Fishy Fishy Fishy

Wednesday was Fish Fishy day. Steve introduced us to a friend of his who has a float on the Mississippi River. He picks people up at a designated place and then transports them to the float [think like a floating barge] on the river. So we had to drive across the Mississippi bridge to Iowa and back to Prairie duChien for fishing at the dock that is wheel chair accessible.

The guys couldn't think of a way to safely get Rich into a boat from a steep bank and then climb a ladder on to the float. That would have been the best thing for catching fish but we decided on going back to the handicapped dock near a marina to do our fishing.

Steve thought ahead as usual and brought a table umbrella to keep the hot sun off from Rich. It wasn't as hot and humid as most days have been this summer and the umbrella really helped quite a bit.

The two shots below are photos taken from the back seat while crossing the river.

 

The scenery wasn't that exceptional at the dock by the marina, but we had quite a few people stop by to chat with us.

I wandered around and took shots as I was mesmerized by the reflections of the clouds and trees in the water that showed up so differently in Infrared than in regular light.

I am THAT kid in grade school art class that drew trees with purple leaves and sometimes orange skies with a black sun. Of course that disturbed my art teacher who complained to my father. My father got very irritated with said teacher and told her that she shouldn't make all kids see the world through HER eyes.

He then asked if she knew that some children saw the world differently than adults did?

I'll never forget how proud I was of my dad then. I knew he had my back...always. He was an artist of some note himself and understood creative minds.

The three shots above are all favorites of mine. There is pure joy in seeing the world in other light spectrums.

The 'boys' caught enough for us to have a meal. Holy Cow! Steve cleaned them for us and what a wonderful meal we had Thursday night.

On the way home from fishing, I snapped more IR shots out the back seat window.

It was fun to do. While Steve drives and chats with Rich, I look out the window and enjoy being driven around. After all, I've been THE driver for 10 years now. 

The shot below is fascinating to me. If you leave Prairie duChien by one of the back roads, you drive by some interesting spots...

What stories does this wrecked houseboat have to tell? Steve asked if he should stop the car so I could get out and really shoot. [What a good friend!] 
I didn't need to...

And then we went past this large boat. Was it a boat house was it a a tug? I have no idea. However, it looked to be the perfect place to have a spook house. ...Errrr, spook boat!

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Sun, not too hot, clouds, a slight breeze, and good company.

And a happy Fisherman.

...and off we went....

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.

Gone Fishin'

 Wednesday was fishing day. 

Steve showed up a bit early but that was good because we had to load up his car with a wheelchair, lunch, Oxygen tanks, and all the stuff that would accompany us for a trip to the river and a search for some fishing.

Steve brought a patio umbrella he'd picked up somewhere along with plenty of zip ties to attach the umbrella to different wheel chair access points to provide shade for Rich. This was the first place we stopped at.

It is called Veterans Park in DeSoto, WI. We are in a backwater pond that is stocked once in a while with fish from the Fish Hatchery up the road [I think]. The guys caught a lot of little sunfish and really had a lot of laughs over that.

We moved to another place along the river and tried fishing there. This was at Gordon's Bay.

That didn't work out very well, so we ended up at Blackhawk County Park further up the road. Eventually the guys decided that the fish -- at least the bigger ones just were not in the mood to bite.

[this was shot in infrared black and white which causes green leaves
to show up as white!]

There were no bugs, but a lot of cottonwood seeds were falling all over the place. I'd prepared the snacks of Garlic Ring Baloney with fresh cheese curds and Ritz Crackers. 

I had water and soda along with wipes to clean up the wormy fingers. Of course neither of the ol' boys worried about dirty fingers, they just wiped their hands on their jeans and laughed.

Good ol' boys will be good ol' boys. The two of them reminisced about their days of training and hunting with coon hounds. They talked about the farms they used to go to and all the nights my husband took Steve's son out hunting while Steve worked night shifts at the Foundry.

They relived their younger days with so much laughter and fondness. 

Steve is thinking of taking us on tour next week to visit his son "Little" Steve who is now in his 40's. Little Steve has his own body shop/repair service. Steve's daughter is the person who gave the horse we called Fifteen a new home. 

Her new name is Honey and she gets attention every single day.

Old connections made new.
Old Friends connect.

Ol' Boys.
Gone Fishin'.

Days spent making life worthwhile and a life well lived.

Just this

Someone suggested that I wear bubble wrap...hmmmm...

Good idea? Maybe!

Moe to Joe: We aren't catching anything!

Joe: From what I understand it doesn't matter. It's just relaxing to sit and do nothing. Relax and enjoy the fresh air.

Moe: And you are still wearing that silly hat.

Joe: It suits me. Let's fish.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Possibilities

Getting close to surgery!

Mondays are usually a disaster. Between phone calls from his doctor at the VA, other calls, and getting him ready for PT,...well...Mr. Procrastinator sometimes has issues with Mondays. It is like nudging a kid who doesn't want to go to school and says...
My tummy hurts
My head hurts
I don't wanna...
No, he doesn't say those exact words, but his actions are those of 'faces' and expressions when I set things up for showers or set out a change of clothes.
He'd rather not go, he tells me. I have learned that arguing is of no use. Sometimes I win, sometimes I loose.
His doctor from the VA called at 8am, which was scheduled. That set his whole day off from track. He doesn't like to get up before 9am.
Period.
He was grouchy and well, just his ol' Grumpy Self.
He talked with the doctor for about a minute and then handed me the phone.
His PCP who was not very cooperative in helping me figure out some things needed for surgery seemed all bright and cheery.
Whatever. She suddenly wanted to be helpful. This after I bypassed her for the cooperative Psychiatrist.

The extreme humidity we are having doesn't help much. Nor does the mornings of dense fog and over cast days.

The folks at Pulmonary Therapy are Angels and helped him through his rough Mondays. It seems that Mondays for whatever reason are really tough for him.
We discussed the ever present Monster of MDD or Major Depressive Disorder and he said he had no idea why he was the way he was and why things were so hard for him.
By afternoon, he is usually more cheerful and by evening, he is more like the guy I once knew.

Anyway....

On Saturday...
In order to break up Rich's monotony of TV binging, I offered to take him for a drive out to Runge Hollow where we have fished once in a while. He said NO at first and then agreed to it.
It was a nice drive.

I had a chance to park up above the earthen dam and bring out my camera. The day was rather dull looking and very grey so I thought I'd see what happened with my IR filters.

Even with barely any sun, I was able to get some great IR reflections off the grass.

And then the black and white 850nm filter...

It changes the perspective by making the green bright and the water dark. This shot would have been dreary in color.

And lastly, some X's in the water and trees from down by the lake itself.

This always reminds me of how my Grandmother used to claim that she left X's in the water at the good fishing spots.

Rich looked around and at the fishing dock then claimed he'd have to walk too far or...it didn't look like a good fishing spot. I cheerfully pointed out that I'd seen good sunfish reports from this man made lake and that the fishing dock would be a perfect place to sit after surgery and toss worms into the water.

Grumpy vs. Hopeful.
Sometimes I think that is my role in life.
He points out the misery, I point out the possibilities.

And life goes on.

No Time to catch up!

Well, let's say that it has been busy around here...

And that should catch us up to today....

What should we do today?

"What do you want to do?" I asked hubby as he sat at the kitchen window and stared out at the cloudy dismal looking day.

"Is it going to clear up?" he asked. I checked the weather. 40% chance of showers on and off during he day. I told him that.

"Is it going to clear up?" he asked again.

I shrugged and then replied, "Well what are you thinking?"

"Well, if it is going to clear up, then we could try Runge Hollow and go fishing." He stated.
Rich had fishing on his mind. Funny how when a thought these days comes into his head, it gets stuck and rumbles around repeatedly over and over. No fault of his though, the though rattles about until we address it in one way or another.

"We have rain gear," I reminded him, "some pretty good rain gear. Why don't we just grab it and go? We can pick up worms on the way through town."

He stared out the window for a bit without seeing anything. Once that look concerned me as he would be having obtrusive PTSD thoughts of combat long ago.
Now after the stroke he had told me, things are just blank. Nothing is there.
He seems more soft and not as harsh around the emotional edges.

I got up from the table and grabbed his rain gear and then directed him step by step on items we needed. On days like this, he needed more than the usual guidance.
In no time at all we were headed towards Runge Hollow.

And it did rain off and on.
You can't see it in these shots, but when we had 6 or more inches in a 24 hour period in July the water rose in this man made lake up at least 5 feet, the leaves on the trees on the opposite edge of the lake had mud on them.

Runge Hollow Dam holds back some of the Bad Axe River and keeps it from flooding out those downstream from it. Our county has a series of man made lakes and dams that are flood control projects.

We fished the rest of the day and enjoyed the peace and quiet of having the place all to ourselves. And yes, we got enough to have a nice supper on Friday night.

The other side of the Dam...

Our fishing spot for most of the afternoon.

If you look hard you can see Rich down next to the intake. There is a vehicle in the upper left driving up County Road Y which is on top of the dam.

A view across from the dam where the boat dock used to be along with the wheel chair access. I believe they were washed away in the flood last September of 2016.

I learned that just because it is raining, it doesn't mean you can't go fishing.
I recall something my Grandfather Fred used to say.

"It's raining outside, let's have a picnic!"

It never really made sense. But now I can say..."It's raining outside! Let's Go Fishing!"

Crazy

Wednesday:Trees fall down...
We have had so much rain this month that trees are just tipping over. Of course most of the mess is behind our little red shed.
This has been a problem all summer long since the giant oak fell over. The oak fell on a box elder and split it and took three other trees and bent them over at the same time.

One locust was damaged, an elm lost its top and was caught up in another small oak tree.
That one decided to just complete its fall the day before yesterday.

I did what any person with electric rope fencing might do. I restrung it over and under the downed trees.
Fence restored and ready for the next small disaster.

I spent most of the afternoon cutting weeds off from the cattle's wood pasture fence. I've given up on maintaining the Merry Meadow, Rich can't trim the pasture with the tractor and brush hog this year. I'm pulling the mules out of there as the pasture is not very good and very weedy.
The burdock is getting pretty bad there too. I have 5 mules with burdock tails to clean up.

I won't put them back in that section again. The Meadow is not our land but we have kept it mowed and cleaned for over 10 years so that the absent landowner could drive through it during deer hunting season.

Now absent landowner wants to charge us for keeping the weeds clipped and grazing it.
Since we sold off most of the equine, there is no reason to keep trying to maintain land that isn't ours.

Saturday morning was incredible. I didn't think I'd go up to the ridge to watch the sun come up, but for some reason I decided to go and take a peek.
It was worth the effort.

I tried a new method of trying to catch both the sunrise and the foreground with the camera.

I liked this result. I focused for the sky for shot number one, and focused on the soybeans for shot number two. I used a tripod of course to keep things steady.
I merged the two shots together and am pleased with the outcome.

When I drove back to the house I was met by Little Richard, the guard pony. What a hoot. He has no fear of machinery or vehicles. I love it that he will stand in the driveway and wait for you to come out and pet him.
He will move then.

On Thursday we went fishing. Rich loves to fish. I know there are things I need to be doing at home but since his stroke Rich finds fishing to be comforting and peaceful.

And Friday night we ate like Kings. Fresh produce from the garden along with fresh fried pan fish and ... a first for us...Catfish!

Saturday was bug catching day with the neighbor kids. I went hiking at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve afterwards.

I know my sequence of events are not in order. But I sure have had a busy and productive few days.

Today is adventure day at Awesome Creek. Since the last flash flood there is an area that was created that will be perfect for young children to play and splash in. No large boulders, just sand and small pebbles.

Which reminds me. I need to take a bucket to collect some small pebbles.