Trout fishing from boats on beautiful wild northwest lakes is a team sport in my family. We all have a stake in the outcome, so we work together to find where fish are biting, lure them to bite our hook, land, them in the boat, then clean and preserve our catch.
Odell Lake – Willamette Pass, Oregon – USA
My sister Diana, and brother-in-law Les, provide the gear; accommodating boat, motors, fishing poles, down-riggers, lures – the works. They spend much of the summer in their RV at a nearby campground and host other family members as we trek to the mountain for fresh water fishing and outdoor fun.
By the time I arrive for a week-long stay in July or August, Diana and Les have located where the fish are biting, though fish being quite fickle, there is no guarantee we will find or catch any! When someone gets a strike and reels a fish up to the boat, someone else nets it; a job as important as keeping the line taut without ripping the hook out of the fish’s jaw.
Diana with a her Mac – Lindy her netter. What a team!!Marie (Diana and Les’ daughter, my neice) and her BIG MAC
Marie insists on kissing her fish. An old tradition, this ritual centers around respect for the fish, and the idea that the kiss will bring you luck. Marie and I had great fun with Les and Diana last July, and I must say her instinct is correct as I believe she was the champion Mac fisher for the week!
Les with a mess of Kokanee/Silver Trout (land-locked sockeye salmon)
Kokanee were not biting when I visited this past summer, however as you can see from the above photo, there have been years when we came off the water with our limits. Cleaning stations (and appropriate tools) make the job of gutting and prepping the fish a reasonable chore, one we all participate in.
Marie and Diana place clean, slabs of brined Mac on smoking racks. Les inserts the racks into the smoker as Marie and Diana supervise. After the smoking process, we either vacuum pack the fish for storage in fridge or freezer, or can it in jars for shelf storage. I love opening a jar of fresh or smoked canned fish and making a meal of it!
At the end of our day, we sit around a fire with our beverages of choice, and then have a delicious home cooked dinner. Diana is an excellent chef, and I am a willing dishwasher! By dark, I am tuckered-out and since we arise early (before sunup) I am off to shower and get my beauty rest by 9:00 pm.
Jello resting under the bow. “Just don’t ask me to kiss a fish!”
As we enter the holiday season, please be kind and stay safe.🐾
Thank you Amy, for this opportunity to highlight a favorite family activity. Lots of good memories and laughs accompanied the making of this composition!
How I love the critters and living organisms that fit this category! Though I don’t often visit dry desert places, when my younger sister lived in San Diego, my older sister and I visited her and she treated us to many of the beautiful sights in the area. The photo below is a detail of cacti taken at the SD Botanical Gardens.
There are over 12,000 species of moss, so identifying them has not been a priority of mine, however, the shape of the one in the middle of the gallery below is a giveaway!
Trumpet Lichen
From the Pacific Ocean, many different critters are washed ashore. Though no expert, I have made an effort to learn what they are and a little about them. A year ago I posted this photo of a single pink blob, about 2-3 inches long that I found. Steve Morey (The Outer Shores) identified it for me – Rat-tailed Sea Cucumber.
“Active nocturnally, they vary in size, from small to over 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches) in length. They are found on, under and within rocks, rubble, and sand from the inter-tidal zone to depths that exceed 300 m (984 feet). They feed by ingesting large amounts of the sand/mud substrate and filtering out the organic matter, and are prey for fish, sea stars, crabs, gastropods, and marine mammals.” https://mexican-fish.com/sea-cucumber-of-the-molpadidae-family/
The above creature looks like a Moon Jelly that has produced a clone. I have searched the internet and have yet to find out what it is for sure. I welcome suggestions!
Alloniscus is the mystery midnight Rune Writer of the dunes. It is hard for me to be selective taking photos of their wonderful, abstract patterns in the sand! I like how the little plants accentuate the image above.
Our constant Pacific Ocean wave activity on the Long Beach Peninsula (WA) creates what I call ‘natural sand-paintings’. One of my favorites is this image that appears to me as an angel, with wispy wings on either side of the face, as it reaches for the feather.
Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾
Thank you Leya for another fun, weird and wonderful challenge!
As the 1989 centennial anniversary of Washington State approached, the timber and fishing industries that had supported the Long Beach Peninsula were in decline. Hoping to attract tourists, Ilwaco Port Director Bob Peterson spearheaded an effort to “paint larger-than-life murals on the exterior walls of buildings.”
Painted in 1986 by artist Thomas J. Teitge of Hailey, Idaho, this mural was a “window into the past” on the side of what had been the Doupé general goods store in Ilwaco. “Starting on the left side of the work, a contemporary child carrying a skateboard is walking toward the scene of downtown Ilwaco, circa 1920, complete with the narrow gauge railroad running down Main Street.”
The building has been unoccupied for many years, though it seems to be under perpetual renovation. I was sad to see that the above mural has been scraped away, leaving only hints of the original painting.
The above restored triptych, on the side of Long Beach Pharmacy in the center of downtown, depicts 1920’s era beachcombers and clam diggers.
This large mural by William Garnett, depicts net fishermen with horse seiners. It is on the side of what is now the Olde Town Trading Post coffee shop building in Ilwaco. When I drove by this week, I noticed scaffolding along the wall. I can only hope the mural is being restored. What a shame it would be to lose this illustration of peninsula history.
Painted by Colin Williams, this mural on the side of the Long Beach Elks Lodge depicts a historic shipwreck near Cape Disappointment, where the Columbia River enters the Pacific Ocean. Known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” thick fog banks, strong currents and waves, and powerful winds have been the peril of many ships since exploration began in the 15th century.
Painted Pacific County, Damian Mulinix, The Chinook Observer, July 25, 2017.The Long Beach Peninsula, Donella J. Lucero and Nancy L. Hobbs, Arcadia Publishing, 2004.
Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾
Thanks to Patti for another opportunity to shine a little light onto the history of this place I call “The Edge of a Continent.”
Here is another challenge right up my alley. When I’m outside, it’s not unusual to find me crouched down to get a photo of some small bit of life passing by. As Jello and I were on our way to the beach yesterday, a striking woolly worm stopped me. Also known as a woolly bear, legend has it that this caterpillar is a predictor of upcoming winter weather.
Isabella tiger moth larva (Pyrrharctia isabella)
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, “the wider the rusty brown sections…the milder the coming winter will be. The more black there is, the more severe the winter.” Looks like we’re in for stormy weather in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), USA!
Pelagic Goose Barnacle – Lepas anatifera
This may not look very ordinary to many of you, however along the beaches of the world, large colonies of pelagic goose barnacles attached to drifting wood end up on shore. If the tide rises enough to reclaim their floating home, they will survive, if not they perish. This particular colony, photographed 10/11/2021 had returned to the Pacific by the next day.
Not sure what particular flower made this lovely seed head, maybe dandelion or perhaps a relative. Regardless, this light seed soon to lift and dance in the wind, is a common sight in fields and meadows just about everywhere.
Mushrooms are abundant in the PNW from autumn through late spring, and year round where grounds are damp. Their visual contrast from the flora around them, always catches my eye. Rule number one in my “Mushrooming Without Fear” guide is, Never, never take a mushroom with gills!!! Even from this vantage, clearly this mushroom has gills and is best left untouched where it is. (Alexander Schwab)
Though dogs are very much an ordinary part of our lives, this is Jello – an extraordinary Beagle. I have featured her in several posts, and we spend much time together exploring the outdoors. Unfortunately, she has congestive heart failure which we are treating with medications to keep her as healthy and active as possible. It is a degenerative condition however, and there is no reversing it. So today, I end this post letting my followers know, as I face the reality she won’t be with me forever.
Wishing everyone safe travels. Please be kind and stay safe.🐾
A big thank you to I.J. Khanewala for hosting this challenge!
Walking With Eagles is a collection of original poems and photographs by Lindy Low Le Coq. A lifelong naturalist, amateur photographer and bird enthusiast, Lindy’s verse, composition and photographs open a window into the essence of her subjects. Her poems and photography reflect the rich natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest.
Bald Eagles mature over the course of five years. Walking With Eagles invites the reader to take a poetic and visual tour of this odyssey.
view ~ Walking With Eagles ~ in top menu bar for a preview, though the folio is much nicer!
Lindy Low LeCoq 