Fishing and photos....

 We had a perfect day ... to go fishing. 

With Steve's help, we made it to Lee Lake in Cazenovia once more. And...the fish actually were biting. It was only the little fish, but at least the guys had fun deciding which one was going to be the BIG one.

It was a great day to take my Infrared Camera and more than one light spectrum filter. Below are the two guys deep in conversation...or they are just sitting quietly enjoying each others company. These two do chat but have long silences in between.

Some conversations start with ... Do you remember when....???  I listen intently to those stories because it is a history of things that occurred before I met Rich.

To think these guys are in their late 70's ... and have known each other since they were in their late 20's. 

Their friendship never ended but their lives took different directions with the two of them connecting up every once in a while.

Below...Steve tied a table umbrella to the dock so Rich can stay cooler in the shade. He thinks of everything!

Infrared Photo...

Bassy the stuffy fish did come along! Rich said she couldn't stay on the dock with them. He was afraid that she'd blow off as we actually had a breeze.

Cell shot....

The cool thing about Infrared is that you can get so 
many different looks with one filter. This
bench was filmed in the spectrum of

550nm.

This first shot is what it looks like

in camera. Startling blue foliage

and an orange hued sky.
Red becomes pink.

This is the black and white version. Basically I just desaturated the shot

and upped the contrast a bit.

The shot below is achieved by

what is called Channel swapping.
IR only picks up a few colors.

This is very hard to explain and it

is pretty technical.

I know that I enjoy the results.

The world looks foreign.

Here are a couple more views of the man made lake in Infrared using different light spectrums.

I really had fun with the Infrared camera. Hot sunny days are the best for using this camera.

Below are shots I did with my upgraded but not very fancy Google Pixel 9a. My 6a was on its last legs. What did surprise me [aside from the price] was the new ability of the camera to take 'long' exposures. So I went and tried it out by the Caz Dam.

I've been fighting off using my cell phone as a camera for a long time. But I can see its uses while hiking a long distance and not lugging along heavy camera equipment.

I did some other experimenting with a clearfield center diopter filter I found at a second hand store for $1. It was the filter I used in the very first shot which allowed the center to be in focus and the edges become blurred.

I can see where it will be very very handy in some toy photography.

This is the Lady of Pain from the Dungeons and Dragons collection. I thought she'd go perfect with a poison dart frog.

We had more adventures after leaving the lake. 

Eventually we did make it home safe and sound and tired out. But Rich and I are looking forward to our adventure next week.

Another fishing day...

 

We now have to bring Bassy. You know, the Stuffy Fish, along with us when we go fishing. Bassy is supposed to give us good luck.

Here is Bassy overlooking the situation while the two guys have a major fishing discussion on the little dock.

Hubby didn't want me to bring Bassy out on the dock, he was afraid he'd drop it out of his pocket. I was charged with keeping Bassy safe.

While hubby wasn't watching, I crept up and put Bassy right next to his wheel chair. Bassy needed to supervise. 

Steve saw what I was doing and started chuckling.

Some fish were caught. They were too small, but Bassy had to check them out...

Other interesting things were the Damselflies doing their ritual to lay eggs on vegetation in the man made lake. Not the best photo, but I am discovering more things as our friend Steve shares his knowledge regarding fishing areas around us.

So we were at Cazonovia Memorial Park fishing at Lee Lake aka as Cazenovia Mill Pond. It is a man made lake with a dam that has about 58 or so acres of water.

I went over to look at the dam which I haven't seen since 1996 when I stayed in Caz on a Wagon Train adventure.

It looks much different now. What 29 years will do to an area!

Best of all, the ol' fellas had another great day as I did too. 

I love the welcoming sign.

This Piers for You
In Memory of Mikey

Another great quiet spot for two old friends to spend the day.

Another Exciting ... Day!

 Of course there has to be fungi, slime molds, alligators, rocks, fishies, rain, picnic, and fishing involved.

I went out early to find my fungi friends and admire slime molds. Yeah, I am strange but I love the beautiful world of the odd things in the forest.

Chocolate Tube Slime mold ... with mold on top of it!

Coral Slime Mold...finger for perspective.

With all the wet and humid weather I have found lots of Deadman's Fingers growing near many of the old oak tree logs. These logs have been on the ground for nearly 20 years. You won't find these on newly downed logs.

This is a curiosity.

It is called Shotgun Fungi/ Shotgun Slime Mold/ Artillery Fungus/ Hat Throwing Fungus... this particular kind grows on Equine Manure.

 I know, gross, but kind of cool. 

The spores can be ejected up to 18 feet.

What it looks like from a distance. What can I say?...

It is so cool and weird at the same time.

This rainy humid weather is awful for so many things. However, it delights me to scrounge around the forest and look for bizarre things.

Not so bizarre is finding Oyster Mushrooms and bringing them home for a side dish.

Wednesday was fishing day.

 Getting Rich to the table was an extra human effort since he can barely walk. But Steve and I got him there. Rich did catch a Bullfish.

Ewww, he tossed it back. Here he is wearing a clear poncho as there was a light rain. He son took it off because it wasn't bothersome.

While the guys fished and Steve baited for Rich and assisted him, I walked around to enjoy the views.

I did spot Cormorants, but they were far way. I've never seen them before so it was fun to watch them fish. I did grab this shot of the Blue Heron that saw me. Mostly, I just walked around and enjoyed watching the guys fish.

The skies looked threatening but only gave us a light drizzle on and off.

Of course, I had to get my Lego folks out.

This is the ME minifig and Charlie....

You never know what to expect at the river!

Be Careful!

Steve is now used to my Lego Antics. When we got Rich to another spot, we really had to struggle to get him through some loose rocks.

This was a good spot and they had a lot of fun watching the turtles try to take the worms. 

Rich did catch a fish!

There was a lot of laughter for that.

Here was my Lego scenario for the trek through the loose rocks.

Life in Hospice can be interesting and bittersweet.

One knows that time is probably short. However it is also a time to shine with friends and family.

I don't know how to explain it. But this time has been more joyful. Pain is managed, and our main goal is comfort and doing things for the patient. Rich looks forward to the times Steve shows up and things happen.

Our Grand daughter Ariel will come for the holiday weekend and stay over. She wants to cook another supper for us and just hang out. 

I wonder what we may do next week? Rich was really tired out from this fishing trip and it took him a full day of naps to recover. However, he is looking forward to the next adventure.

Old Friends

I've written about Rich's pal from past years. As life happens people lose touch only to get back in touch again years later.

Just before Christmas we got a call and then a visit from one of Rich's pals he hadn't seen in about 15 years. Our lives and interests had gone in different directions for a bit.

Then Steve showed up to visit. The 'boys' had an incredible time reminiscing about their days with their hound dogs and their crazy adventures while fishing together. 

Seriously, it seemed as if no time had passed and they wondered how their children grew up, got married and made them grandpas.

When Rich had his respiratory failure in February, Steve came as soon as he got the text. Steve is so kind hearted. He visited every day and spent time with him when I had to go home and do chores.

The two guys are like brothers that get along very well.

Steve called me Wednesday morning. The day was a rainy and he wanted to know what was on our schedule. 

Nothing of course.

"Well, let's go for a drive then! If we can't go fishing, we can go for a drive."

And that is what we did.

We headed over to the Mississippi River to check out sites for fishing that would accommodate a wheel chair.

We loaded up hubby and headed out with extra 02. We were going on an adventure.

Steve had thought of many things. He brought a Rollator for extra ease for Rich to get from one place to another if we were able to. He brought extra water for us [I'd packed some along with the meds] and off we went.

We spent a good part of the afternoon stopping at different boat ramps to see if they had places we could fish from. We did end up with a place that looked great with perfect wheel chair access.

Since we were in the small town of DeSoto, I suggested a stop at a place called The Bright Spot. It is a small bar with a separate room for eating. 

We were quite the sight. Steve and I walked along helping Rich manipulate the rollator up a little ramp to the dining area. 

We ordered burgers and fries and enjoyed light conversation. The waitress was fantastic. The restaurant is not fancy but well loved for its food. People come from the bordering states to eat here for this exact reason.

Steve was a great chauffer and pal.

On another odd note [seems I always have odd things happen to me]. Steve's wealthy neighbors who own second weekender homes have Steve mow their lawns and does other maintenance for them.

He helped one neighbor clean out a shed. Steve was having a large Garage Sale where one neighbor asked him to sell a bunch of 'crap' his daughter left behind when she moved away years ago.

Steve worked on helping the fellow clean out this huge shed so he could put his boats in there.

Anyway, I noticed these odd pieces in a photo that Steve showed me, I asked if I could purchase a couple. Steve brought a few of these items over to me. They were priced at $2 a piece at the garage sale.

When I got them, they were pretty dirty. So I washed them gently and found a name inside them.

Jason Christoble 1975 and Matchless Grove Tree with the their ID number and date carved inside. 

Apparently this fellow sculpted these items as candle holders with glass eyes that would light up when a light or candle was inserted. 

Jason Christoble created many 'Tree Ent' sculptures and sold them in the 1970's and 1980's. There is almost no info on this artist on the internet.

However I was intrigued by his work and recognized that some of his 'work' is now classified as Vintage Collectible.

I liked the 'Ents', they fit perfectly with one of my pretty but cheaply made 'face' pots I've had for a while.

Below is an example of one I ordered years ago. He stores my headphones and charger cords for a couple of my devices.

Imagine what I can do with these odd faces with eyes that will glow!

I found some on sale at different places like Etsy, eBay, and others. These items in very good condition and with a signature seem to hold a pretty good price. Below are my Tree Ents lined up in front of some sweet potatoes.

What a surprising and fun day we had. Rich hasn't been out to eat anywhere in more than 5 years. He hasn't left home except for his hospital stays and doctor appointments for about the same amount of time.

He was tired yesterday but happy.

Old friends can be the best.

And we had a blast

The Big Bike Adventure.

It rained all morning and by noonish, we mounted up and headed out on the Sparta-Elroy State Trail. Sparta-Elroy State Trail. 

My cousin and his wife wanted to ride along the trail where we could go through the most old train tunnels. The trip one way would be 13 miles to the longest tunnel. The tunnels were for trains and some of the tunnels are over 140 years old.

Map below of the out and back route we took:

Photo in Infrared of my bike and at one of our first stops. 

The Kickapoo River near Wilton. Here the river looks more like just a little stream.

[photographed in Infrared with my little Canon ELPH]

Aaron brought his dog Ringo along. Ringo is his Spring Spaniel that he hunts pheasants with in the fall. Ringo is also considered as one of the family. 
Aaron said he hated to leave Ringo with others while he and his wife go on fun biking trips so he thought he'd train him to ride in the cart.

It went pretty darn well. I do have to say that Ringo was an extremely well behaved dog.

Speaking of carts. We saw a little tiny cart with 3 miniature Dachshunds in it! The dog's owners said the little dogs loved going on biking trips!

Hmmm. Wonder if Charlie would like to ride in one???

The first tunnel was made out of bricks. The work to make this tunnel was amazing. This tunnel is a quarter of a mile long . Bicyclist are to dismount and walk with headlamps or flashlights to get through the tunnel safely.

The second tunnel was short, more like an underpass than anything else. It was also full of water from the rains. We scooted through that and then pulled over and had sandwiches.

This last tunnel is 3/4 of a mile. This is where we stopped after peering into the tunnel. It was time to turn around and head back to camp. This tunnel had been blasted and chiseled out of rock.

All the tunnels had water in them and water dripping from above.  They were also quite cold!

On our way back, Monica decided that Aaron and I needed to have a photo together. Hint. I have the green helmet on. [Monica's photos]

Aaron, Monica, and me. Group selfie!

Me -- inside the first tunnel we went through. There were little alcoves all along the length of the tunnel. We have no idea what they would have been for.

The trip was so much fun.

On the trail and at camp, we talked about our childhood and all the adventures we had together as kids. The Tarzan Rope. Arnold the Grump, sledding the big hill, climbing trees, hunting frogs and snakes and all of the things we did while spending time in the summer together.

As kids and teens we were always the best of friends even if our mom's situations changed. We still don't understand all of it and don't dwell on it. 

The important part is we still enjoy each other's company and having adventures together.

I had such a great day. Good food, good conversations. AND a whole day off the farm! I have to thank my good neighbors for keeping an eye on hubby for me and making sure he was okay and had meals in my absence.

Conclusion regarding their E-bikes. They had pedal assist e bikes. Which means if you pedaled, it assisted the rider. I got to try it and I thought it was pretty neat. After all Aaron pulled his rather large dog in a carrier along the trail and I don't think he could have done that without the assist. 

One day I may even consider one. But I did fine with my regular bike. The trail did not have steep inclines in it.

---Oh... FYI: I am not sore today Eddie.