Photoz

In the north end of the city where I deliver mail, (along the Don River Valley) the robins have stayed all winter for about 10 years . . . . I often see a large flock of them in the trees along my route, picking the berries, and many people put stuff out for them. It's just like the ducks & geese in this city . . . . when the winters were longer and colder, they ALL went south . . . . . until people started to feed 'em . . . . . . now there are nearly as many in winter as summer! P. S. I think Vans is out compiling more data to fine-tune & upgrade his prediction of ice huts on Simcoe by mid-December. Some of the Simcoe guys are considerin' puttin' pontoons on theirs! But, this'll give him a bit more time to get his flasher (which I'm patiently waiting for) on the store shelves . . . . . I'll letcha know when I see the first one!

I'd LOVE to support my local shop, and I DID try today! First stop . . . Gagnon's in Oshawa . . . CLOSED?? Boxing Day?? Oh well, Tightlines it is then . . . . pulled off the highway at Brock Road in Pickering . . . . CLOSED TOO?? Geeze . . . . all I want is a couple reels spooled up with line . . . . next stop . . . Angling Specialties way y y y y up on Kennedy Road in Outer Scarberia . . . . UNBELIEVABLE!! ALSO CLOSED! So o o o o o . . . . . the one that EVERYBODY loves to hate . . . . . . L-E-B-A-R-O-N-'S . . . . . do THEY want some business? As I approach, I see the parking lot is full . . . . . SOMEBODY wants my money! Pretty good crowd . . . . I get a few items . . . . out the cash line in minutes. THIS is how to compete with the 'big (nasty) box stores' . . . . be open when they're open!

And Merry Christmas to you too . . . . the fat man (the one with whiskers, but no hair . . heh . . HO??) got me a nice new 21" H P flat-screen monitor . . . . now I can see what I'm looking at!! AMAZING at how much they've dropped in price. It was this . . . or a new Vexilar . . . . but since there won't be SAFE (for me) ice till after mid-February (if then) just not worth it to get to use it 3 times! Just headin' east a bit . . . . got some nicely wrapped l'il presents for any trout lurking within my range . . . . first time wettin' a line in 2 months!

It's kinda strange how many of us balk at spending $40.00 for a blood test that could save our lives, but will never give a second thought to dropping $40.00 at our fave tackle shop for stuff to join an already large (and mostly unused) collection in the bottom of a THIRD tackle box? The way my doctor phrased the question to me . . . . "How wouldja like to spend $40.00 and maybe save your life?" Considering my insurance pays 80% . . . I'd call it a real bargoooooooooon, eh? Especially when it discovered prostate cancer at its earliest stage. I would have been looking at 3 years or more before symptoms would have showed, by then drastically limiting my chances. A simple poke in the arm to draw blood. You can virtually 'buy' your life for $40.00! And the colonoscopy . .. . definitely not too high on our 'favorite things to do' list, but considering the hell I went through because I was too squeamish to take my doctor's advice, it certainly would have been a lot easier to have just accepted it as one of life's less pleasant proceedures, and gone through it! Ain't hindsight a wonderful thing?

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in mid 1999 .. . . . my chances were iffy at best . . . . it was suggested I get my affairs in order, as I might not make it to Christmas. I did the operation, and against the doctor's advice, opted to keep as much of my colon as possible. It wasn't quite as bad as was thought . . . but after a tough journey through chemo & radiation, things were lookin' up till early 2004 when a random PSA test discovered ANOTHER cancer . . . . prostate this time . . . . more radiation . . . . still kickin' though! Meanwhile, 7 others known to me, in that time frame have died of colon cancer? All good people, hard working . . . none smoked, most looked after their health . . . . I sometimes wonder what's so special with my case? Good doctors . . . . the best . . . . good hospital care . . . again . . . second to none . . . . plus, I'm stubborn as hell . . . . . I'd gotten away from fishing for a few years . . . . and wanted MORE!! Believe it or not . . . . as I lay on a gurney, in the hall, outside of the operating room door . . . . I can still remember thinking . . . . "For years I've been gonna chase some o' them big trout & salmon . . . . always next year . . . . I just wish I had taken the time . . . . . . . ." There is no such thing as a 'good time' to lose someone . . . . and Christmas has gotta be the worst . . . . . . but . . . . it CAN be beaten . . . . although I'm only 'in remission,' I'll beat it again! Early detection is the answer . . . breast exams . . . . colonoscopies (can almost eradicate colon cancer) and P S A tests once you hit 40, on a regular basis . . . if we could just get EVERYONE to do these tests, this would save countless lives. I'm very sorry for you & your family's loss . . . . I'm in that age group too (almost 60) and VERY alert to any unusual changes in my day to day health. Let's just hope it leaves your family alone now . . . . and I hope 2007 is a MUCH better year for you!

Just takin' a browse through the Old Farmer's Almanac . . . . with exception of early December ( a couple days) they seem to have really gone to the dogs with their predictions? December 2006 Avg. Temperature: -7°C (2° below avg.) Precipitation: 20mm (20mm below avg.) Dec. 1-3: Snow showers Dec. 4-9: Snow, then sunny, very cold Dec. 10-19: Snow, then sunny, seasonable Dec. 20-25: Snow showers, cold Dec. 26-31: Snow and ice January 2007 Avg. Temperature: -11°C (2° below avg.) Precipitation: 35mm (5mm below avg.) Jan. 1-4: Snow showers, then sunny Jan. 5-8: Rain and snow showers, mild Jan. 9-12: Rain to snow, then sunny Jan. 13-17: Snow, then sunny, cold Jan. 18-20: Sunny, then rain; mild Jan. 21-26: Snow, then sunny, very cold Jan. 27-31: Snow, then sunny, mild January looks . . . uh h h h . . . . interesting . . . . although their predictions are kinda vague, and open to translation, over-all, they're usually pretty close. Anybody else find any BETTER predictions? . . . . . geeze, even the resident weather guru (Vanselena) was way y y y off in HIS predictions . . . . very rare to ever see HIM wrong, eh?

Last year during the sucker run on Lake Simcoe, a few of us got together a couple days and fished Beaverton (Beaver River, near the mouth) using light rod, light line & worms, hung about 4' under a float . . . . for a great day of fishin,' these guys are a ton o' fun on the light gear . . . VERY scrappy! These suckers are B I I I I G . . . . Beansie got the biggest at 4.9 pounds! The one with the ugly growth on the side of its head (cancer?) seemed healthy enough . . . and put up a good fight . . . it was released (what else would ya do with it?) and swam away quickly. But . . . . . just think if you had hemorrhoids like this guy has . . . . . you'd need to buy your Preparation 'H' by the pail! He was caught up where the Trent hits Simcoe, near the swing bridge. Again, other than the obvious problem, the fish seemed normal . . . . . other than a few catfish (bullheads) & an occasional pike, I've never seen any other fish with similar looking tumors? Will they eventually kill the fish?

If you're out in the Finch & Warden area, here's a guy I've heard very highly recommended by several fishin' aquaintences . . . . P & F ROD & REEL REPAIR 100 Bridletown Circle, Unit #57 Scarborough, Ontario. 416 – 493 - 6576

Hey GB . . . . you want I should hold a spot in line for you, to pick up Vans new flasher / fishfinder when he markets it? I was gonna go to the FL20 . . . . but I think I'll wait just a bit more!

Hm m m m m ?? Very interesting . . . . . although my system seems to work, there certainly appears to be a lot of advantages to 'PHOTOBUCKET.' But, I'm so unbelievably inept at 'puters, I only stopped using my manual to figure out how to turn it 'off' & 'on' last week! I think I'll hunt it up, and see if I can finger out how to get it on MY machine? Is there ANY 'disadvantage' I should know about? Do I still crop, resize & 'tweak' my pics, BEFORE saving 'em for the board, in 'PHOTOBUCKET?' And t'anks kindly for the input, everyone!

I'm not sure if different computers have different ways of handling photos . . . . hopefully I don't confuse anybody (I'm ALREADY confused about this?) further, but this is how I do mine. First, when I've deleted everything on my camera I don't want, I just plug the card in the computer and a pre-installed HP program called 'IMAGE ZONE' automatically puts them in a folder. I can then crop, lighten, darked and otherwise 'tweek' them into readiness to 'SAVE' in a folder I call 'MY PHOTOS,' created on my hard drive . . . . . I then take them into a little progran called 'IRFANVIEW,' (free download a la Beansie) where I downsize 'em to under 250K, then resave 'em. Then I can go to OFC's 'MY CONTROLS' section, browse, and just bring 'em in from my hard drive. Why would using a place like 'PHOTOBUCKET,' or numerous other storage places be better that your own C-drive? Under 'MY PHOTOS' I have a whole raft of sub-folders, and even different sections in the sub folders. I hope I haven't cornfused anybody further . . . . but this SEEMS to work fine for me? But . . . . . there MUST be SOME advantage (???) to using an off-site storage place? I only tried ONE, last winter . . . you actually got about TWO photos worth of space per month . . . . and after a certain amount of hits, you paid, even for them. I gave the guy who ran the site a rough estimation of how many pics, and 'hits' I expected to average . . . . I was quoted between $50 & $60 a month!!!!!! EEEEYOWTCH H H H!! How many can you use through 'PHOTOBUCKET' before some typa charge kicks in .... . I doubt if you can store & use UNLIMITED photos? I'm REALLY curious about how everybody else posts & stores their pics, and why? ANYBODY??

T'anks Mike . . . . . it's amazing how well some of the simplest things can work so well. I have an uncle who buys a truckload of culled logs every year for firewood . . . . sometimes there's a softwood log or 2 which are good for kindling. A few years ago when I was there, he had a cedar log about 18" across . . . . and all of a sudden the ol' light went on . . . . UREKA!! I think I'm having a brainstorm!! I got him to cut 2 slabs about 1.75" thick, then a couple limbs about 3" thick by 18" long. We just drolled holes in the bottoms of the 2 sticks, and through the slabs, got some dowling and tapped 'em into place, and then screwed a 6" piece of plastic pipe on top to hold the ice rod . . . . . VIOLA!! A one-of-a-kind tip-proof rod holder!! Unfortunately the cedar was very light, and a big aggresive perch could almost tip it. And when it dried out, the base cracked. The year after I went to yellow birch . . . a lot heavier . . . and didn't crack as much. I was told if I rubbed in lotsa linseed oil, it would stop it from cracking, then stain it & add varnish . . . . a work of art, eh? I'd love to see what you come up with . . . . I gotta do up some fancy ones, and maybe a spare set . . . . to auction off on this site at the next M & G? The heel treatment is kinda iffy . . . . originally, back in October I slipped & missed a stair . . . . for a split second when you feel nothing under your foot, the leg stiffens . . .. I instantly dropped about 8" landing smack on my heel, 230 pounds of me & 30 of mail. This severely bruised the whole heel, and somehow affected 2 dormant bone spurs . . . . one which is now putting pressure on the Achilles tendon. I'm doing acupuncture, heat therapy & massage, plus almost NO walking. It's helping . . .. somewhat, if it hasn't done the job .. . next stop . . . . an orthapedic specialist for evaluation . . . . because of all the muscles, tendons & nerves here, the use surgery is a last resort, as it CAN make it worse! T'is nice to be back . . . . but I never REALLY left .. .. . just didn't have much of value to add, and there was a period things got rather raucaus around here . . . . . so I sorta 'stepped out the door' and just watched the board evolve. Seems pretty quiet & civil once again . . . . . although I don't agree with how TOTALLY intolerant some of the rules seem, at least they appear to be applied evenly? Moderating is a tough and often thankless job . ... . no matter what you do, at SOME time, SOMEBODY will be unhappy with rulings . .... if I don't like 'em, nobody has me chained here, and I'll be carefull the door don't clip my butt on the way out, eh!! From what I see, this is a big improvement over a few months ago. All I gotta do is figure out how everything works . ... I've already had some assistance in this area. Anyhoooooooo . . . . thanks for your responses . . . once I get fishin' again, I'll be posting more regularly!

. . . . . . And just where are ya gonna find ice to fish on in January . . . . I suspect Moosebunk will be the only guy in Ontario ice-fishin' in January . . . . good luck!

I wait until I see heavier vehicles than mine out there . . . . even then I sit on shore, wating for somebody else to go out . . . I watch their tail lights, if they disappear, I go no further! I like to hear of at least 12" or more before I go out . . . . and I'm NEVER first! I suspect it will be mid February BEFORE you see this vehicle 6 klicks off Willow Beach! Anybody else care to estimate when (and IF) Simcoe will be safe right across?

Well, I've become a closet lurker . . . . readin' most of your posts, makin' notes on all your good spots . . . . for when I can get back out. I banged up my heel 2 months ago . . . badly bruising it . . . . and discovering I have 2 bone spurs. It got so painful I had to come off the job last week . . . first time in 20 years (first in my life too) at Canada Post I've had to go on Compensation . . . . it's nice to sit a home with your feet up . . . . for about a half a day . . . . then ya need FRESH AIR . . . . preferably near water!! So . . . . what do ya do when you've read all your mail, answered it, read everything on 6 fishing boards, TWICE . . . . got your home and van all shiny clean? Ya sit down and with Spiel & Roy's help, finger out how to use the new board! These photos were taken the spring of 2005, on a local creek, when this big friendly (lonely) swan swooped down, and walked out to where we were ice fishing, looking for a hand-out, also everybody who walked out got the once-over too. He stood guard, and wasn't shy about approaching people . . . .. hissing his displeasure if you had nothing! He wasn't overly friendly at first, but after a few hours became like a big friendly puppy dog, even allowing his head & neck to be scratched. We suspected he might have lost his mate and was just lonely . . . and was just looking for company. First photo . .. he's on guard duty . . . . . CLICK! Then he spots an unsuspecting potential benefactor (victim?) coming out on the creek, and walks right up to him . . . . fully expecting to be fed . . . . when no food is forthcoming, he hisses . . . . causing the poor guy to drop his gear and back off!! Almost tripped over himself trying to put some space between him and 'Big Bird!' CLICK! Now THIS is where I see a golden opportunity to have some fun. Though this photo essay looks pretty easy (only 8 shots, all useable?? HAH!) it where the beauty of digital cameras is fully realized you just delete about 125, and use the BEST 8! For this shot, he saw me drop something in the hole, comes over to check . . . I bounce a little ice ship off his head . . . about 10 times, shoot a couple pics, try again. FINALLY . . . BOINK!! And I get the perfect angle & expression . . . CLICK!! Then I tossed a little chunk of my sandwich in the hole . . . he grabs it . . . . then a little chunk of ice . . . it gets his attention . . . he looks . . . . CLICK! Next, I toss a bit of salmon roe NEAR the hole . . . he likes it . . . . a roe bag goes in the hole . . . . he goes after it!! CLICK!! Now he's getting a bit annoyed . . . . I musta chucked a half dozen more ice chips at him, he hisses at me . . .. I didn't have much more to get his attention . . .. and wasn't sure if he might get mad & tackle me . . .. one last fishing shot of him glaring across my rod at me . . . CLICK!! I tried another roe bag . . . . he goes after it . . . . making for another decent shot . . . . CLICK! And just as my battery warning light starts to flicker . . . . he decided he had an itch . . . . and went after it . . . CLICK!! I didn't catch any trout that day, but it's gotta be one of the most interesting I've spent fishing in a long time. About 4 hours & about 125 or more pics shot. Then as an afterthought, I put captions on 'em, to make 'em a bit more fun . . . . hope I didn't bore anybody too much? P. S Isn't the 'Swanee River' down in G C D's area? If It indeed exists? Only us ol' folks would remember the song?