Hatchery Visit – Near the End of October

After we went to the Manchester Whitewater Park we proceeded on to the state trout hatchery located east of Manchester. There is a small springfed stream there and it has been upgraded with the bank hides. The bank hide consists of poles driven down into the stream bottom. Then planks are run from these poles to the shore. Rocks are then piled on top and eventually dirt fills in the gaps in vegetation grows. This provides an excellent location for trout and protects them from predators and fisherman.

This stream has a 14 inch limit and is artificial lures only. This along with the bank hides and water quality leads it to be one of the most natural trout spots in Iowa. Flyfishing in Iowa is limited to a very few locations. The trout need to be in the wild for some time before they become quality flyfishing. Near dusk I have seen some huge trout motor out from under the bank hides. They are pretty smart and difficult to catch.

Most of the streams are stock and the fish are caught rather quickly.The Manchester hatchery provided quality fishing and was the closest to where I lived. I could drive up after work and fish until dusk. Then home again at a reasonable hour. The other good fisheries were 2 to 3 hours away one way.

Inside the hatchery are the rearing pens and also a pond where they keep the brood stock. The brood stock are healthy large trout. It is amazing to see a few hundred of them motoring around the pond. There are browns, rainbows and bookies. Occasionally the state stocks the brood size fish in a stream. with bank I There is fish food available so visitors can feed them.

The visit to the hatchery was more emotional than I expected. It was one of my favorite spots to fish because it was close and had top-notch fish. The spot I'm at in the photo was one of my favorite spots. I would wait up from downstream and fish that little bend. I caught a lot of trout in that spot. It was also that stretch of stream that was my last trout fishing trip. I remember tripping a lot. I remember falling on my rear end. I tried kneeling down and fishing and I would fall forward. Fortunately I did not fall into the water. That would’ve spooked the fish. I found this lack of mobility very confusing. I did not know it then but MS was exerting its influence. I came home and was sad about my inability to fish. I prayed later that evening and felt much better. I remembered that God is good and has blessed me abundantly.

Atlas Visits – Near the End of October

Last weekend, Tom and Atlas visited. They were here it from Friday till Tuesday. We had some interesting cat and dog interactions. Recently my wife started brushing Macy in the evening. Macy loves this more than anything. She now has my wife wrapped around her paw. It is taken Macy four years but she finally has her trained to know what the Macy wants. Because of the brushing Macy has become attached to my wife. This introduced a conflict because Atlas is very attached to my wife. When he is here he follows her wherever she goes and I refer to him as her shadow.

Friday evening Atlas was on one side of her waiting for her attention. Macy was on the other side of her on the couch waiting to be brushed. It was pretty funny seeing their jealousies over her attention. Since Macy wanted to be brushed she didn’t run away when Atlas was near. He went over by her after she jumped down on the floor. She tolerated him until his nose got too close and then she squawked at him and hit him on the nose with her paw.

She is declawed in front so no damage done. He did jump back and Macy’s training of him continued. When his nose gets too close she responds. We laughed very hard! Some of these photos show their interaction. We didn’t get photos never actually hitting him. Later she seemed to tease him by going out where he could see her and when he came by she would run out of the dining room table where he couldn’t get to her. It’s pretty obvious she thinks he’s a silly dog.

Throwback Thursday

This week sure has gone fast. It’s already Thursday. We went on a road trip Monday. Tuesday Tom was still here so I didn’t post anything. I still have things to post about last weekend but will have to do that later. Today I’ve been thinking of past kayaking trips. I had a dream of kayaking last night so that is what is on my mind.

My favorite place to paddle was the Mississippi River. Between McGregor and Gutenberg specifically. A couple times I went from Gutenberg to Clayton. Once I went from Clayton to McGregor. These pictures are from about nine years ago and show some of the scenes I saw. The bridge photo is at McGregor. The boat shown in the Clayton picture was my Caribou. It was my favorite boat that I ever owned. This is the boat I took on big open water as well as the Mississippi.

I always wanted to paddle at Stillwater Minnesota. I had always hoped to go up the St. Croix but never made it there. Usually I limited kayaking to day trips. Overnight trips were always a lot more work and required a lot of planning.

Road trip – Manchester

We enjoyed a nice weekend. Tom and Atlas were here. My wife took Monday off of work and we went up north. I wanted to go to the trout hatchery east of Manchester. On the way we stopped at the new Whitewater Park on the Maquoketa River. It is right in Manchester. The water was low so we didn’t see the Whitewater as is meant. We did have a good time. There is a nice paved trail with a portion that goes down near the water. Tom took Atlas for a walk on the sandbar. When coming back Atlas just ran through the water so he could catch up with my wife. He’s very attached to her.
It was incredibly dry that day. It is been over three weeks since rain. There was so much dust and harvest dust blowing in the air I felt I could taste it even the next day. Fortunately it rained Tuesday. Tom took Atlas home Tuesday afternoon. We sure enjoy their visit. Alice is now over 80 pounds. He still thinks he’s a little puppy though.

Book report: the Chosen Trilogy

Recently I completed a three book set of historical fiction that was based on the life of Daniel the prophet. The books were the Chosen trilogy by Kalo Shlomo. Overall the books were good but not great. Of course historically they matched the life of Daniel as recorded in the Old Testament.

There was a fictionalized portion on his early life growing up in an Israeli village. His family and friends were fictionalized and contained interesting characters. In Daniel’s recorded life you can clearly see the influences of the imagined characters.

The sections that dealt with his “being carried away to Babylon” were fictionalized. They were fascinating and greatly entertaining. After he arrived in Babylon the story follows a very plausible line as to how he advanced in the king’s court. As I’m sure you know he became one of Nebuchadnezzar’s main advisors.

All the main stories were included such as Daniels three friends who endured the fiery furnace and came out alive. Daniel in the lion’s den was well done. Nebuchadnezzar’s descent into madness and living as a beast for seven years was also well done and a fascinating read. Overall I found the books entertaining and probably recommend them to someone who reads a lot. I would not recommend them for occasional readers.

Fire Camp

Last Saturday night it was perfect weather to have a campfire in our fire ring. One of my wife’s sister’s and her grandson, Carson joined us. Carson is the one with the little dog, Lucy. Carson is seven and a bit of a character. A number of years ago he referred to the campfire as “Fire Camp”. Since then we have always referred to it as fire camp.

Years ago Carson determined there needed to be fire camp rules as well as a fire boss! Carson helped document the rules and Carson is always the fire boss. The rules I can remember are 1) you must bring a buddy to fire camp. Then you must ask each other how their day went. Further rules dealt with safety issues. No firearms or cigarettes allowed! Other rules were included for adding wood to the fire in a safe manner.

The wood needed to be gently set into the fire on the upwind side. My wife broke the rules by dropping the log into the fire on the downwind side. The sparks flew up and Carson informed us she was in violation. He then said it was okay because it was her fire so she could break the rules. Fire camp with Carson is very entertaining!

Dog pictures versus Macy pictures

I realized while looking over my blog that I have many more pictures of dogs than of Macy. The explanation is that the dogs are always accompanied by other people and they take the photos for me. I’m no longer able to use my camera. So when I post photos of Macy they are usually old. Today’s photo is an exception.

You’ve heard of grumpy cat. Macy is a scowly cat. When she doesn’t like something she scowls and puts her ears back. Another problem is that she changes her behavior when someone has a camera out. I tried to get my son to take a picture of her scowling and this is the best I could get. She is very uncooperative. When people try to take movies of her playing she stops and lays down and just stares at them.

She must have some self-image issues that stem from her childhood. Maybe people showed her magazines with retouched cat photos so she developed a complex. One of her many nicknames is Old Scowler.
I want to get a photo of her scowling but that seems problematic because she won’t cooperate. But scowl she does. If I could get pictures of her showing her annoyance may be she could be an Internet sensation like grumpy cat!