Preparations

Posted by on June 2, 2021 Comments Off on Preparations
A tree fallen across a trail.

3 miles at a time. That’s how we do it. The loop we walk through the woods runs almost exactly 3 miles from getting out of the Jeep through to getting back to it. The trip we have planned for this summer is about 6 miles on the average day. With a current pace of 3mph, that’s about 2 to 2.5 hours a day on the trail. Not a long time. Of course, the trip is in PA, so the terrain will be loaded with ankle-rolling rocks and other nasty stuff.

But to prepare ourselves, we walk our loop. 3 miles at a time. Next week, we’ll be doing 2 loops with each trip. And then we’ll load up the packs. We’ll be ready.

Water

Posted by on May 24, 2021 Comments Off on Water
A view across the water with a paddle in the lower portion of the image.

Late May and the kayak is touching the water for the first time. The past few weekends were just a bit too cool. Funny how the same temperature in the fall won’t be nearly the same barrier that it is today. That’s the difference between warming up and cooling down.

It was quiet enough. A few people out fishing. More people just paddling or motoring around. Only electric motors are permitted in this body of water. The water was higher than last season which made passing under the bridge to get to the larger section of the reservoir a bit more treacherous for taller folks.

It was wonderful to glide across the water and get outside in general. For some reason, this past winter was very closed in and left a feeling of claustrophobia. Anything to stretch the arms or legs is welcome.

Warm

Posted by on May 21, 2021 Comments Off on Warm
The bent remains of an antenna.

There are artifacts everywhere. Bits and pieces of things that were. In this case, it’s a file on a hard drive that lives on a slowly failing computer. It opened accidentally when I launched an application and a project that is years old now is staring at me. I should finish it.

What is it? A series of essays that center around the guitar and the twists and turns of my life. I wasn’t always in a good place emotionally and the guitar has for years been an anchor or a lighthouse. Either holding me in place or at least showing me how not to crash on the rocks.

So the polishing of these sketches and essays will start. Maybe they’ll never see the light of day. But after flipping through my buddy Jeff’s book of poems this week, it seems like something I should do.

Amazing poems, buddy. Amazing.

Snow

Posted by on April 22, 2021 Comments Off on Snow
Snow. In April. Naturally.

It’s April. I need to remind myself of my childhood. This was common then. No one counted on snow being gone until late May. But here I was getting shorts out of the closet and getting ready for fishing. I guess I could still fish, but snow makes it a little less attractive.

It amazes me that we’ve already mowed the grass twice at this point.

Snow.

Preparations

Posted by on April 16, 2021 Comments Off on Preparations

The weather is flirting with temperatures that would be acceptable for getting the kayak out and on the water. I don’t mind a little cold, but mixed with even a touch of rain and grey skies, being out on the water is a lot less fun. With that said, a boat doesn’t get itself ready for the season.

There is cleaning to do. Gear to check. And maybe a few improvements to implement before the season gets underway. One of those is a nifty GPS/Sonar unit for finding fish.

Yes, this is a toy for a toy. No, I don’t need a fish finder to assist in the Not Catching Of Fish. Sensor data is fun. Building out something like this for inclusion on the kayak will provide opportunities for learning something new and generally screwing around with fun stuff.

But that’s a project for next weekend. In the mean time, I will clean things up.