"Fishing trip". Finished.

Ok so it wasn't a fishing trip. It was a work weekend. My nephew and I went south 100 miles and put a new picture window in for some friends. It was quite an enjoyable experience. This is the first project my nephew and I have done together since he was a kid. He was the lead carpenter on this project and did a great job. He certianly isn't that young kid anymore. Great job Ryan. J & K hope you enjoy your new view.

"Fishing trip". Almost there.

"Fishing trip". Before

Gone Fishing!!

Not really but a I am going to a lake cabin to do a little work. Will be back on Sunday. Taking the camera OF COURSE. No blogging this weekend until Sunday. Have a nice weekend all. Hey J & K how about DSL for the lake home :) :)

Dandelions, Dad and fishing.

This is the first one I've seen this year. This is a weed to most. But to me it is a very fond memory of my dad. I grew up near Cape Cod MA. My dad would take me fishing for a saltwater fish called Tataug. When the Dandelions bloomed in the spring the Tataug run would start. Each year my dad would call to tell me the Dandelions were in bloom, time to go fishing. Thanks dad. Thanks for teaching me to fish. I miss you.

Big and little kids toy.

Ok! I know I've been "missing" for a couple days but on Monday morning this was the activity in the backyard. That's right a backhoe digging a hole. A 12 foot deep 15 foot long hole. So anyway the biggest kid on the block (that would be me) and the littlest kid on the block (that would be the two year old who lives next door) spent the day watching them dig a hole. Then, of course, once it was dug we just had to watch them refill the hole. We (I) blew off the whole day with the little guy and his sister watching the big Tonka toy play in the dirt.

Killdeer

Cormorant and Canvasback...Redhead!

A "raft" of Cormorants.


Cormorant.


Canvasback. Correction via readers. It's a Redhead. Thanks to the pro-birders for correcting this and future errors.

Hey it's spring. You know real trees real food.

Tree Sparrows.. Swallows

House shopping. Thanks to the pro-birders for the correction.

Red-Winged Blackbird

Enough said!!

Small town. Four choices. Same price. No options.

Current gas price map

Ashland historical prices.
June 22, 2003 -- $1.65 / gallon
April 21, 2004 -- $1.90 / gallon
April 23, 2005 -- $2.26 / gallon
April 23, 2006 -- $3.00 / gallon

55% INCREASE

Are you better off today?
How's that BIG tax cut doing for ya?
Feel screwed yet?

Saturday evening lake front activity.

Oredock just before sunset. This is the west side of the oredock.


Fishing from shore.


This is the way it should be. Fishing with dad on a warm spring night. Trolling along the shore.


Smelters walking into deeper water to start a pull with a seine net. Just before sunset.


Fishermen head to the west end of the bay for some evening trolling along the Lake Superior shore.

Skate park activity.

Saturday night activity at Ashland's new skate park. This park was built because the kids and the community wanted it.

Smokey's warning

Smokey the bear Smokey the bear.
He can smell a fire before it starts to flame.
That's why the call him Smokey.
Thats' was how he got his name.
Am I dating myself?
Go ahead sing along if you know the words.
Well any way Smokey and his buddies were sure glad to see rain today.

Ready and waiting for flowers and nectar.

Notice the electric fence around this bee yard. This is bear country. This early in the season the bees will be foraging on pussy willows and early source of pollen.

Wisconsin farm country.

Rainy overcast day. Grass is greening up everywhere.

Nature's dating scene?

Is this nature's equivalence of a single's bar? Bluejays socializing.

Yeti? Sasquatch?

During a recent trip into the forest I had a chance encounter with what can only be describe as a Yeti or Sasquatch like creature. Although I have taken thousand of photos without incident all of the photos associated with this sighting were blurred and out of focus. However the left to right series of photos clearly shows a bi-pedal mammal walking through the forest. The chief collaborator of this sighting "ainmn" has been requesting that the photographic evidence be published. The twins made her do it!

Fire crews on standby.

This fire crew and many others are strategically place through out the area. The crews just sit and wait to respond to a fire alert. Quite often you will see and hear crews responding to a fire to only stand down within minutes. Fires are evaluated by the first crew on site and the needs are determined and relayed by the dispatcher. This area has fire towers thoughout.

Windmill.

This is a very common site in this part of the country. Most are in disrepair. This one still appears to be working. These windmills were used to pump water into the house or the barn. The drive mechanism could be engaged when water was needed or disengaged to free wheel. When I took this picture it occured to me that although I've seen hundreds if not thousand of these windmills I've never been in the pump house to see how they work. I love machinery so I'll have to rectify that oversite.

Sandhill Crane.

This Sandhill Crane was photographed in the same field that I've photogaphed wild turkeys and a bear all within one week.

For the horse lovers.

This horse ranch and riding stable is along one of my favorite sections of country highways.

Dark-eyed Junco

Downy at Billycreek

This Downy Woodpecker provided lots of entertainment during our wonderful Easter dinner on Billycreek's outside dining area (the multi-level deck). Thank you to all.

Macro photos.

Lilac bud.


Woodtick. This one hitched a ride on me. Laying on the ground taking marco photos does have it disadvantages. This is one.

Today I pulled the macro lens out for the first time this spring. I really enjoy macro photography but it's not much fun in the snow. So I'm looking foward to the variety of the season ahead.

More spring flowers.

If anyone can put a name to the top two flowers please post it or email me. The general consensus is the the top two are Siberian Scilla or Siberian Squill. The third one is a daffodil and the bottom a crocus.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Note: The red cap, red throat and the yellow belly.

In and out.

This Chickadee and I assume it's mate were foraging in and out of this hole. I'm still not sure if they were removing pulp from the inside of this rotten tree to make more room for a nest of if they were finding nesting material to line another nest at another site. My guess is they were removing material to make room. The round trips were very fast. It think just quick enough to drop the pulp.