A Look at the Lake

Last Saturday, the boys were to come over around 10 am. We planned to go fishing and then plant the coleus that I'd bought a couple of days before. It sounded like a good plan and a way for everyone to get out in the sun and have a bit of fun.

The best plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. First, the boys were late getting here and arrived about 11:15. When they came in the door, I told them that we'd best get going if we wanted to fish because a storm was moving in. That's when they told me they hadn't had lunch.

To us, 11:15 is a bit early for lunch, but last year the school board changed recess and lunch periods. Instead of having two 15 minute breaks and an 1 hour for lunch, two 40 minute Nutrition Breaks were set in place. That means the boys either eat at 11:00 or they wait until 1:45. So the boys are used to having lunch at 11:00 and a snack at 1:45.

Since I know the boys' schedule when they are in school, I knew that I should give them something to eat. By the time that was done, it was 12:00 when we set out for the lake.

Just as we got there, it started to pour. Since I had not taken my camera along on the last fishing trip, I made sure I had it this time.

This area of the lake is almost completely overgrown with bullrushes and other water plants.

The lake looked beautiful in the rain. The bullrushes were swaying in the breeze and sea gulls were screaming overhead.

If you look closely at the above photo, you can see the rain hitting the water. It was a gusher.

The overcast sky made the water look blue and a bit blurry, but that is how hard the rain was coming down. I like the way this photo shows the blue of the sky and water. In the foreground wildcarrot and milkweed give a splash of color.

These beautiful yellow flowers were growing alongside the road. You can see the water of the lake in the background.

Well, there were some nice photos, but unfortunately none of them were of the boys with their catch. We headed back home and got here just as there was a lull in the storm. We got in the house as fast as we could, but there was no planting of flowers. Instead we had a game of Mario Baseball. The first game Brandon beat me and then Jordan played Brandon and lost. Then I had another game with Brandon and Jordan aided me in beating him. Those boys can't fathom that at one time Grandma was a young girl and played on a baseball team. We had lots of laughs with the game and it was a great choice for a rainy day even though we would have rather gone fishin'.

Enjoy the week and be sure to take some time to do something for a child. A few minutes of your time is a precious gift to kids. ~Blessings, Mary~

Saturday Fishing Fun

The boys' parents both had to work on Saturday. I went and picked them up just after 10am and picked up their fishing poles. Since I didn't have my fishing license, we then headed to the bait & tackle shop where I picked up a Conservation License. Then we headed to the fishing hole on a small lake not far from here.

We were there quite a while and I didn't get much fishing done. Instead I was busy putting worms on the hooks of two boys who were all excited about catching something. There were lots of bites and some fish got to dine on some nice juicy worms, but the boys had no luck. Then, Brandon got a bite and had a fish on his line. He said, "Grandma, it is heavy and feels like a whale."

Brandon reeled it in and to my amazement it was a 12 inch smallmouth bass very similar to the one above. We usually catch rock bass, catfish and sunfish at this spot, but have never caught a smallmouth bass there before. The fish was nice and clean and a good size for Brandon.

Jordan didn't have any luck until we were on our last couple of worms. Then he got something on his line. It was a 4 inch rock bass. He was delighted just to catch anything.

It was hot and by the time we had fed the fish a dozen worms, we were ready to come home. We had a fun time and made a few more memories.

If you have a chance, take a child fishing this summer. It is an enjoyable sport and it's a great way to bond with kids. ~Blessings, Mary~