"When I was a kid, I said to my father one afternoon, 'Daddy, will you take me to the zoo?' He answered, 'If the zoo wants you, let them come and get you.'" -- Jerry Lewis

"I want to know, have you ever seen the rain 

I want to know, have you ever seen the rain 

Comin down on a sunny day "

-CCR

Two canoeing expeditions for the big guy on Fathers Day.  One at our usual hole in the pouring rain.  Handy umbrella kept me dry during the paddle.  Second paddle in Deep Pond at sunset.  That was my first paddle on Deep Pond.  A few other canoes out there but plenty of room for all!

Awesome clouds but no fish.  Lots of minnows swimming around.

Lots of beautiful scenery.  Lily pads all over.  Mendon Ponds is quite a place.

A bit of Mendon Ponds history :

On June 1st 1928 the Monroe County Parks Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors take options on 1400 acres of land surrounding the three ponds with a purchase price of $185,000. Following the approval by the Supervisors, work was started several months later with the widening and improvement of the three dirt roads that gave access to the one mile wide, two mile long tract. The Park Commissioners stated that the cleared farm land would be reforested, the ponds stocked with game fish, trails laid out through the hills for the benefit of hikers and horseback riders and that shelters and fireplaces would be built for picnickers and campers.

Monroe County Park Commissioners viewing 100 Acre Pond at the time of the initial
purchase of land for Mendon Ponds Park. (Photo June 1, 1928, Rochester Times Union.)

(taken from the "Crooked Lake Review", Fall 2007  by John Sheret)

And this wasn't any itsy bitsy spider...

Sunday night.  Quick drive to our local hole before nightfall.  Time is not on our side.  Big guy trying to get in his only chance for a weekend fish.  I'm there to catch some sunset photos.  Bring the water shoes,  the water is still low enough for an interesting walk on the rocks.  Put them on,,, searing pain,,,monster spider comes out of the shoe. Fang marks on my foot!   Benedryl.  Went back to the hole, hubby gave up the fishing pole and I caught 9 fish with a Royal Wulff.  (Blue Gills).

Son# 2 was worried about that big, black spider (thinking as always about his Mom).. googled the black creature on line and determined that I would still be able to make him dinner that night..  His trivia of the day: the only state in the country without poisonous spiders is Maine.  (We don't live in Maine)   Moral:  Always check your shoes for spiders if you leave them in the garage.

And the lady catches her first....

"A fisherman lives here, with his greatest catch"....
And we're not talking about the dog now.  The scruffy little brat that whines when the big guy gives me a kiss.    But she is the only one who will wear pink in this house so gotta love her!  Anyways, today was a big day for the big guy and his girl.  A lazy Sunday morning, complete with sunshine and birds chirping.  Met hubby under the bridge in town with a good cup of coffee and a great big kiss.  Had my fishing license in my pocket, my cute new pants (gift from the big guy) rolled up to my knees, what else do you need on a beautiful morning?  With a few quick casting lessons, I was on my way and caught not only one, but TWO fish.  A chubb and a smallmouth bass. From beginning to end.  No help from my guy.  Reeled them in.  Ok, didn't take them off, because I haven't gotten to the part where I am over touching slimy squirmy stuff.  But thats on my list of things to conquer.  Happening soon.  Very exciting.  And documentation below courtesy of the hubby.

Here's the Chubb.  (what the heck kind of fish is a chubb?)

Lets see, I think I'm supposed to remember the fly that I used (I think it was small), but can't seem to recall.  Maybe one of those wooly buggers?    End Result :  A fantastic morning with lots of good stuff.  Went home, grabbed the kids and everyone caught one.  Water was low and we walked the creek bed for a bit.  I'm on a roll now, Hubby watch out!

“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” “Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for.” ― Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

Saturday morning, fishing with the hubby............

A touch of fog, another beautiful morning...

The day of the turtles.  We are taking a early morning paddle at one of our local favorites.  Stopped for a great scone at our neighborhood coffee shop, Enjoy!  Off to catch some keepers. Its early enough that there is a slight haze on the water, the sun hasn't taken care of that yet.  We put in and off we go.  On the sides are lots of fallen trees, where we usually have good luck at spotting sun bathing turtles.  We aren't disappointed today.  I paddle slowly and try and glide past the logs, snapping away at my camera before they slide in the water, trying to avoid me.  I have my pocket camera so the photos aren't quite as detailed as they could be.  Hubby patiently in the back of the canoe trying to fish as I am gliding away from his fishing spots, trying to catch the ultimate photo, while he is trying to catch the ultimate bass.....happening for me, but not for him.

Clear skies ahead.  Feels like you are in the middle of nowhere...

Three little turtles all lined up in a row.

Had to be quick on this one.  He was on his way into the water.

This time I was more successful in the photo taking.  I think we are going to be bringing 2 canoes the next time, so I can go off and do my photo shoots, and hubby can cast away.  What a great way to start the day, paddling with the big guy :)

"Hope your birthday is excitin..cause the fish are bitin'"--Hallmark

Can't let the blog go by without acknowledging the big guys birthday!  The kids just love picking out gifts for him.  Another successful birthday celebration.  The cricket flies were a hit.  Creepy looking but guessing the fish aren't going for looks. Went to one of our local holes and got some great shots.  Wish I could say the same about the fishing.  But making memories are what its all about!

If you'd never been born,
well then, what would you be?
You might be a fish!
Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob!
Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of 
hard green tomatoes!  -Dr Seuss

Hubby totally excited about his seam fixer for his waders.  Can't be walking around with a hole in your seams!  Hmmm..... 

Goofing around....the boys loving birthdays.  Especially the apple crisp,  one of hubbys favorite ..  

Hear no evil, see no evil

Speak much evil :)

This one keeps us on our toes ....

Now...there's the smile with the big guys dimple..

My Norman Rockwell picture.  Going to frame this on canvas.  Two peas in a pod.  Love them !!

Birthday Gifts ?  Have to admit though there were no standouts like in years past.  The gift that surpasses all others was the year that he received the brass, aborigine sans clothing posing on a ashtray shaped like Australia.  Who would have ever thought of making this unique gift for purchase. And yes, we still have it.  

Daddy-O;s got a new pair of shoes.

LLBean leather water shoes... adopted by #2, very comfy!

Well, the big guy thought they were his.   Nice leather.  Way better than his rubber Merrills.  Ahh.... but....hey, you have to be quick around here....When the LLbean box came into the house, out came #2 and on came the shoes.  Ouch !!  The plus of being the same size as your growing son = you can have his hand-me-downs.  The down side = #2 lives life with so much gusto that everything he wears is falling apart by the time he can hand anything down.  So maybe Santa will bring the big guy a new pair of shoes for Christmas that will be all his, and maybe #2 will be a size 14 next year and leave the big guys shoes alone!

Anyways, off to our super secret spot on Irondequoit Creek to try out the new shoes.  Armed with a zippy bag of oatmeal raisin cookies (just out of the oven, thank you) and a couple of bead head pheasant tailed nymph (size 16), the boys got into the water to try their luck.  I wasn't there when the "fish of the night" was caught, so no camera documentation from an independent source.  (but see photo below by the big guy)  When I came later with the cookies and my camera, the fish were being more elusive.  Probably all the cookie crumbs dropping into the water, looking like foreign flies.

Brown caught with pheasant tail on the Echo 3#

Under the bridge off Fishers Rd.

After a bit they moved to the other side of the bridge to check it out there.  Yikes ; they scored !  Oops, only a monster crayfish.  And actually, #2 found it in the water while the big guy was casting.... oh well.

Monster crayfish!!

Check out those cool magnifying glasses, the big guy looking just like the  pros on the TV fishing shows!

What a great cast by the big guy... #2 is in TOTAL AWE !

So lets wrap this up...while they were unsuccessful for the remainder of the evening, the shoes were a go, the cookies really hit the spot, the hubby was looking hot with his magnifying glasses on, and my new lens that the big guy got me for my birthday was tried out.  Who needs fish with a night like this?

Black-eye Susans on the bank of the stream

I sat upon the shore Fishing, with the arid plain behind me Shall I at least set my lands in order? (T.S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot (1888-1965),

#2 landed the big one.  The boys went out for a quick fish and came back an hour later with this photo. They saw this fish (or his brother) last week, and have been stalking it ever since.  Tonight they scored!

Apparently it was quite a fighter.  It took both of them to reel it in, and they came home exhausted (but happy) from it all.  It was in a very precarious spot, and without waders a little sketchy whether they could land it without a splash.  Great night, guys !