All in good fun, and there was an older gent at my table who I learned a few tricks from, worth the price of admission. My friend Bill, who I met there, seemed to be up a couple hundred when I left, so it wasn't a total losing day for Brighton teachers.
On Saturday, I did something I haven't done in quite some time -- I got my fishing gear together and drove down to Hemlock and Canadice Lakes in the late afternoon/early evening. Decided to see if I could hook a few nice smallmouths. In the end, no real luck -- I had 3 nice hits, and I also had a small (8", maybe) bass spit the hook out just as I was getting him into shore -- but it was a beautiful time.
Solitude. No other people save for a couple kayakers who were soon gone. I realized then how much I miss communing with nature. I need to get my life back on track, as I don't get out of town enough. And I live in an area that is a nature lover's dream.
Oh well, gotta work (at school) Tuesday and Wednesday, then do more house work, then some Cheyenne training, but I gotta fit in some nature time, too. If only Cheyenne listened better, I could take her too -- which is an ultimate goal.
16 comments:
I wanna turn this into a whiner's corner, OK?
I play a bit of Texas Hold'Em, and consider myself reasonably good but exceptionally snake bit (don't we all??).
Case in point: I'm in a hand with one of the better (best?) players in our monthly club (30+ guys, usually get three tables). I'm holding K-J offsuit and stay in preflop to protect my small blind. After Q-9-7 flop, good player bets modest. I read him for either A-7 or middle-sized pair; I'm figgering a K or J will let me win hand, and pot is OK, and I'm feelig 'good' about this hand. So I call. Another 7 flops which (I assume does neither of us any good). He checks cuz he's not really sure what I have. I check.
River is a 10 giving me the inside straight. He bets, I call. The whole time he is whining about me possible drawing to an inside straight. Sure enough, I got it. But guess what. He had pocket 10's so the 10 that gave me my straight gave him a full boat, and I'm beat again. And he's still yapping about me playing to an inside straight.
But I wasn't! I was playing pot-odds to hit a K or J to beat his crummy pair of 10s.
This game sucks sometimes.
Cheyenne sounds almost the opposite of Archie as far as outdoors behaviour. He'll wreck the house if left home alone and not crated, and walking him around the neighbourhood is a real chore. I've been taking him out for walks seemingly forever, trying to get him to heel and walk beside me. No joy. He actually broke a choke chain one day he was pulling so hard.
But ... take him out in the woods and let him go, and he stays right with me. He'll run off from time to time but if he hasn't seen me for a few seconds, he'll come right back to make sure I'm still around. At the end of the walk I just have to say 'in the car' and he runs to the van and waits by the door. Too bad that behaviour wouldn't translate to indoors.
Weird (re Archie's behavior).
But I find that most dogs are pretty damn smart. You just have to find the right training 'button'.
Which reminds me... we had this Boston Terrier which was a bitch to keep off the furniture. Finally, it 'learned' to stay off because it would get a nice thump on the nose otherwise.
So one day we're driving home and look up at our big picture window which is right where our couch is. And on the couch, looking gleefully out the window, is Terri (nice name, eh?), watching his masters come home.
We had taught her to stay off the furniture AS LONG AS WE WEREN'T HOME!
Dumb dog? Or smart... I still have no idea...
> This game sucks sometimes.
Yes it does!
I hear ya on that inside straight story, JR -- I have always been pretty lucky at this game, so I can't complain too much (though I did this morning!).
The trouble with Cheyenne is twofold:
1. We got her at a bout a year old, so not only does she have to learn the behaviors we want, she has to unlearn many bad behaviors.
2. She is VERY smart and VERY headstrong. Just like Gypsy. Man, I need a dumb dog one of these years...
In the woods, Cheyenne would stay with me UNTIL she sees a person or an animal, then she'd be off, either greeting the person or chasing the animal. My biggest worry is that some deer could take her for miles before she tired out -- then it might be too late.
I really need to get to the point of her coming/stopping to my voice. It might take a shock collar, so be it -- the bottom line is about her safety.
The solitude part is incredibly important. A positive decisive act of solitude (choosing to fish the way you did) seems to be really important for who we are. It probably puts something in the bank that protects from mistaken choices from time to time. I certainly hope so.
Cory here.
Hey!, at least you got to go fishing. With all the rain I'm amazed you got those hits and small one.
I have been on Hemlock. Not much of a boat launch there ( as I found out ) and it rained on us the whole time and all we had to show for it was one Pickerel.
Cory - rain suppresses the fish appetite?
John
Solitude is good.
Hemlock and Canadice wish to discourage boat traffic, hence the tiny launch. A 10 HP engine is max. It's really a place meant for canoeing or kayaking.
Weird, really. Why not just completely ban engines on the lake? We have several in Oregon that do. No big deal, really...
In order to ban engines, lakes usually either have to be smaller than a certain size, or designated as a wilderness preserve . The power boat lobby unfortunately has a lot more clout to fight this sort of stuff than the human powered element - they feel entitled to go wherever they want because of the boat registration fees that they pay.
I'd like nothing more than to carry some limpet mines in my canoe when I go on some lakes.....
There are some no motor lakes in the Adirondacks that are quite nice that I usually vacation on in the fall .
"Man, I need a dumb dog one of these years..."
No, Cheyenne just needs a smarter owner :)
A 10 HP engine means most motor boats will be staying away. As Marty said, it was probably a compromise.
In several years of hiking around these lakes, I have only hear a putt-putt motor once. I'll bet it's not worth it to most.
> No, Cheyenne just needs a smarter owner :)
Well, there is that...
>Cory - rain suppresses the fish appetite? John <
Close John. The barometric pressure does. It's worse after the rain.
I like Lakes that have a limit on motor sizes. I have a small 14 foot Aluminum boat that uses an Electric trolling motor. Works fine for those types of lakes. Great for fly fishing.
One of my favorite places is the St Regis Canoe area in the Adirondacks, where motors of any type are BANNED . I've probably spent close to 60 days in this area since the first time I went over 20 years ago .
http://www.tupperlake.net/stregis.htm
St. Regis.
Sounds like a Wilderness War space...
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