos. Her husband says he's taking his dad and me out for Father's Day. We went out a little farther north than she did. It worked out ok too:

Fishing at 380 ft deep. These guys came up on the same drop since we were fishing with two shrimp flys. Hauling these guys in from that deep, at the same time, was a workout:

And the knives:

Went with fish curry this time!