August, 2006

The Madison County Fair was this weekend in Rexburg. We went for a few hours Saturday and had a good time looking at chickens, and turkeys, and rabbits, and horses, and pigs, and sheep, and cows, and goats, and produce, and quilts, and commercial displays, and a lot of other stuff. Anyway, here are some photographs of the kids and the stuff.

Cabbage

Pumpkin

Kevin sliding down the inflatable slide

Ethan in an inflatable jumping thing

The Boys

My good friend Cliff was kind enough to take Jon and I down the South Fork of the Snake River for a little fishing. Cliff is a professional guide for an outfitter in the upper valley and for some reason volunteered to take us down the river on his day off. We managed several strikes of some big fish. I caught zero fish, Jon caught one big (17-18″) rainbow cutthroat hybrid and a smaller cutthroat. Cliff, after seeing us miss strike after strike threw out a streamer and landed a fat 18″ brown trout on his first cast. I learned that I have a lot to learn.

Cliff and Jon on the South Fork, 2006

Jon’s Fish

When I was a kid I spent considerable time in the pasture behind our house catching grasshoppers and other critters. I thought it was time I introduced my older boys to the fun. We went on a walk in the arboretum (really just a bunch of weeds and russian olives). The boys really did have fun.

Grasshopper on the Car, 2006

Kevin Stalking the Prey

Kevin and Ethan Examining the Catch

Ethan with a Grasshopper

So, I’ve been trying fly-fishing for a few weeks now. It’s both fun and incredibly frustrating. Susan’s father has been kind enough to lend me one of his fly rods for a while (thanks Keith). I figured since I live in the heart of fly-fishing country I’d better take advantage. So far I’ve caught a few smallish fish (9-12 inch brook, cut-throat, brown, and rainbow trout). I got some information on how and where to catch some big brown trout (20-24 inches) in the south fork of the snake river. Saturday Jon and I thought we’d give it a try. We fished the location for a few hours. I caught a couple of smallish brown trout and Jon caught one small fish. We didn’t really see any big fish until we were leaving when we saw an inaccesible huge fish. Oh well, we had fun and are learning a few things, I think. I’ll get it figured out soon enough. I gathered a few stone fly nymph shucks yesterday. Enjoy.

Stone Fly Shuck, South Fork of the Snake River, ID 2006

A few years ago I made the mistake of telling somebody that I had to Baby-sit Kevin for the weekend because Susan was out of town. She set me straight “When you watch your own children it’s called parenting not baby-sitting”. She has a point. Anyway, Susan is in Los Angeles this weekend (Wednsday through Saturday) attending a diabetes conference. Tracie was kind enough (crazy might be a better description) to take Ethan and Kevin to a family reunion in Utah today and tomorrow. Therefore I’m left alone with Jacob. Thursday though Tracie had meetings in Idaho Falls all day, so I had the three children. We had a good time. We went to Jack in the Box for hamburgers and took them to the Rexburg Nature Park for a picnic. We also brought along some old bread and crackers to feed the domestic ducks and geese. Kevin and Ethan had a blast. Jacob also had fun crawling around in the grass and dirt. However, I didn’t notice notice the mosquitoes that were enjoying his tender flesh. He woke up today with several bites on his face and ear, his left ear is significantly bigger, floppier, and redder than the other. That will teach Susan to trust my parenting skills.

Feeding the Ducks, Rexburg Nature Park, Rexburg, ID 2006

Jacob’s Swollen Ear

I’ve resumed doing bird point counts for the fall migration season. This time I’m doing Market Lake rather than Mud Lake. Fall offers a few more challenges than spring. Birds aren’t singing, the foliage is thicker, and the weather so far has been much hotter. Anyway, I didn’t find any rarities today, but it was enjoyable still. I had an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a Townsend’s Warbler, my first Wilson’s Warbler of the fall, and several Lazuli Buntings. One highlight was being harassed for ten minutes straight by a Swainson’s Hawk that had a nest nearby.

Swainson’s Hawk, Market Lake WMA, ID 2006

So, I never did much fishing growing up. I’ve been looking for another hobby (I get burned out on photography and birding from time to time). Anyway, Jon has been trying to get me fly-fishing for quite a while now. I finally relented. Last Saturday Jon, Kristi, and I went to Warm River and managed to catch quite a few (I caught ca. 15 fish) small brook trout. We repeated the process yesterday and did just about the same. We were mostly catching 5-7 inch Brook Trout, but we managed to catch a couple of 10″ fish and 3 Rainbow Trout. It was really enjoyable and I will probably have to buy some gear and take it up. Here are some photographs.

Oh yeah, Jon took all of the photographs. He gets t.o’d when I don’t give him a photo credit.