Static arm hang, crepes, Santa Claus, and train sets...

Various photos from Galena IL, our home and downtown Northfield.

JD would have nothing to do with Santa. I don't think he trusted him... objective observation will tell you that to a fresh mind, the image is pretty scary.

The arm hang was great - he learned that he could do it, and he kept going back to the kitchen island to demonstrate. He's a strong and wiry little guy.

He was fascinated by the train sets, and he did a great job of looking but not touching... he did ask a few times to "pick it up?" or "touch it?".

Farenheit 13 Fishing

This actually happened a couple weeks ago... when we had that intense cold snap. I'll say this: it wasn't too cold to be out, but it was definitely approaching uncomfortable. The main problem was frozen guides, and chills that would set in while standing still. Not a big deal for me though - on the move a lot and only made about 20 casts all day. The goal was to get JS his first stream fish on the fly, and that mission was accomplished in a nice fashion. JS exhibited very positive response as he reflected on the feat. It was great to be out and about on a crisp and invigorating day. I took what instantly became one of my favorite photos of all time (due to paranoia re image theft I can't bring myself to post it!). Wendell Berry wouldn't agree with that, would he? Maybe I should rethink it.

How many years of labor to become completely anomalous everywhere?

Wendell Berry
Sabbaths 1998

Mini Carp Fly Swap

Here are a few pics from a little fly swap I participated in with John Montana and Zonker from the Carp Anglers Group (see link at right). These are very munchy flies, and I can't wait to fish them this spring. I will keep one as a reference for my fly library. I don't have pics of the three patterns I tied, but that's okay - they are least photogenic of the bunch. I really got some great patterns here, and it was fun tying - thanks guys. PS - the resolution of these images (and those in previous post) is notched down by MS powertool "resize"; the original pictures are even clearer and crisper than these. I really like the Pentax Optio.

Legion of Doom

Have you ever heard the phrase "deadly lethal killa"? Well, here are two photos of an entire fleet of them. I got this crawdaddy pattern from John Montana, who holds dominion over the realm of Carp on the Fly (see link at right). These were tied for the SE MN 2006 Winter Fly Swap (see link to SE MN Board at right).

I just demolished in one gulp a book by Jon Krakauer called "Into the Wild." Find this book and read it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild

Here are some quotes from it:
http://www.bmarch.atfreeweb.com/into_the_wild.htm

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different Sun." -Chris McCandless

"Lara walked along the tracks following a path worn by pilgrims and then turned into the fields. Here she stopped and, closing her eyes, took a deep breath of the flower-scented air of the broad expanse around her. It was dearer to her than her kin, better than a lover, wiser than a book. For a moment she rediscovered the purpose of her life. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment and to call each thing by its right name, or, if this were not within her power, to give birth out of love for life to successors who would do it in her place." -a passage from Doctor Zhivago underlined by Chris McCandless.