Scattered Thoughts . . .

One of my cousins, Kathy, recently posted a photo of having morning coffee while relaxing on the edge of a river. Her photo immediately reminded me of many years of morning coffee at my own home on a river quite a few years ago before my health took a serious nosedive.  Thinking about this old home also reminded me of all the visitors I had coming and going... all the weekend parties... all my friends' kayaks and canoes that resided in my yard all summer... and it reminded me of all the friends who still talk about my old house on the river whenever I bump into them. We had some really great times at that house! View from the firepit in the backyard. Seeing Kathy's photo encouraged me to dig out some old photos of this house to share here. For the most part, these are really lousy photos but they are good enough to see some of the memorable parts of this property and to remind me of some really nice times.  I wish I had better and more photos to share but this was a

When I was a child and teenager, I loved fishing. I loved being out on the water... whether it be a lake, the ocean or a bay... and applying my fishing skills to bring home an assortment of fish for dinner. My experiences proved that autumn was always best for a large assortment of fish in one outing. After I'd do my homework, I would sometimes spend the night getting my fishing gear ready... spooling new line... cleaning and rewinding fishing pole guides... organizing my tackle box... and even studying characteristics of all the types of fish I might encounter in future fishing excursions. I really enjoyed fishing. Getting up early in the morning to catch fish was never a problem for me... fishing at dusk was my favorite but also a bit of a frustration because not only were the hungry fish biting but so were the insatiable mosquitoes. I liked fishing any time but I knew that fishing in midday was typically a big waste of time and energy. I saved midday for sports and especiall

These two loons were fishing out in front of the house this morning. They were hardly above water though. They would come up for some air every two minutes or so but only stay on the surface for about five seconds before diving again. You'd never know where they would pop up for a breath... it could be next to you or it could be 200 yards away. It didn't take long before the morning flies would send me back indoors after each attempt at a photo or two.

The summertime weather finally arrived yesterday afternoon!  After a very nice climb to the summit of Owl's Head Mountain in the early afternoon, we spent the late afternoon and into the evening enjoying the water at the lake house when the wind was calmer and the afternoon sun was warmer. Somehow, the kids managed to squeeze in kayaking, swimming, and fishing. As always, I moved around on the dock surrounding the house shooting photos of all the activities and keeping an eye on things.  As the sun began to set, we started on dinner. (Here is a little secret... keep your guests active and serve dinner late and everyone will love the food!) I grilled chicken pieces after marinating the chicken all day in a lemon, olive oil and herb mixture... we filled out the menu with corn on the cob, fresh green beans and some handcut homefries. I think everyone enjoyed their meal. We really fit a lot into this one day! More importantly, everyone seemed to have a great day!