Full Circle

Well its kind of funny to have gone full circle with this fishing deal. When I was a kid I just had to get a boat, I was dieing for a boat, I envied others boats.....And now after having spent about half of my adult life in a boat I really enjoy fishing with my 200 pounds standing squarely on Terra firma. So, this morning at 4:30 am you  find me and my partner-counselor-co defendant driving to Ninilchik to try and catch a King salmon the old fashioned way. The Kenai jumped up after the long weekend and was off color so bad there was really no fishing to be done, and in true Jethronian style I didn't have any trips scheduled so we got the muddy water for the year over with no stress....but I hadn't fished for a few days and need to keep my edge so its off to fish the tide 40 miles south of mile 14.

So its 5:30 when we arrive and nobody's around, mmmmm, is it legal? Are we on the wrong day? But I start fishing and a few fisherman arrive and I'm feeling good about this deal. But, its 35 degrees out and my right hand is numb. MP asks me how my carpal tunnel syndrome was holding up and I told her it felt the best it has in days, its numb, no problem. Having a bit of an extinct for this fishing I got to wondering why so few people were around and it came to me after but an hour or two....no people=no fish. I don't even see one fin.

We all know MP is the definintuion of A.D.D. And it wasn't long before she shucked that 200 dollar fishing rod down and went to beach combing. As we fished I was kinda figuring on how long it would take to get her moving, after all, we were in the shade and the beach wasn't and it was just so inviting. Her first big score were these (according to her) rare and unusual red rocks.

I had planned on putting a gorgeous 25 pound salmon in that fish tote but who needs that when you find all the free seaweed you want, kelp to. Ever since I built that cute greenhouse MP has gone to gardening with a zealousness that's remarkable. Shes' reading and digging and planting and composting and this stuff here is just the ticket for that new compost pile. The problem is that to get just the perfect PH she has to know how much to of this seaweed to add depending on whether its considered a 'green' or a 'brown'.  The confusing part I pointed out to her is this....what if it was a green and then turned brown after it warshed up on the beach? That's a tough one.

We're pretty much fished-scavenged out by 8 am and the blood is returning to my fingers and you know, I really didn't need a salmon I just needed to go fishing so we saddle up and head for home. As we don't get to Ninilchik very often I decided to stop and see an old friend. To show my love I left a brand spanking new 7/8 ounce Blue Fox Pixie in the cranberry red with red insert color.

But the strangest thing was that on my buddies grave somebody had made a heart shape out of those same red rare and unusual rocks that MP picked up on the beach. Well, in my world that's some kind of sign for sure and I'm feeling connected and all of a sudden really good about me, him and her. I don't know how that red shaped heart in rocks got there, it could have been a spirit or a person,  but who ever did it converged with me today. Love conquers all, we move on.

Now if any of you haven't been to the Old Believers Russian Orthodox church in Ninilchik its worth a look. We have a century old church that is similar in Kenai but  this setting right on the high bluff overlooking the ocean and the volcanoes is just stunningly beautiful. And its just not just a show church, regular service is conducted here and the cemetery reflects the character of our country and Alaska. Pretty darn cool.

We're driving down the road and this wild rabbit actually poses for us. Now have you ever seen a rabbit that wasn't running? I know I never have, they don't come that way, where would the hare and the tortoise story be if we had rabbits behaving like this. I had time to stop the truck, get the camera out of the bag and shoot 3 pictures and then he WALKED away.  I hate to over think this too much but it seems to me the messages were all pretty clear this morning....we're going to have a great summer.

Please come back to the blog. Although business is down a bit I'll be fishing hard real soon. The water is clearing and this year all of the indicators show that our early run is going to be OK. Maybe not like the old days but the sonar counts are up and I'm looking forward to some serious tugs on the line this June....thanks for reading mile 14.