Happy October, Everyone.
Friday, October 1, was our 16th wedding anniversary! Seems like only yesterday we hopped into a couple of limos, travelled to Bellevue (IA), and said our vows at sunrise in front of about a dozen relatives and friends. Then we returned home, threw our bags together, and went to a Rolling Stones concert that evening! We like to say that our reception had 55,000 people in attendance and that the greatest rock ‘n roll band in the world played!
I plan to head back to Iowa this week. The geese (both blue and snow) and sandhill cranes have been flying south. I’ll take my cues from them:) I thought I’d better do some more photo catching up before I go. I’ll have at least one more entry after I get home as some photos are coming my way in the mail. Let’s start with foliage:)
Our driveway is always so beautiful in the fall. Here are a couple of shots:
We’ve been out fishing several times. Needless to say, fall on the Lake is a sight to behold:
I am most pleased with these next photos. You know how much I love reflections. Well, fall reflections take the cake (and I really love cake)!
The best one I've ever caught!
Gruper’s been grouse hunting this past week. I go along and play dog. I am not a fan of hunting and would never hunt something myself; however, I understand hunting mentality and do enjoy preparing different game recipes (does that make me a hypocrite?). Anyway, I enjoy the hikes and scenery. He makes me wear orange stuff:
It's really not my color. I vote for neon green (Sandy's with me)!
I told Steve that when I watch him sneak up on a grouse I can’t help thinking of Elmer Fudd…”be vewy, vewy quiet” or “kill the wabbit.”
He's even wearing a Wile E. Coyote t-shirt!
I digress. When we’re out hiking/hunting I enjoy taking pictures. Here are some:
This moss grows year-round. It's really pretty.
This looks like Lamb's Ears. I used to buy it for my yard...then couldn't get rid of it!
We’ve seen tons of different mushrooms this year. I could have added “Fungi” to my “f” alliteration title:
So far we eat only the Shaggy Manes we find in our yard:
Here are a couple more hiking photos:
a beaver hut
This photo turned out very nice.
As I mentioned earlier, we’ve been fishing quite a bit. I am a fair weather angler so a lot depends on wind, rain, and temp for me. It’s been rather cool in the mornings–too cool for my usual croc-en-stock (birkencroc?) footwear. I’ve been having to wear shoes and even BOOTS some days:( However, the fishing’s been very good and we have such a good time. We decided to try perch fishing one day. Here’s my tiny catch:
Good thing Gruper was along with the net:
We threw for smallies one day. I could have caught this:
She kept grabbing my lure! I could have brought her in:(
We went walleye fishing yesterday morning. We had on so many clothes we couldn’t bend! We had good fishing after we adjusted to the very light bite. They were smart and would grab the minnow but not the hook. I lost a zillion of them before I got it right! But when I got it right…
a nice, fat 22"er stopped long enough for a quick photo and release!
We ended up releasing a lot of fish. Darrell and Doris were out as well. They had a nice day of fishing and brought in their dinner.
I promised an update on our Shasta (aka Stinky LaRue). When I returned from that horrible trip to Iowa in August, my girl was very, very ill. A trip to the vet for blood work and x-rays revealed congestive heart failure (she gets it from my side of the family). She is taking a diuretic twice daily and is her old self again (thank God). The pills are just a temporary fix, and the vet indicated she probably has only a few good months left. I’ll take that right now. She is back to her playful, moody, demanding self (other than peeing like a racehorse). We will make her very comfortable and happy until the pills quit helping her. Then we will do the humane thing. Here’s where they shaved her neck:
They took blood from there. She did not care for that.
“Fun” is my last “f” in today’s title. When I think of fun guests, many of you come to mind. These guys are not only fun to hang with, they truly enjoy hanging with each other:
There may have been a bit of alcohol involved here.
Someone has gone missing (not me obviously).
OK. I think we’re caught up for now. I’ll do another entry once I’m safely back in Iowa, unpacked, and loaded with blog fodder. In the meantime, I’ll continue to search for a silver lining…
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