It's warm, it's friendly at it's now

In Alaska you put your shorts on mid day when it gets warm, if it gets warm. Since arriving in the Big Sky I've worn shorts every morning and all day, haven't had pants on once...strange. Our first day here it was 94 and  that was a bit much but since then it's been 70's and 80's and with just a bit of Mexico in me it feels just right. Last night we watched the thunder storms role in over the mountains from the west and it was pretty cool....you could see the rain fall as it evaporated on it's way to earth.

Yesterday we went and found a new hike or two just up the road from us in Blodgett Canyon, this is how our new town looks from 3 miles away and a mile up....

There's clear cool water everywhere. I've been fishing 4 times now and yet to get the tug. So yesterday under the guise of buying MP some hiking shoes we went to Bob Wards Sporting goods and I got the skinny from a young expert who had of course fished the Kenai. I asked him that for the Bitteroot River right now if you could just have one lure or one fly what would it be ? He said for spinning it would be Panther Martin spinner and the fly would be some Muddler so when it gets light in another hour this is where I'll be, just 4 blocks from my house trying to figure it out...and you know for me the tug isn't that important, it's learning, watching, seeing what happens. Me and MP just yesterday saw nice big trout from the bridge so....we'll see. It might make me do a special edition of  Mile 14 when it happens.

Here's a pic of me and MPeasy at Spring Meadow Lake in Helena. It's a rehabed gravel pit that we skinny dipped in when I was a kid and now it's lush and restored and chucked full of Bass....that won't bite. It was driving me crazy...no...it's STILL driving me crazy, big bass you can see just suspended everywhere that won't take any thing I had. I had found my dads old tackle box so I had a mixture of of old spoons and few rapala's etc. Tried them all and was so frustrated I called in an over the air attack and called Dan Stewart in Bishop Ca. who knows the way. He said get rubber and when the fish are like that fish real slow and if you don't get bit fish slower....so I'm confident the next trip I'll be locked and loaded.

This mama goose gave MP a clear signal that any closer and she was going to nip one of her fingers.

There's Deer everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I took this shot early morning at MP's moms house. I tell people having those deer in your yards and on your highways like this would never work in Alaska. In Alaska they'd decide it was over escapement or whatever and would be executing them from helicopters...you know what Don Young said " you can't just let nature run wild "  ....mmmm....maybe that mind set is why the Kenai is closed again for Kings and the things we all loved about Alaska like Razor Clams and dungie crabs are gone. The politics of fishing doesn't exist here, in Montana fishing and catching is good thing and not something another person wants. I like that.

And Big country, boy howdy. MP's sister lives on a ranch near Gold Creek on the way to Helena from here. Here's a shot of her place from the road.

Now our place is a little more modest...Some might say my goodness, how could you move from a three bathroom 1500 square feet home with a river for a back yard to a one bath 800 sq. feet house in town ??? well it's easy, it's simple and it's us...in our back yard instead of dealing with 50 beetle killed spruce tree's we're deal with six plum trees and some huge Elm that shade us just fine.

We have two out buildings. The old garage is going to need some work like a new roof etc and fits MP's new car just right. The stucco building that I call Bert's house ( her grampa ) we're going to turn into a studio for me to play my music and MP will have her art work projects...so there's plenty to do on 7th Street Hamilton Montana USA. And ya know after we have this house fixed up if town life doesn't work out we'll move to the country, we'll see, no worries.

Well, I gotta drop the keyboard and head out the door, it's almost light and you know how I am about being on the water then. we get our internet on Monday so it will be easier to write and do the thing I enjoy so I hope you come back. I did this Mile 14 with a mobile hot spot on my phone...still learning at the age of  67... me and Beno agree it's the young side of old. I see I'm going to hit 200,000 views soon and that doesn't count the 25,000 I had in one day from being linked to national web forum a few years ago. So thanks for reading about our lives and loves....lets all carry on !