Short Hike on a Sunny Day

So today after lunch I decided to see how the snow melt was going, and it is going well.  The sun was out in full force today.  The temp was in the mid 40's and I am sick of sitting in the house. So I had my wife drop me off at one of my favorite trail heads, and I spent two hours trying to find hard snow to walk on.  The soft snow was still between mid shin and knee deep, but I did not care anymore, I needed to get out of the house.  The walk took me along a stream that I was told has native and wild trout in it.  So this walk was part fresh air and part scouting mission.  My camera is worthless at this point and a new one will most likely be a late spring to early summer investment.  For now I am going back to my phone as a camera it does well enough as long as I keep it clean (it was not clean today so the shot is not great, oh and the sun was making for a tough picture). 

Bright sun makes for a hard picture but I did not care this was too nice to pass up

Well Spring is coming, but there is still a good 15 inches to deal with in some areas.  Maybe I will head to PA and do some fishing soon.  I am very ready to get out on the water again.   On a side note, I have not mentioned this yet, but I won a fly box in a give away last week.  So thanks to the Foul Hook blog for the new box and when it comes I will take pictures and try to fill it.  I already have an idea of what flies I want to put in it. 


Okay it is late and the new work schedule has me up a quarter of 4 and out the door by 4:30 am.  Do not forget about Sunday's big announcement. 


-Bruce

I'm Snow Crazy

For the past couple weeks I have been tying flies inside as it snows and blows outside.  I spent all last week in my outdoor room tying flies.  Currently I am tying dry flies and am proud to say the nymph box is about finished.  I have no picture of the finished product as of yet, but some shots of it filling.  Sometime in the past week it hit me that I am going through major fishing withdraw.  It started with me reading some old blog posts from some of my favorite fly fishing bloggers.  Old posts from May, June, July and August about trout, bass, and carp fishing.  Then I started watching online videos of people trout fishing in New Zealand, the mid west, and even Ireland.

 

With my progress at the vice, and all this fly fishing media I have been taking in lately I am starting to crack.  I have even been dreaming of fly fishing for trout and carp in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and who knows where else.  These dreams were crushed again this morning when I woke up to find another two inches of snow outside.  So this morning I moved my fly tying stuff to the basement and watched some movies while tying flies.  After my second movie I was starting to feel like I needed to get out and do something and that is when it hit me.  

The coffee table in the basement has lots of room for fly tying

Now understand I am in the process of getting a job.  Actually I am just waiting on them to call me and tell me when to come in for training.  So this afternoon while waiting for them to call I decided to be creative and play in the snow.  Then it really started to brew, a plan was hatched.  I was going to get my fishing in one way or another.  I grabbed a shovel and some other snow gear and headed outside.  The nice thing about making your own fish is it can be huge!  

Large fish

After making this fish all I wanted to do is catch it, and catch it I was going to do.  I figured this would make a great target for some casting practice, so I ran inside and grabbed my rod.  Remember how I said I was going through withdraws well maybe I should have said I was starting to crack.  All this snow and ice and being stuck inside for days without fresh air or sunlight is simply starting to get to me.  I really need to go fishing and this afternoon I did and caught the same fish a couple times.  Honestly I do not care if anyone thinks I am crazy, because this was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed myself in every part from the brainstorming, to  painting, to putting my waders on and throwing a piece of yarn at a snow fish.  Actually I am hoping to start a trend, so if anyone needs me to come out to their house and make a couple snow fish just let me know.  

Something to break up the drag on another snowy day.

Note the blue water around me and the fish

Started out as a kinda stunt, but after a couple casts I took the casting seriously

Sarah took the pictures and zoomed on on this one but it was a good 35 yard cast.

This fly fishing stuff is a sickness and the honest truth is I really do not want to be cured anytime soon.  In all seriousness I love winter time but this is getting a little crazy.  If we are going to get hit by more snow I am now officially requesting that it hits us all at once and then starts to get warm slowly.  There are fish in these frozen waters and I am starting to go crazy not being able to get to them.  So if you like to fish you might understand where I am coming from and if you do not fish I hope you got a kick out of me acting like a child this afternoon.  

-Bruce

Whiskey

A started drink

So a while back I reviewed a beer that I said was a great summer beer, Dogfish Head.  In the post Peanuts, Hot Dogs, COLD BEER! I mentioned that seasons bring change so do my tastes.  It was summer then and a beer was a refreshing treat after work or with a meal.  Well in that post I mentioned liquors and one of my favorite things is to sit down and tie flies with a glass of whiskey or whiskey drink.

Sarah made this for me the moment it was open

When we were still in Atlanta my friend Gilbert got me a gift.  Gib is getting me into single malt scotches and so he got me a bottle of Laphroaig.  Laphroiag is something he and I tried for the first time at a pub in Atlanta called The Brick Store Pub.  The pub is known for its imported beers, but it also has a unique and special selection of whiskeys and scotches.  On one of the visits Gib made to Atlanta I took him there and he pointed out Laphroiag to me.  We talked about it over a beer or two and then I asked the bartender if I could smell it and he let me.

nothing like a 10 yr old single malt

Smell scotch?  Yes, I wanted to smell it because the bartender and Gib told me they use blue peat(moss) in the distilling process.  Which means it smells very dirt earth like.  The taste has the same earth tones you get when you smell it.  Much like the beer review I will not try to sound like a pro, but I will say that this scotch is not something for starters.  It has a strong bite, and the earth tones do not calm it but in some ways make it stronger.  It is very interesting stuff and if you have a taste for scotch you should think about adding this to the collection for the unusual factor alone.

the first glass poured

  Winter is a time to stay warm.  It is a time to read a book in front of a warm fire.  This is the time of the year to tie a lot of flies, and to keep warm with a glass of whiskey.  So fill up those fly boxes and try to keep it to one small drink before bed.

a sad looking fly box waiting to be filled

-Bruce

Winter Bucket List

So the truth is I really do not have a bucket list, and if I did I doubt it would be divided up into season.  With that fact out in the open there are lots of winter sports I want to try.  This past Sunday I did one of them and so I can strike it off my list that is not real.  Sarah, her sister Bethany and I went snowshoeing.  I do not read a lot of blogs but a lot of the people in the north east who have been lucky to get a ton of snow have been snowshoeing, and writing about it.

 My reasons for wanting to snowshoe are not from these blogs, but they did not help in the matter.  I really do not know why Beth and Sarah wanted to go, but it was cool that we all wanted to try this sport.  The reason I wanted to try it was partly because for years growing up I heard my mom say how she wants to try snowshoeing.  For a few years I did not agree with her, I wanted to snow board, ski, snowmobile, even try those dirt bikes with the spiked weeks you drive on ice but snowshoe, why?   Somewhere along the way I changed my tune.  In the past two weeks I have been sending emails and facebook pleas to friends, and family to see if anyone had a pair of snowshoes I could use.  Then last week Sarah got in on the action and put it in her blog how I wanted to try this sport, and a day later a church member let us borrow his.

With the two pair of snowshoes we borrowed from Dr. Kamm and Bethany renting a pair for twenty bucks at Housatonic River Outfitters ( Sorry Beth and as soon as I get a job we'll pay you back or rent and you can use the borrowed ones) we were off.  We had two trails in mind both as flat as we could find and both heavily traveled.  When we got to the first, a truly flat trail by a river we saw a ton of cars and lots of cross country skiers.  Then we made the call to see what the other spot looked like.  There was not as much traffic at this place so we strapped in and took off.

There was a nice snow pack from people who had been snowshoeing and cross country skiing here before, so it made for easy walking.  There is a rhythm to snowshoeing, and when you are walking on other peoples tracks the rhythm is paired with constant balancing.  When you step on another persons track you some times slide a little, but not letting the slide mess with your rhythm was the key for me.  None of us had poles, which from everyone I talked to about it are optional.  I can see where they would be a great help, but also know I got a work out with just the walking in the snowshoes and I would bet poles would add to the burn.

We hiked maybe did two or three miles grand total, but for the first time out this was a good walk.  I am hoping to do a more challenging trail in this week as long as we are still borrowing the shoes.  After snowshoeing I decided that I do not really need the other winter sports and if I never get the chance to do them there will be no loss.  That being said I will never turn down the chance to do other winter sports, and actually hope I can try skiing or at least get back on a snowmobile sometime.

I plan to add snowshoes to my wish list. I think they might be a great way to get to those back country fly fishing spots when you want to do some true winter fishing.  Plus I love to hike and get out in the the wilderness to clean my head sometimes and snowshoes are the ticket.  The gear is simple, and if I had a pair of them I would bet I would turn to them all the time.  If you have ever thought about trying snowshoeing and have not done it for what ever reason lots of outfitters rent them.  I would recommend renting a pair and trying it out, and then when you return them that same outfitter would most likely be happy to sell you a pair.    Go out and have an adventure!!!!

-Bruce

New Post

Well everyone I have been in the town I grew up in since last Wednesday so I have been kind of out of touch.  While home I gathered lots of new material for up coming blog posts.  There was new gear, a fishing trip, new pets, and some good family fun.


Let me fill you in on the pet first.  My sister got a puppy for Christmas, and he is in her words the cutest puppy in the world.  He is an all black (except a spot on a paw and his chest) cocker spaniel that my sister named Charles or Charlie for short, and if you want to make it longer it is sir Charles.  Well Charles is just one short story of my trip.  Take a look at him and I'll start thinking of the next great story from my trip.

Sir Charles

-Bruce

Outfitted for life

OBN's writing prompt this week is actually something I addressed in my very first post.  I decided before just linking to my old post and calling this an easy one I would read the post.  Now that I read it I think I will do more then just link to it.

Outfitted For Life:   Outfitted for Life, the name came from Sarah (my wife), and it took only minutes of thinking about it for me to jump on board with that name. I love it for many reasons, the biggest of all the reasons is the fact that it leaves me lots of room to work with.  The room to do more then just fishing post is still very appealing to me.  I like sharing my hikes, and hope to get back to hunting.  Also want to try some new sports such as bouldering, long distance hiking, and maybe even buy a mountain bike someday. 
 

So the story that came to mind in that first post was one of my bother and I getting ready for a hunt.  I have not told as many stories as I want to but going back and looking at why I picked the title I think I will try to tell more old stories.  Here is that first story of why the title Outfitted for Life was a good choice.

This story was the first that came to mind when the title of the blog was made final. It takes me back to high school, it was the first hunting season I could drive. My parents okayed my brother and I to go hunting alone for what I think was the first time. We planned to hit a spot we hunted small game, and later on in our hunting adventures became a great waterfowl spot. Well we were packing up the guns and mom was giving us the be safe, look out for each other, and if your going to be late call speech. My mom looked us up and down, she cracked a half a smile and said well boys you look the part, and then wished us luck as we ran to the car guns, ammo and packs in hand. Between the two of us we were geared to the max for a small game hunt, I guess ever since then I've always tried to look the part if nothing else........ I try to go into every situation especially when it comes to the outdoors "looking the part". Looking the part now there is one of the first lessons if you want to be outfitted for life.   

I still often look the part, whether I mean too or not it just kind of happens now.  Looking back on this and a couple other old posts I have come to realize that my writing, and my stories are getting better.  In an strange way I am really starting to look the part of a blogger, and that is funny on many levels.  Well there you have it that is where Outfitted for Life came from and who knows where it will go.  

-Bruce 

Being a fly fishing blogger is hard without a job

Sarah and I have been living in a new state now for more then a month and still I have no job.  This does not mean I have no work.  Last week we got twenty inches of snow.  Here is Sarah's post on it, and honestly I love the process of waking up to move snow and get yourself dug out.  It was a good storm and dumped a lot of snow fast.  Along with the snow we are still setting rooms up, hanging pictures, fixing lights that need replacing, and some nice projects on furniture.

Still the job issue is really starting to get to me, for a number of reasons, bills, gas, and food are the basic worries.  Honestly there is still another reason I wish I had some money in the bank account, and it is a little more selfish.  I have been filling out applications and working to get a job and that weighs on me after a while and I need to break away for a day.  My hike two weeks ago was nice but honestly in the back of my mind I am thinking about fly fishing.

It's the second day of the new year and I am without a fishing license for the state I am living in.  This would not be a big deal if I had a job because I would be working till dark and the weekends would be spent with the house and wife.  That being said it is killing me to not be able to clear my head on the water.  I know what you might be thinking 'Bruce you're in Connectucute and it is 3 degrees outside' well all you people who think that trout do not eat in the winter, your wrong they do.

Hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks I will land a job and that will mean a new license will be soon behind it.  Until then I am going to be trying to post some winter fly patterns.  Also some cool stuff about the new house such as the deer that were in the back yard, and some of the wild life in the area.  Lastly, OBN posts writing prompts and I am going to start to write off of those when I can.   One more little piece about the license comes from a blog I read.  The writer at This River Is Wild wrote a great post explaining part of the reason I want to get my license now go check it out and stop back later in the week to see where I am.


-Bruce

A hike as promised

So today I got up, and when to my local outfitter looking for a detailed map of the Appalachian Trail in Connecticut.  Sadly they were sold out and would not be getting more till Tuesday.  Now not to be discouraged I decided that the research I did online would have to do.  By this time it was 10:30a.m. and I had the fifteen minute drive home and still needed to pack a day pack.  Once I was home I put a pack together and asked Sarah if she could drop me at the trail head.  She seemed more then happy to do it and after I was packed she took me five minutes up the road to the nearest AT trail head.  The section I wanted to hike looked like an easy three or four mile hike and it was.  

It turns out it was a great day for a hike!  The temps were in the mid 30's and there were no clouds to speak of.  So as Sarah pulled away and I hit the tail I could already see a problem.  I dressed to warm, and after a far to early stop I ended up shedding a shirt and hiking with my jacket open(still had a t-shirt on under the jacket).

 

The first section was the side of the mountain that got all the sun, and it was almost too warm.  It was not the most challenging hike, but I had not been out in a while so I was a little winded as I reached the top.

Once I reached the top I found a nice rock and sat down.  I had not had lunch to this point, but thought ahead and threw a cliff bar and some hot chocolate in my bag.  I also packed my pocket stove and some fuel tablets so from my perch on top of the world I warmed some water for hot chocolate and a cliff bar.  After sitting for 25 of 30 minutes I decided to press on.

As I headed down the other side of the mountain a couple things became very clear.  The first being that this side of the mountain was much colder.  Second there were land mines in the form of frozen pools of water just under the snow, which made for a dicey time going down hill.  I managed to not fall this entire trip which is great because I fall when conditions are great so these poor ones had me worried.  

 Along with the ice and snow on this side I found myself following tracks of what I believe were coyotes.  They were using the AT a lot.  I saw deer and turkey sign all along the way as well, and I guess it only makes sense to see a predator when there was so much game sign.

 In the last half mile I explored an AT shelter.  Found these cool steps people made out of some perfectly flat rocks, and crossed a great foot bridge.  I can't imagine what some of the first AT hikers had to deal with when it came to the rivers they had to cross.  I sure was thankful for that bridge because the water was icy and cold, and I would have turned around and walked the 3 miles back if I had to ford that river. 

All in all this was a great reward for working hard on setting up the house over the last two weeks.  I am looking forward to hiking on the AT more in the spring, but will be using it this winter again I am sure.  Also really want to take Sarah along the next time, maybe even on this exact trip.  There are lots of great picture opportunities and she is a much better photographer then I am.  Hopefully I will get one or two more outdoor adventures in before christmas, but I know I will blog again before so thanks for reading. 

-Bruce

Outdoors Room

So, after about a day of total work it is basically set up.  I have an outdoors room, and from this room I will write a lot, read a lot, and tie a ton of flies.  The idea is to keep all the outdoor stuff I have gathered over the years together.  As I cleaned and organized the past two days I decided I would hang some stuff from my glory days on the walls, and in the process found myself hanging some from Sarah's things well.  So now the room is an outdoors/trophy room which I think turned out nice.  I want a couple more pictures of outdoor adventures but they will come because my wife does not go anywhere without her camera and we are going to do more outdoors thing here in Connecticut.    So how about I give you the dime picture tour of the outdoors room.

Yes it looks full, but I have been collecting outdoors stuff for a long time.  Plus you need to remember I have a bunch of metals from my wrestling and track days. Sarah got a great old desk from her mom and I got Sarah's desk from Atlanta.

The selves are great and I put some of my things on them, but most important I put some of my reels on the bottom one.     The reel is my favorite part of an outfit and I have always looked for deals on old ones so I have a couple now

Now this I am really jazzed about!  My tools can be in a drawer and they can all have their space.  If it would not be midnight I would tie a couple flies tonight but I am shot.

This is the vice it is well lit by a lamp my father and mother in-law are letting me use.

Remember that large closet I mentioned in the last post?

Well everything fits, but I spent some time in there putting up hooks, and figuring out how I was going to make it work.

That safe is now safely fastened to the fall with guns and rods in it.  I know over kill to lock your rods up but really it is to keep me away from them till I get a CT fishing license and a job. 

So can not wait till this is a very true statement, but when my mom gave me this sign I knew where I wanted to put it. 

 Okay it is late and I spent a ton of time in this room today.  As a reward for a couple days of hard work I think I am going to go for a hike tomorrow(a.k.a in a couple hours).  If that plan happens I will post pictures and a review of where I went how long and hard the hike ended up being but for now I am hitting the hay....

-Bruce

A little life....

Sorry that my last post was not even me, but Sarah and I were and in many ways still are in the process of moving.  My parents and I got here a week ago today, and I have been almost nonstop since.  We moved from Georgia to Connecticut, but a better way of putting it for me is we move from a city to the country.  Trying to write an outdoor blog in Atlanta was hard because at times I needed to make a stretch in what I called "the wilderness".  Here on the other hand is almost too easy, sadly the past two weeks have been filled with packing, moving, resting(maybe a day of rest), and now unpacking, but I can see a light at the end of this tunnel, and that light is a hike in my near future.

Currently we are in the unpacking and making this house a little more our own stage.  We are much closer to my parents and sister in this house then Atlanta, and we are even that much closer to Sarah's family which is a wonderful change of pace.  Now for some excitement we live a stones throw from a river, and better yet I could get to it and fish in less then ten minutes.  The places I have had luck fishing are more like a half hour away, but even that is better then Atlanta.  A couple of the outfitters that I think are worth visiting are in the area (Backcountry Outfitters and Housatonic River Outfitters) and I am told there are some I have not found in some of these small towns near by.  So now that I am settling here in Connecticut I thought it was time to start blogging again.

Sarah has been hard at work on her blog since the move and if you want details on the move from her eyes check her out are www.thestrengthoffaith.com/.  I am hoping to keep this blog more on the outdoors side, and aside from getting a christmas tree yesterday we have not done a lot of outdoors just yet.  I am not going to post on the tree because Sarah did a very good job.


Before I pack it up and call it a night I want to show off what is basically a room for my outdoor stuff.  I am not a fan of calling it a "man room" because I am trying to encourage Sarah and some of my other friends and family to come join me on an outdoor adventure.  So for now I am going to call it the outdoors room unless someone else out there has a room with a name other then "the man room".

Here is the room now.  I am hoping in a couple days it will be set up a little closer to the way I want it.  Along with suggestions on the name I am also open to suggestions on basic organization and layout.

This is it, the smallest room in the house but I liked the shelves and  what you can see looking out the window.
All my things are basically on the floor at this point, just a couple things in the garage still that will move up here once I start to straighten up.

This is something else I love the closet is big and will hold a lot of the stuff I collected over the years

I am hoping by mid week I will have a finished photo up, and maybe a little feedback will help with the process.  Also I am hoping to go for a hike with Sarah and maybe that will make it on here as well.  Lastly there is a desk in that first picture where I hope to tie a lot of flies and write for my blog so keep your eyes here for some changes because they are coming to most parts of the blog.  Thanks for checking up over the past week even though I have been in hiding and that should not happen again for a while.  

-Bruce

Lots of News

So, I haven't updated in a long time, but not without reason.  Here are a couple reasons why and some stuff to look forward to.  First an update on the fishing front.  It is not good, I have been out once in maybe a month.  Last weekend was my once and it was a big flop.  I went to a spot that was marked year round fishing on a Wildlife Reserve, and it was also marked for heavy stocking.  So I figured what the heck I could use some stupid stocked trout on some dummy flies.  This trip was a big flop, I ended up seeing 7 trout in about a mile and a half.  The water was clear as glass and the fish had been spooked a couple times before I got to them.  I sat on the bank and watched a great blue heron snag a trout and fly off.  As I crawled up on my last hole I heard gun fire and was glad I bought an blaze orange hat and day glow green vest.  It was hunting season and I remember fall fishing PA once or twice.  Orange will give you away sometimes but it will also keep you from being shot.


Now as for the rest of life.  I am working on a new project at work.  It is a value vehicle outlet lot, and it has been nothing but hard work at this point.  I am talking 60 plus hour weeks, and this weekend is the kick off.  Hopefully the rest of the week will be smooth and Saturday will go off without a hitch.  This is the web site "Value Vehicle Outlet" and I deal with all the incoming vehicles.  It is a lot of work but I think the end product will be a benefit to anyone who needs a car fast and needs to just spend cash for said vehicle.  Check out the site and the car prices, the idea is to be up front with any problems, but all cars are road safe.  No haggle, no questions, and the guarantees are inline with other top value lot out there.


This leaves the biggest news, Sarah and I are moving to Connecticut.  We will be leaving Atlanta in December and that has brought up lots of bittersweetness.  The bitter part is we will be leaving new and good friends.  These are people who acted as family while Sarah and I have been so far away from our family.  I could name  maybe a dozen people who have helped me and who I have helped and I will miss them all.   Also I will be missing all the conveniences of the city, and the short trip to the mountains.  I have found a ton of great fishing spots and the fact that I will be learning new waters is exciting.  Now for the good stuff, we will be closer to our families.  It is the northeast so I know the terrain in the woods and waters.  There are plenty of other things that make this move exciting, and in the coming weeks I will try to blog more.  For now read these two blogs from Sarah and they will fill you in fully "cleaning up cleaning out moving out moving up!" "On Faith And Rainbows"  Thanks for reading, and I will try to be better I promise.


Untill next time

Bruce

Back to Back Adventures

So there are times on Saturday or Sunday when I want to do something but can not be spending money. I also know that the river will be full of people splashing, swimming, rafting and even throwing rocks in the good holes. This past Saturday I slept in and then got up and got the materials to make a sign for some good friends of ours who had a baby Friday night (congratulations Lloyd family). When I got home I was bored which happens if it is nice out side and I am in. Sarah and I were kicking around the idea of a Braves game or hiking up Stone Mountain. After a while we decided to go hike up the rock.

As we pulled up to the west gate the sky which had been dark the entire ride there finally opened up. It was a good ten minute rain storm with lots of wind and big drops. It did pass and so Sarah and I decided to go into the park. At the gate we where handed another decision should we pay ten bucks to park for the afternoon or would we get enough use out of a season pass to make up for the price($35). It was not a long chat about it and not just because we were sitting at the gate with a line forming behind us but because we only needed to come four times to have it paid for. Stone Mountain is fifteen to twenty minutes from our house with little to no traffic, and there is a lot to do there so we are now proud owners of a season pass. The adventure was not just getting there and buying the pass but a whole mess of things that were about to happen.

When we first got to the trail head there were people coming off the mountain soaked to the bone. Sarah snickered a little but I remember giving her a look that said it could be us. So we were hiking at a good clip and talking about a lot of things, it was still overcast and felt nice. We were talking and I remember looking up and seeing a pole that can not be missed because it is covered in old gum, then looking to the shy and noticed it looked darker then when we first set off. Well I was not a boy scout but I do like to come prepared and last minute threw a poncho in my pack because Sarah was bringing her good camera and that thing can NOT get wet.

As we got off a section that is the steepest we felt light rain. I stopped and put my phone and wallet in my waterproof sack, and started to get the poncho out. With the phone and wallet tucked away I put the poncho on Sarah just as the wind wipes up to its full force. It looked like we would be getting to the top of this thing little wet. There was on talking about what to do, we saw no lightning and it was not as bad as the one that we waited out at the gate. So with out saying anything we pressed on up the mountain. We crest the top of the mountain and just then the rain starts to lighten up a little. Sarah and I go from being slightly concerned because Stone Mountain is a big bald piece of granite just north of the city providing no cover on the top, to over joyed we had this grand idea. Once on the top we took shelter under a little pavilion, Sarah got the camera out snapped a couple shots, including one that shows the next leg of the adventure. The one above is what I think was the next small storm that hit us. See the light part on the right? Well the storm is the darker part on the left.

So this passing shower was much much lighter and so we set off down the hill in the rain this time. With the majority of the decent behind us and no major falls, Sarah stopped to snap a shot of steam coming off the lake that surround part of the mountain. The part that is not shown real well in the picture is how dark it was. She took the shot with a tripod and so could soak up a lot of light so much it looks like day time in the picture. Then took one of me with a flash which in this case shows how dark it was. You can also see in the shot that I did not bring anything to keep myself dry.

There is something liberating about climbing a mountain in a storm like that. It makes you feel alive and it makes you feel like you can do a lot of crazy things you probably can not really do. I was ready to tackle Everest, or swim the Atlantic. Those feeling are good to have as long as you do not take them too serious and actually try to do those things with no training or experience.

Now for the fun part. Today after a stressful day at church (yeah why is church stressful?) Sarah wanted to go for a run on the path around the mountain. I decided to tag along and see if maybe I could locate some carp in the ponds and lakes that are scattered around the park. I ended up catching a couple small sunnies and and hiking a short trail from a parking lot to a small pond. Sarah finished her run and took a couple shots of me, trying to get some small bass. Then I wanted her to get a shot of a roll cast and she did but we will work on the shot I really wanted next time we get out. All in all I am really happy we decided to buy the pass and know we will get a ton of use out of it as the fall come. Two days of fun and adventure and now some new waters to explore. I hope to get into some golden bones(carp) in the next couple weeks, and if that does not work out in that time frame to worries because it will be cooling down and trout will be the goal again.

-Bruce

LLWS

So it is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a sports guy. I love competition, athletes, athletics, and strategy and sports provide all that and more. Sports have always been a part of my life but I have been out of school for a while now and do not compete as much. I ran a half marathon in the spring, but it was not my kind of race. This fall I want to run some 5k races because that is more race strategy assuming you are in shape to run a 5k. This blog post is not about me it is about the kids in the Little League World Series. I love this event and for the past three years I have been glued to the TV when it has been on.

I have a lot of reasons for loving this event. For a strat three years ago when this obsession started I think I just liked seeing PA. Most likely I missed what I called home, and the LLWS is played in Williamsport PA. At the time Sarah and I had just moved to Atlanta and I have no friends here, and was job hunting. It was nice to look at the scenery every night for a little over a week. Then it hit me about mid week that first year the games can be exciting.

Now three years later I love watching these kids play. I now call a baseball town home and watch and listen to a lot of MLB games. These guy in the majors are great and the sport is wrapped in history and legend these things all add to my love for the game. So why do I love the LLWS? The game, it is an amazing game to watch these young teens work together and lean on each other.

The kids are the key. They are playing on a smaller field then the majors but the speed of play is the same. Sometimes the plays and skills of the kids are amazing. Looking into the eyes of these kids is the draw for me. They are all having fun, you can tell they are all competitors and hate to lose games but in the end they are playing a game. I would be willing to bet that a couple hours after the toughest lose these kids are back to being kids. Everyone of these kids has that look, that you only see every so often in the majors. In the majors you see it when a young minor league player comes up to his first start in the majors.

I could go on and on about why I like to watch the LLWS, but think a challenge is in order. Weather your a baseball fan or not sit down and watch a game. The games are only 6 innings and the rules are are a little different then the majors so there is a lot to watch. Even if you are not into sports this is something to check out. So please watch a game, if it is your first time maybe wait till later in the week, but watch one and if you can put into words why it is so great feel free to share.


-Bruce

Peanuts; Hot Dogs; COLD BEER!

So as promised a post about something other then the great outdoors. I want to talk about two main things on with this post first is baseball on the radio. Now I'm a big sports fan and always have been and for most sports I love seeing them live or on the TV. As for baseball I love the third option and that is the radio. The radio is something that has always been there growing up, and the same can be said for my parents and even their parents.

Listening to a ball game on the radio somehow takes me back in time. It is an amazing art to be able to paint a picture like these announcers can. I am sad when I hear about these old radio men dying off, but it is happening and I just hope there are enough people out there who can still call a game the way the greats did. Now much to my father-in-law's dismay and most of my family back in PA I think I've become some what of a Braves fan. I guess the truth is I live in Atlanta and the Braves are doing well so I'm following them closely. It is easy to be a fan when you can listen to every game. There is something about listening to the game in the car, at work,or even just on the porch in a nice night.

The broadcaster can make you fell like you are sitting in the cheap seats looking down on a green field screaming at your favorite players. The only sounds these guys work with is a constant roar of the crowd, the occasional scream from and umpire, and the sounds of the ball on the bat. That crack sends chills down my spine. Sometimes when it is happening at the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded and 2 outs it will make you skip a beat in hopes to hear that it is a home run ball flying off the bad. This crack always seems to happen when the broadcaster is not talking , that is an art in its self. So to all of you baseball radio broadcasters out there I am tipping my hat to you.

Now for something that goes hand in hand with baseball, beer. I like a good drink now and then weather it is a beer or a good liquor. In this case it is a beer, this beer is something different for me and it fits well for summer. In my case I bought a case of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA brewed in Delaware

I don't plan to bore you with history of IPA or even the history of beer. The best I can do is tell you that I know a lot of beer drinkers and some with some real smarts who would laugh at me even attempting a review. So with that warning I will give a simple idea of what to expect.

Dogfish Head has a warm start almost lager like, and then the hops kick in. The hops are very grainy but it is mellow and bright grain feel. Being brewed so close to the beach I think the brewers grasped the idea of summer refreshment, but that being said most if not all IPAs have a light feel. This one is just different, I have no way of explaining it any better except to say it tastes great after spending 7 to 8 hours in 97 plus degree weather. It is simply refreshing to come home from work start eating dinner, and have an IPA.

Bruce

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