Saturday Night Sixties

It’s Saturday night again. Time to relax and set the wayback machine for the 60’s, my favorite decade.

Symbols, Facade, Fame & Reality

Recently I visited a brand new, multi-story Walgreens in the heart of Chicago. The entire store was bustling with customers purchasing everything from makeup to greeting cards to alcohol to sushi. And the loneliest part of the store... the "newsstand".

As someone who grew up with the idea that writing, literature, newspapers and discussion of the above was a part of the civic fabric, like exiled writers in twentieth century Paris, the deadness of this scene confirms that these are past dreams gone for good. Today none of these things would happen tied to newspapers or a newsstand; maybe at a Starbucks? I think not.

On the other hand I saw the Wall Street Journal magazine for the weekend which contained a day in the life of Ariana Huffington of the Huffington Post, who sold out her "empire" to the purveyors of dial-up lines and dusty past web glories. On the top she is petitioned by nine bloggers who want to get paid for their work... but later that night she signs up two new bloggers seeking to join her site.

But why would bloggers flock to a site that apparently incites writers to picket for lack of proper payment to writers?  Fame, of course, and the personal validation that comes from having your name out in public, whether online or on TV.  Up above you can see the crowds forming outside the 10pm evening news which is broadcast live on State Street in Chicago just south of Lake Street.  Perhaps the camera will pan out into the audience outside and you could be on TV, even if just for a moment?

People wanting to get paid for writing this sort of thing are deluding themselves; there is certainly money to be made on the Internet, but to think that these nickels will trickle down to the writers of standard fare such as that found on AOL is ludicrous.  You are being paid in fame, such as it is, and when you step aside and demand compensation you'll just be passed up by someone else willing to do it for free.

Dan and I are constantly chuckling and those wanting to join a site like "Life in the Great Midwest", ostensibly to "get their foot in the door" and begin writing.  I'm sure many / most are shills for products or marketers trying to get their name out there; we aren't interested.  Not that we aren't interested in new members of the site - we found our good friend Gerry when he asked if we could write for the site and we said sure and now we are lucky to know him (plus a lot of good articles and photos, to boot).

I do feel sorry for writers that are used to some sort of semblance of control and structure in their lives.  You worked in a newspaper or publishing house and received a salary, benefits, an annual raise, and the possibility of promotion.  At the top there was some glamour and the ability to meet someone famous and take part in their fame, however fleeting.

Those days are as gone as the dead newsstand and the abandoned Borders bookstore a bit south of the TV studio on State Street.  No one is paying you for content because, even if someone is making money off it, someone else will create roughly similar content for them, for free. Money has to be made off some other part of the site, or by becoming a public figure, or something else.

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

Chicago Storm

A friend of mine took this great picture of a recent storm that hit Chicago.

Cross posted on Chicago Boyz

Single Line

While in Pennsylvania I saw something that I don't remember seeing before... the single stripe highway.

A great view from right outside the car's window.

Wild Summer

We recently visited a fantastic tavern / restaurant called Flannery's in Pennsylvania. Look at the great beer selection on tap.

Unfortunately it is the opposite of a "wild summer" for Carl so this was my beverage of choice. Actually I am getting quite attached to this diet Ginger beer, although you can't find anything like this at a typical bar or restaurant so I'll need to settle for a non-diet ginger beer if available.

Changing Sox

When watching the Sox game last Sunday the announcers cut in to inform the viewers that Kevin Youkilis had been traded by Boston. The moment it happened Boston puled him out of the game where he was on base and video showed him saluting the Red Sox fans while heading for the clubhouse. Both White Sox announcers claimed they didn’t know what team Youkilis was headed to. BUt they knew. I had my guess.

This year the Cubs hired wonder boy Little Teddy Epstein away from Boston to be their G.M. so the logical destination to me was that Youkilis would most likely show up at the world’s largest urinal on Clark and Addison.

Was I wrong.

Later in the day a press conference was held and Ken Williams (Sox G.M.) announced the acquisition of Kevin Youkilis to shore up 3^rd base, their weakest position. After picking my jaw up off the floor I had to tell the wife. Her: Who’s he? Me: He’s the Red Sox 3^rd baseman, a three time MLB all-star who always managed to eat the White Sox for lunch on many past occasions. And did he ever.

It’s not often the Sox manage to acquire a veteran player not only with excellent credentials but a proud gamer who gives his all as well. In the past I recall them signing Jose Canseco, Albert Belle and Manny Ramierez just to name a few as mid to late season veterans intended to take our team to the next level. They all failed.

Yesterday I had the time to watch the Sox play a day game @ Minnesota, a team who for the past decade ate our lunch consistently. Now the Twinkies are just that, our desert.

Youkilis’ stats since becoming the new White Sox 3^rd baseman are as follows.

3 games, 12 at bats, scored once, five hits, one double, 2 RBI 1 strike out and no walks for a .417 batting average, a slugging percentage of .549 and (here’s my favorite) an on-base percentage of .961!

All said, this is probably the best mid-season move the Sox have made in decades (IMO) and one that greatly enhances the chances for post-season play.

Noting gets by him at 3^rd and his presence in the lineup have made the Sox an instant contender in the AL Central.

Up until now I have been a casual SOX observer, watching about 1/3 of the games so far this season. Now I am stoked.

Yesterday the Sox beat the Twinkies 12-5 to gain a 2.5 game lead in the AL Central. The Cubs lost to the Mets keeping their worst record in Baseball intact : ) Thank you Sweet Baby Jesus.

Thank you Mr. Williams. Thank you Mr. Reinsdorf. And welcome Mr. Youkilis.

Mercersburg Academy Chapel

Recently I had an opportunity to see the beautiful Mercersburg Academy Chapel and campus in Pennsylvania.

Here is a view of the campus library and a great hot rod there for a wedding pickup.

Here is a view of the stained glass inside the chapel.

It is a sign of our era that a wedding is the only time that I sit still without an electronic device of any sort for an hour and a half or so.

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

Fallingwater

I recently visited the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright house "Fallingwater". The home is located in rural Pennsylvania and I highly recommend a visit. This "iconic" view was taken from a path after the tour; in most of the photo's I've seen of Fallingwater on the web this must be the spot for these photos. This spot allows you to capture the two waterfalls and the house which are not visible from other angles.

The visit begins when you reach a reception area that is very well designed. You can sign up for a visit at a designated time and when you arrive you receive a number and then your group is called. The entire process seemed to run smoothly.

When your number is called you begin the five minute walk through a forest towards the house. Above is the view as we approached Fallingwater.

Our guide met us at the road next to the house. This was the last place you could take photos until you exit the house; they said this was because cameras dropped or dinged up the interior but likely it was also done to speed up the tour. Our guide seemed very knowledgable and helpful.

This is a view of Fallingwater from the other side. While touring Fallingwater I was struck at how modern the house was considering that it was built in the 1930's, over 70 years ago.

There are many architectural details that are interesting. In this photo you can see how the windows on both sides meet and when you open the windows you can't see the frames at all and it gives an "open" effect in the office. Throughout the tour the guide pointed out amazing details such as this.

If you'd like your own model of Fallingwater it can be had for only $61,000 in the gift shop. Note that Fallingwater cost about $150,000 to build in the late 1930's... but of course that would translate into many millions today.

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

CNG Vehicle

I recently took a cab ride in an unusual vehicle. I talked to the driver and he told me that it ran on compressed natural gas (CNG). You can see the blue CNG logo below the Ford logo on the right side. The driver said that the vehicle was assembled overseas in Turkey.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Fuel Prices & Performance

Per the driver - he filled up with approximately 8 "gallons" of CNG. This is measured as a "gasoline gallon equivalent" or GGE to try to provide an understandable metric for typical car owners. He said that this took him around 200 miles and cost around $2 per GGE. In Chicago terms this is probably about 1/2 the costs of what a gasoline powered truck would cost per mile (ignoring the higher acquisition costs of this custom SUV). This site shows the range of costs that customers are seeing per GGE. Per this site there are 6 CNG stations in Chicago with costs between $2 and $2.50 per GGE (costs are sometimes out of date by station and it is not always clear if prices are up to date). The driver also said that the power that the engine put out declined as it got emptier; I believe that this is different than how gasoline or diesel engines behave. The city of Chicago has a program to open CNG filling stations and subsidize cab companies to pay the extra up front costs of purchasing these customized vehicles.

The competitiveness of the CNG vehicles depends on several factors, most notably the price of natural gas. Since the price of natural gas is around $2 / MCF, it is at an all-time low. The price of natural gas (pre-fracking) peaked at around $14 / MCF, more than 7x its current price. Assuming that CNG "at the pump" moves with the cost of the underlying commodity, then you would go from about 1/2 the cost of gasoline (today) to up to 3x+ higher, if we had another price swing like that again in the United States, OR if we were exposed to the "market clearing" price of natural gas around the world.

Per this article in Reuters, the gap between the US rates and what foreign buyers (particularly Japan and Korea) is willing to pay is very significant.

The surge in gas output has made companies such as Chesapeake and Exxon Mobil's XTO victims of their own success, unleashing a surplus of supply that could keep prices -- and therefore profits -- depressed for decades. For them, selling gas to Japan or Europe -- which buys imported LNG at five or six times the domestic price of $2.50 per million British thermal units -- is essential to continue expanding their U.S. business, creating jobs in the process. The shale gas boom is on track to support 1.5 million jobs across the United States by 2015, according to an industry-funded study by IHS Global Insight. Export licenses will make big winners out of some firms such as Cheniere, which last year secured the first and, so far, only export permit from the Energy Department.

Taxation

Another element in the relative competitiveness of CNG vs traditionally powered vehicles is taxation. I am unaware of any specific taxes imposed on CNG when sold to fleets or vehicles as a retail product. For gasoline and diesel, however, taxes are imposed on each gallon. Per this source:

The United States federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon (cpg) and 24.4 cents per gallon (cpg) for diesel fuel. On average, as of April 2012, state and local taxes add 31.1 cents to gasoline and 30.2 cents to diesel for a total US average fuel tax of 49.5 cents (cpg) per gallon for gas and 54.6 cents per gallon (cpg) for diesel.

While it varies by state, it is safe to say that between 15% and 30% of the total cost of gas in "GGE" terms represents state and local taxes (depending on the price of gasoline, since some tax levies are "fixed" and some are a portion of the retail price). Thus if CNG prices "at the pump" are not taxed at a similar rate, this will provide a comparative advantage to CNG vehicles. Correction - there is a Federal excise tax on CNG approximately equal to gas & diesel. I don't know about state levies.

CNG and Policy

You can expect to see a growing debate on CNG in the future. There are many articles across the web about use of CNG vehicles for local fleets (which is growing), and other articles about use of CNG for long haul trucking (the infrastructure is not there today and the range is relatively short). There are proposals for incentives in the form of tax credits to push further investments in trucks, engines, and retail infrastructure. The issues around allowing US natural gas to be liquified and sold to foreign countries for its "market" price rather than being limited to the US, where it fetches 1/5 of the world-wide price, is another topic that will become a campaign and policy issue.

It is likely part of America's relative descent that we are even considering closing our borders and not allowing natural gas to sell at a market rate, thus benefiting our domestic customers. Typical economic medicine that free-market experts recommend generally call for removing subsidies that distort local economies, especially those tied to food and fuel. The fact that America is seriously considering forcing US owners of natural gas assets to sell their products to a captive market (by restricting the building of LNG export facilities and pipelines that would enable distribution) at a very large discount to what they would fetch overseas is the type of economic distortion that should raise eyebrows but is sadly all too typical of our current interventionist regulatory policies.

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

Monday Morning Blues

I Always Feel Like...

...somebody's watching me.

Saturday Night Sixties

We're back and it’s Saturday night again. Time to relax and set the wayback machine for the 60’s, my favorite decade.

Flight 93 Memorial

I recently visited the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania. The park is new and well laid-out and highly recommended. There are signs off the highway to direct you to the park and it seemed very well attended when I was there, on a beautiful Friday afternoon.



There are a series of introductory displays as you enter the park. This display shows the crew and passengers on Flight 93. You can see that there weren't many of them that day.



There were many parents with their children in hand. I could hear them trying to explain what the park was about, and it was difficult. September 11, 2001 was over ten years ago, and I have several nieces born since then, and other relatives too young to remember what 9/11 as it happened.



The wall is made up of 40 panels, one for each of the crew and passengers who died that day. Prior to the wall there is a black angled wall of sorts that is lower and you can see over it. I heard one of the park rangers explain that the lower black wall was to keep visitors off the open field which is a memorial site yet let them see where it occurred.



Flowers were left in front of several of the markers, and there were niches in the black wall prior to these panels where others laid out remembrances to soldiers, firefighters, and pilots.



Here is a brochure from the park. I am going to give it to my parents since they probably won't have a chance to visit Pennsylvania and see it in person. I highly recommend attending if you are in the area.

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

"Toy" Chicago

I was playing with my camera and found a "miniature filter" effect. I thought it was funny so here are a few shots of River North...

The "L" Train

City Fauna

Rat



Pigeon

Unsightly Rooftop Debris

In the city they don't built out they build up. When you first move into your condo you are amazed at the city view (if you have one). But then, after a while, you start to notice the details.

While buildings may lavish effort on their facades and interiors, often times they forget the roof. After all, who cares what the roof looks like. Your neighbors up above, that's who. Those in the middle of the photo collage, to give a feeling for all the condos in the mostly beige and white skyscrapers look down onto the smaller (mostly commercial) buildings. In the loop it is businesses looking at businesses while in River North and the Gold Coast it is mainly condos and hotels looking down on commercial buildings.

Upper left - ever wonder how they hang signs and lights off the side of the building? In this case it is a series of planters filled with concrete in a grid. At least they are neat, I guess. Upper right - there has been a puddle with floating debris (including that rope and those boards) up on that roof for SEVEN YEARS. I can't believe it doesn't drive the people beneath them crazy with leaking but, rain or shine, in all seasons, there is a big pond on that roof (in the winter it does freeze). Middle left - there is grass growing (it is dead now) in the large puddle on that roof. Middle right - a roof is a great place to store your cinder blocks, un-needed antennas, and the like, apparently. Also been there almost a decade. Lower left - a bunch of boxes and cartons have been strewn about on that roof for a while. Lower right - of all the rooftops this is the most amazing. That is a fully grown tree (in the winter it sheds its leaves) on the roof of the old firehouse. I have no idea how it gets enough purchase to stay on that roof in the high winds but it has been up there for at least seven years, changing with the seasons. Kind of like those trees that live on the rock face in the wilderness.

Monday Morning Blues

Happy Father's Day

To a great guy who always made the time to take me fishing.

Chicago By Night

Navy Pier fireworks viewed from Aqua

Full moon and the Aon Building (formerly Standard Oil)

The John Hancock Building

The Playboy Building

Cross posted at Chicago Boyz

Saturday Night 60's

We're back and it’s Saturday night again. Time to relax. Let’s set the wayback machine for the 60’s, my favorite decade.

Then And Now

Every year has its mile markers. There are birthdays, holidays and other seasonal activities that repeat annually. On occasion an annual event will inspire me to reflect on the past. Our annual fishing trip is one of those annual events.

In 50 years some has changed, much has not.

Me and the bro. 1961.

My first fishing trip to Ontario was in 1961. I was eight years old. My grandfather was in charge. He was the boss of everything. He owned the concrete plant where the whole family worked and owned the boat we used for family fishing trips. We followed his orders or else. He was the Polish version of Capo di Tuti Capi. 

Me on the left, Dad in the middle and the old man in the wheelhouse.

In the photo below the old man is on the left and his brother Chet on the right. If you click to enlarge you will see them holding a bear and a deer with a pile of ruffed grouse, ducks and fish on the ground. All this game was taken on one single trip to Lake Of The Woods (LOTW).


The photo was taken in the late 40’s after Uncle Chet returned from the war in Europe.

My guess would be autumn in 1948.

 

I am told they would go to Canada twice a year to catch and shoot wild game that he would serve in his tavern. I am in constant awe of their past outdoor success. I will never be able to duplicate that success in my lifetime during one single fall trip. LOTW was and still is an outdoor sportsman’s paradise.

We first stayed at a small and very rustic camp called Vic & Dot’s on the Whitefish Bay section of Lake of the Woods (LOTW). Cabins were knotty pine with no electricity. Indoor light was provided by gas lamps connected to an outdoor tank. Outhouses. A shower building. Pot belly stove. It was fun. The old man knew Vic’s father from going up north to hunt and fish since the late 40’s and we were treated well by their family.

During the winter Vic would go out with a saw and cut 2’ x 2’ x 3’ blocks of ice out of the bay. He would drag them to a large vented building made of cedar. Inside were cedar boxes that held the ice all summer long under a few feet of cedar sawdust. The ice was used for summer refrigeration.

Our days on Lake of the Woods back in the early 60’s put us on the water about 8am. We would not return until the ice filled big old red metal cooler with a white Coca-Cola logo embossed on the side was loaded with respectable sized fish. If that didn’t happen we stayed out late and came back very tired. The old man made fishing too much like work at times. In no way would he return to the dock in daylight view with a small catch for all to see.

For the past 20+ years we have stayed at Red Wing Lodge on the Sabaskong Bay section of LOTW. Red Wing is much more modern than Vic & Dot’s. Cabins have indoor plumbing and showers. Electricity comes from a hydro dam in Kenora ON. Mike at Red Wing installed a huge diesel powered generator that is capable of powering the entire camp for weeks in case of emergency. One more thing, the cabins have air conditioning. Yes, it can get very hot in the summer up north.

When in high school I lost interest in going up north on a family trip with the old man along. Besides, I discovered other interests such as women. My return to Canada didn’t happen until the old man was near his end, about 1978. When we returned to Canada my dad, the bro and I swore we would never make work out of a fishing trip again.

In the 60’s the trip could take up to 20 hours to get there. The same trip today now takes 13 hours because most of the route is now 4-lane paved highway. Back then our arrival time could take a few hours longer depending on how many Wisconsin bars and supper clubs the old man wanted to stop at.

Eventually we bought a new boat that offered comfort and speed. The average price for a small rental boat and motor could go anywhere from $500 per week to $650. Over time our 18’ Lund has almost paid for itself in rental savings.

Dad, Me and son Andy at the Red Wing dock about 15 years ago.

Four generations of my family have fished in Canada. Now my son goes with us so that makes him the fourth (but he couldn’t make it this year).

I honestly believe it is our enjoyment of the outdoors that has helped keep our nuclear family intact over the years. It all started by going to Canada with the old man. While he could be a jerk and hard to get along with most of the time, I must give him credit for initiating this annual trip.

One area of interest I have is collecting vintage fishing tackle. It’s another way to remind myself how some things have changed while others have not. Some of the vintage tackle belonged to the old man. Some I found at garage sales. My biggest haul was from a lady who worked with me years ago. Her dad passed away and her brother wasn’t interested in his two old tackle boxes. She knew I liked old tackle and gave them to me.

We use four different types of artificial lures on our Canadian trips as we always did. Each is best suited for select species during different seasonal conditions. As shown below, not much has changed in fishing tackle. What has changed are the hi-tech materials used in manufacturing them.

First and familiar to most is the crank bait.

Crankbaits.

In this example is the classic Rapala® minnow. It can be cast and retrieved or trolled behind the boat. They are made of balsa wood and come in a wide variety of sizes and color combinations. The lure on top is a vintage early 60’s model and the one below is about ten years old. Not much has changed in fifty years and they still work well. These lures are capable of catching any fish that swims.

The simple jig is the lure I would choose if I were allowed to have only one lure with me, or if I were in a survival situation.

Jigs.

 

While I have caught fish on bare jigs it helps to tip the hook with a minnow, leech or nightcrawler for a little scent and flavor. In the 60’s jigs were tied with deer hair such as the one in the photo above.

Deer hair is hollow so it has floating properties and becomes very active when twitched underwater. The bottom jig is a newer version with a plastic curly tail. These color combinations work well in LOTW.

A big bucktail is the staple in every muskie fisherman’s arsenal.

They are operated only one way, cast it over likely habitat, crank it in, open the reel bail as it nears the boat, stick the rod tip in the water and sweep the lure in a wide figure eight pattern before preparing for the next cast. Big muskies have been known to hit it on the figure eight movement and the theory is fish respond to the change in direction. Or not. I have seen my share of big muskies follow it in, follow the figure eight bucktail before swimming off with a F.Y. attitude.

Bucktails.

The bucktail on top is probably a late 50’s version and the bottom one is about five years old. The term bucktail is used because they are usually tied with deer tail hair. The one on top has a few feathers. I included it because I find it interesting.

When fishing for walleyes I would never go out on the water without first trying a spinner rig shown below.

Spinner Rigs.

Spinner rigs have been our go-to lures for walleyes for a long time. Some refer to these as the "Little Joe" which was a brand name from the 70's. on the bottom is a rod and reel from the 50’s with a brand name factory lure called the “June Bug Spinner” made by Shakespeare, also vintage 50's. After tipping the hook with a minnow, leach or nightcrawler the weight takes this rig to the bottom. The blade turns and attracts the attention of the fish as we troll in reverse making it move very slowly. They see and smell the live bait and chomp.

Spinner rigs can also be used with a very light weight and trolled above weedbeds. Modern rigs come pre-tied so if one color and blade size isn’t working the entire rig must be retied. This problem was solved when I decided to make my own rigs. Using a quick change attachment a new color and/or size of blade can be quickly changed without retying. Catching a fish on a homemade lure is also quite rewarding.

Finally there is the spinner bait, not to be confused with the spinner rig shown above.

Spinner Baits.

 

Old spinner baits were bucktail jigs with wires holding small chrome spinners. Modern spinner baits were developed by southern largemouth bass fishermen but we have found they are a killer bait for pike and muskie in the spring. They will also take smallmouth bass in LOTW. The past few years we discovered that bigger walleye still in shallow weedy water like them as well.

So many great memories, all brought to mind each June. There isn’t a year that goes by where we don’t talk about the way things used to be.


But we greatly appreciate the modern technology and conveniences we enjoy today,

Black Sash Test

Well, it has been announced to the gym that I have been asked to test for my black sash.

There is a lot going on with this announcement. It was very flattering.

This will be the first test for a black sash at our gym. There is one other person with a black sash at the gym besides the instructor. That person was given a black sash without testing - he spent a long time instructing and serving the gym. He has been there virtually forever.

So the black sash test will be something different. By the time I test for it sometime in December I will have been practicing Muay Thai for almost six years. But I think before I move forward, I should step back for a second.

Muay Thai is a martial art that typically does not have rank. In fact, there is no rank in Thailand. You are either good, or not. Here in the states, however, rank has been introduced to this art to give us something to strive for. Fortunately, rank is not given in our gym just because you pay. You really do have to earn it, unlike at some other places. Our gym is a bit unique in the fact that you don't really need to fight to achieve rank. Sure, we spar, but when I started this whole deal I told the instructor that I couldn't get hurt and get broken noses as I have a job and family. And for the most part that has been the case. I didn't take the fighting path, although I was close a few times and many have said I would be a very good fighter. This isn't to say that I have never been hurt. Every time I leave the gym something is bruised, cut, or scraped. That is just part of the game. It is a ring sport, not tiddly winks.

Back to the future. My test will be one of conditioning, technique, sparring, and everything else. In addition, I need to write a paper about my journey and read it to the class. I sort of laughed at this part since I have been blogging the whole thing - it will be very easy for me.  I think this part (and other parts of the test) have to do with my instructor's TKD background.  These are certainly not Muay Thai things.

In addition, I will have to create my own twenty or so count thai pad drill and I will have at least six private lessons with the head instructor to prepare me for the test.  Won't that be fun sparring him?

I will be adjusting my conditioning to allow for more anaerobic activity, which means my distance running and cycling will suffer, but I will be doing more sprinting and hard/fast cycling instead. A lot of people from the gym will be there for my test and it will be intense.

I will be glad when it is over.

Getting my black sash will be a proud moment for me and my instructor. I have outlasted every single person at the gym since I have started except one. Dedication is the word that comes to mind.

Early June. Up North.

To me there is no better time for a successful Canadian fishing trip than early June. Can't argue with 40 total years of experience, both good and bad. I prefer the early June odds.

This year we were a group of five, two less than last year.

Along for the trip beside myself were The Bro, The Swat Team (Tom and Pat) along with Pat the cop’s dad, retired cop Tony.  We had a lot of laffs and caught a lot of fish.

Later I will publish the obligatory fish photos. Here are some landscape images for now.

Each year brings it’s own surprises across the border, usually all good. This year it happened to be the earlier-than-usual spring season and a seasonally odd but stable weather pattern that had us confounded on the first day or so of fishing, when our catch was lighter than usual. Ice out usually occurs in early to mid May but this season it was late March. They had very little snow during the dark months.

Having a full moon was not good either. Fishing usually sucks during the full moon cycle but only for those who fail to adapt.  Not that I even see the moon up there since the sun sets about 10pm, well after I retire to my bunk and before 4am when I awake.

Another weather phenomenon for early June this year was the dry air, clear bluebird skies and light variable winds all week long, except for the final day. The sun was as strong as I recall while in the high altitudes of Colorado. Last week I soaked myself in spf50.

Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario is part of a geological anomaly called the Canadian Shield. It consists mainly of sparse soil, pines, lakes, bogs and rock.

We caught plenty of fish. We always do. After all, it was early June. We rely on our years of experience fishing and vast amounts of time we have spent on the water. My guess is we caught three group walleye limits last week, fried and ate two limits. Then my neck sprouted gills. We brought home the rest.

We’ll be back next year. My guess would be in early June.