Changing Seasons -- jcarolek

Seems the seasons are changing. I can feel the coolness in the air and the hickory nuts are, once again, bombarding me when I venture out in the woods. I collected a sackful today, the first of many, I am sure.



As I walked, I thought about these things that are so familiar and yet are forever

Just a Barrel of Monkeys -- jcarolek

I'm a real Facebook know nothing. Seriously, I just DON'T get the whole point of it, or the allure of it. But there's that little niggling thing called "peer pressure." You know what I'm talking about. Since everyone ELSE is so in love with this Facebook thing, I suppose I SHOULD try to wrap my little pea brain around it...(I'd honestly rather be fishing, but I digress).

So, I dunno, maybe two months ago I signed up with this here Facebook and I was "on my way..." I've always been an extremely geographically challenged individual and Facebook offered me yet another opportunity to be "challenged." I did figure out how to fill out the information I wanted to share with others, and was successful in loading a photo,

Twists and Turns -- jcarolek

We took the little boat out late yesterday afternoon. We were going to fish, but we were going to explore a little. Rather than heading out to the more open part of the pond, we decided to see how far we could get into the marshy area through which the little creek runs that feeds the pond. When the dam broke three years ago and most of the water drained from the pond, the beavers moved their operation from one side of my property to the other, to the trickling creek. In almost no time, there was water on the side of my property where until then there had been just marshy land. Now that the water is back in the pond, I have water on three sides of my property, literally making my parcel a peninsula. It was this newer beaver dammed area that we paddled into, gently, carefully, following the twists and turns to get around the numerous varieties of vegetation and fallen trees, etc.

Three Years Later and Now Without a Face -- jcarolek

It's hard to believe I have been "blogging" for three years. I looked at the left menu on my blog page and was amazed at the list of months, years worth of blogs. It isn't as if I haven't deleted any, either. I've deleted plenty.... Still, I rather like keeping the majority of the entries I have made over the years, because I find it interesting to look back

Another lovely day -- jcarolek

The weather was delightful today and we took advantage of it to take the little boat out for an afternoon of fishing. We have only been catching small fish so far this summer, but last night, fishing from the pier, I caught something big. I got him all the way to the pier before he broke my line. It was pretty dark, but I saw him, his size anyway, and it was a pretty big guy. Still, it got away and that was OK. It was the end of the evening anyway.

We had fun on Saturday, Ted -- jcarolek

Dad turned 75 last week and Saturday we had a birthday celebration for him -- an excuse to get together, to laugh, to eat, to talk and to sing. Truthfully, any excuse will do, a 75th birthday is a pretty good reason to have a little fun, I think.

More fun with copperheads -- jcarole

She was hot on my heels as I headed down the path to the pond. It had been a few days since we'd made our way through the woods to do a little fishing and she was not about to miss the opportunity for a freshly caught treat. About half way down the path we came upon a fallen tree. Well, I thought about taking the time to go back to the house, get the chain saw, and clear the path....but I wanted to go fishing. So, I took a photo of the tree and then took a detour around,

Time is Flying so Fast These Days -- jcarolek

I spent the first week, the week of required work that took me to the Los Angeles area, bemoaning the fact that the temperatures never rose above 72...from the 4th of July through the 11th. It was too chilly for this east coast native to enjoy the hotel's outdoor swimming pool. I wanted to be able to swim, to relax at the end of the hard, long workday, but I was NOT interested in catching a cold in the process! Nevertheless, I had fun visiting with friends for supper one night and taking in Redondo Beach another.

Worms -- jcarolek

This past weekend was a most enjoyable one for me. We had a little get together here at the house. My daughter, her husband and his parents, who were visiting from France (their first visit to the US), Dad, my step mother, and my sister joined us for a cookout Saturday. Jenn, Benoit and the parents arrived Friday night, after touring Williamsburg,VA. They spent the night and in the morning, after breakfast, headed down to the pond to do a little fishing.

"Do you have worms?" I asked as they prepared

Reflections -- jcarolek

Another year has passed.

Today makes 26 years since I gave birth to my youngest child. June 16, 1983 in Tallahassee, FL was hot and muggy...that summer had not officially begun was irrelevant to my reality of carrying an extra 18 pounds while chasing a two year old around. I was hot and uncomfortable and I was ready already! And so, in the early morning hours that day, I was happy to know I was on my way, she was on her way...after nine months of complete togetherness, we would finally meet.

She's all grown up now, as is her brother, two years her senior. They are both living their lives in relative happiness, or certainly, in the pursuit thereof. These days I no longer sweat out the summers in the heat and humidity of Florida, having traded that locale for the less hot, less humid summers of Virginia.

There's more time to get things done, with the kids grown and all, and yet, I find I am never caught up. All winter I plan for that day when I will be able to get outside and take care of all of those "important" things...like cleaning the roof and cleaning out the gutters, repairing the deck post, and the back porch screen.... And here it is, easily two months since that glorious day presented itself and I still have not completed these tasks. We did at least start on the roof last weekend and the gutters this weekend.