Day Five mmmmm..not so good

:o/

Brother in law may have cursed us.

0 for 2...

There is always tomorrow...except there isn't

Oh well, ...I have some salmon on the drying rack outside moments away from entering the Smoker.

Looks good enough to eat right now.

Thought I would try JB's dry Rub Brine cure this time and so far it looks really really good.

Couple hrs away from the ultimate test of cream cheese, crackers, and of course LAger...

And here is the Update....the verdict is YUM

Fog

Day four was a foggy mess...

We never should've gone out... but we did...of course we did.

Late start ..late return.

Ran up to Lexington again and went 4 for 3 ..2 salmon and a fat pig hatchery Steelhead.

Our buddies to the south of us got eight fish including a real good one and we ran right past them...sigh...thats fishing.

..tomorrow comes early...and I am starting to feel it.

Weatherman is calling for FOG!!!...lol...I am feeling a little foggy come to think of it.

Owen is a Machine!!

Well...Owen has first place in the kids category again with a 13.78 lber!!

LOL

Today was a super great day full of drama and laughs.

There is another week to go and I doubt that Owens fish will hold it's spot but it was our first quality fish that he caught all by himself...even picking out the lure!!
He brought the "Blueberry Muffin" out of retirement for a moment of glory.

We fished up off Lexington today and we'll probably head back that way tomorrow.

3 Fish total and we are starting to find some bigger ones.

Back at er tomorrow for Gerry and I.

Now to whip up a Brine Solution!!!

:o)

Awesome!!!!

I wonder if they will ever break down and put Wyntons picture on the US 'C'Note ...

Day Two

...and already my hands are mangled!!

:o(

I don't know if I will ever bail on the salmon derby because I want to play guitar so bad but this year is close.
It will probably be a good week or so before I will be able to play without wincing every time I finger a chord..
..and forget about the finesse stuff...I feel like a lobster.
sigh..

Today we struggled and I was frustrated.

End total was 2 for 4.
Again some nice fish for the table but nothing even remotely competetive.

We may have to rethink our approach tomorrow...the beaches have fish...but where are the teeners??????

Might run up to Lexington. Gametime decision.

Owen had fun. Boated two good fish that got him two chances for prizes and the fish weren't so big that he had to ask me for help...he loves that.

I don't know if I will post every day..but today was a good day for father and son and Papa.

Gonna fry it in Rocky Madsen tonight....and ice cold Rolling Rock.

The Spoils.

Sunrise ...we hit er again.

Took Rube for a walk today. She is getting really good with her leash and her commands. If only my kids were this easy to train.
lol

Here she is all wiped out from a walk around the block.
I am a little tired myself come to think of it.

Morin texted me from an airport somewhere today...drunk...god I hope he gets eaten by a bear...then I hope the bear shits him out and the carrion birds eat the bear shit...then I hope the birds migrate over his house and shit on his truck windshield.

Day One

Well ,

The Salmon Derby is not the kind of fishing where one can wax poetic and romanticize about becoming one with Nature and all that sort of thing.
It is a meat hunt..

And it is grim at times...
There will be very few grip and grin shots with the angles just right to bring out the beauty of it all...



I think there is beauty there.

In the Tradition.

...but inside the cooler it is something else...

Just death...

And after your removed and Magnum size treble hook from a smaller size salmons mouth...well...it aint pretty.

It Never ceases to amaze me that a Five pound salmon would hammer a Magnum spoon big enough for it to choke on.

Whatever.

Day one was a great day for fishing!!

Cold to start but had me cleaning fish it a tee shirt by the end of it.
Is spring finally here???

We got five salmon today...but no big ones.Perfect for the table but nothing boardworthy...yet..

Friends of ours hit a good one right in the area we were fishing today...which stings ..but is a good sign.

We are at it again tomorrow..and Owen is coming ...He is all fired up about it...which is nice.

MAybe he'll bring us some luck.

Leave Me Be

Today is my first day of 21 days straight vacation.

I had some pre-Salmon Derby running around to do and actually got quite a bit of stuff accomplished.
whipped over stateside to pick some prize packages that Gander Mountain were generous enough to donate to the Bluewater Anglers Derby Committee.

My Father in Law is a big part of this group and he is one of the main reasons why the Derby happens every year.
All the proceeds go into the local Hatchery.. ( for better or for worse depending on your opinion of the way the Greats Lake are managed.)
...but the intention is good ...and the event is a lot of fun.

There have been some good reports and I can't wait to get started.

Gerry and I will launch the boat tomorrow and Friday morning will mark the beginning of the contest.

I renewed my US fishing license with the idea that we will probably fish up the US side towards Lexington early on.


The water has a tendency to warm up over there first and give the best opportunities for quality fish especially in unusually cold springs like the one we are suffering through currently.

I actually ran from the car to Lowes today because of the amount of snow that was falling..NICE!!

I was going in to by lawn care products...wtf???


Got a brief opportunity to play the guitar today....although Avery was on me the moment I plugged er in...'I'm Bored'..bla bla...she actually comes over and turns my guitar down at one point.
LOL

21 days... I am going to savour this...weather be damned

Best By Test

I am being tested....

I am always being tested!!!

lol

Actually...things are pretty good.

Puppy is awesome. we're getting so that we can trust Ruby to just be with us and then go to the door if she needs to go outside.
This is happening way earlier then I expected it to and I am so pleased with that!!

Everybody is on board with the Dog.

I even saw Kim scooping up some Dogshit the other day!
It was a great move for us..so far...knock on wood.

I am right on the edge of three weeks off work. I just have two more shifts to go...tomorrow and the next day.
April first was the start of the new fiscal so my leave bank has been replenished...this is awfully tempting.

It has been a long winter and I have already used a couple of 'Family Related' leave submissions and an impromptu Vacation day.

I had booked a bunch of time off for the salmon Derby which is scheduled to start this coming Friday.

Gerry, Owen and I are all jacked up to fish it but the weather has been a complete disaster.

It is always a crap shoot and this year it is coming up snake eyes.

The past two nights have seen freezing temps over night and the prospects of trolling at day break in the middle of the lake in this shit are way less than appealing.
It is not so much the cold but the waste of time...
I don't think the water has warmed up enough to bring the Salmon in or get them going.

With this early spring fishery waster temp seems to play a crucial role and we are going to be dodging icebergs out there this year.
Usually by now we've had few reports and can start to strategize about where we are going to concentrate our efforts but literally nobody has been out yet.

The North wind has been blowing like crazy and the water is a wonderful chocolate milk colour.. which means we'll have to run way out to get into some clarity....but that will take us into even colder water..

Oh well...there is always the rivers..and the guitar...and the yardwork...

Either way it will be nice to be away from work.

Music wise I have been working on these two tunes this week.


I have been craving playing with other musicians but every time I go to pick up the phone something comes up..may have to force the issue.

This Was My '80's' Music....lol....

The Scofield bent continues...back in time a bit for this one. The Album Still warm was a masterpiece...nowhere near the calibre of 'Thriller' ...but who can match that artistic genius... ;o)

This Ones For Morin...

019 from Gene Norland on Vimeo.




Bona Fide

;o)

Old Guys Can Be Cool....

I am hoping that this kind of stuff will inspire me to play with a little more edge.. Scofield is a guy that I either love or hate...and here I love him. Very tight..

Biblical

So,
I haven't been sure whether to to focus my efforts on puppy training or chuck that and start building an ARK.

This fucking weather sucks.

Weatherman called for right around 140-160 mm 's of rain and unfortunately this time around he was right on the money.

Spending tons of time indoors...whipping Owens butt at classic video games..Pacman, Galaga..

Poochie has been awesome in spite of this weather.
The training is coming along nicely. This dog is wicked smart!!!!...and a real Character.

I have taken a couple of days off this week in anticipation of the basement flooding..but...and I am reluctant to type this...so far so good!!

Tomorrow could be the death blow though..tomorrow is when we are supposed to get hit the hardest.

I guess we'll see then...

I am going to tackle this grade issue in the coming weeks...at least that s the plan..

From Mid Apr- mid May I only work 3 shifts ( and they are looking shaky ) so I will have the time to do it.
I have some good ideas and a bit of a gameplan
I am keen to deal with this once and for all.

Fingers crossed.

I have had some time, in between dogshit duty, to really dial in some sexy tones with the new amp.
It really is a remarkable piece of equipment. A tone machine.
I've been trying to allow the aggressive side of tone spectrum to bring my playing into to some new areas musically.
Fun - but humbling- learning anything is...especially at my age..
But if RUBY can learn to shit outside in the same spot..even during a lightening storm and blinding rainfall I should be able to find some Chicago blues chops hiding in here somewhere!!..lol

One of Owens little friends at school has a mother that had been battling Cancer.

I just received news that she passed away last night at the local Hospice.

Very sad - leaving 3 young boys behind without a mother and trying to deal with all that heaviness.

I met her once when I'd dropped Owen off at their house for a playdate.
She was pretty bad off even then but she really struck me as a brave individual...still focused on living and providing love to her family.


She was my age maybe a little younger.

Jesus..
If my basement floods tomorrow I am just going to laugh at it... I have got it made and I never want to forget that.

Speaking of Mother and Father...

Heres Rubys Mom 'Nala' ( gold coloured dog )...










and Dad...'Drew'

44

Well..we've had 'Ruby' three days tomorrow...and it is pretty awesome!!

Yes it has been trying...and filthy and stinky and expensive and all that the boo birds claimed it would be but it is without a doubt a huge dose of fun.

The good far outweighs the bad and I think it will just continue to get better.

This dog is as smart as a whip!

The house training is going really really well with only a minor setback that can, in all honesty, be blamed on me entirely.

:o/

Ruby already is responding to her name, sit, gentle, come, PEE!!!, and we even have the first stages of fetch going on nicely.



Ella is absolutely beside herself with joy although she is disappointed with the amount of sleep the puppy needs.

lol

Poor Ruby...she hasn't really had time to pine...

The last couple nights were a little trying but to honest I thought they were going to be much much worse...

Tonight, because the kids don't have school tomorrow, we are just going to leave her in her crate all night and have her cry it out...

..we'll see how that goes...

Might be a sleepless night..

It is a lot like having a new born all over again...but instead of diapers the dog threatens to shit on your living room floor...( not yet so far  )

Tomorrow I turn 44....

012 from Gene Norland on Vimeo.

Where the fucking time has gone ..well I just don't know???

I don't feel old...but then again I never really felt young either?

I have been so busy with the Puppy madness and work I haven't really had time for anything else, however, I did make a couple of quick guitar recordings today...



Today when I was all alone I put the pedal down on the amp ...IT IS FRIGGIN LOUD!!!

 I felt a little silly blasting out some of the first year blues licks...but the amp took them well!!..after all that is what it was designed for.

The biggest surprise is what a sweet dark and sexy JAzz tone this thing has...

I was kind of hoping that it would turn me into a Blues monster overnight...but...well...we are who we are I suppose...and I am a Jazz playing dork..LOL


I watched the movie RAY the other night and it has me digging up all kinds of cool Ray Charles type of music..

Funny how that works...today I spent a good portion of the day going over Jazzy influenced Gospel music..

Oh well..whatever fly's the Kite ..


BTW

My fishing friends will love the fact that the family has shorten the name 'Ruby'..to just "Rube"...go figure