Winter Storm Curtis

 Who's Curtis ?  Well , he's Mooontana's Jackie Purcell, the weather guru. When he says 12 inches of snow overnight that's what you get. Exactly ten years ago me and MPeasy chased Winter Storm Atlas as we drove across North Dakota to Minnesota to see Max. That storm was impressive and so was this one so I figured I'd name it myself .  Now retired #003 knows snow, I've been around it my entire life but there's always more to learn and this is what I'm learning ( the hard way of course ) is that Montana weather is just more dynamic that Alaska. You see in Alaska it starts raining or snowing and it does that for 5 days straight until you get 16 inches, around here it happens quick, 12 inches one night then a bonus 4 inches for a fantastic total of 16 in 24 hours. Kinda like the toad strangler that hit July 3rd 2021 and delivered an unbelievable 2 1/2 inches of rain in about 30 minutes. Here's a pic of our house...

We love this house, one story so no stairs and a beautiful expansive view . It has wonderful outdoor living spaces and mature landscape which means privacy....BUT...there's always the 'didn't think of that deal. We're on a fairly steep hill so now I know what Chris and Melinda on the Hillside of Anchorage go through to have their fantastic view...The morning we woke up to Winter Storm Curtis was exciting, I've never seen so many Subaru's stuck along side the road. People would pull to the right to pass someone turning and walla, the thick wet snow grabs the car and stops it next tot he curb....But Montanan's are a bit like Alaskan's everyone pitches in with the first batch of non-understanders and then things go smoothly the rest of the day. Here's the entryway at our health club.

So we do what we've always done in this situation....the car stays in the garage and the truck and camper are safe and sound under the new carport that was the last structure build of my life.  Then we shovel and the area around our porch could be prone to flooding so I use the wheel barrel to take all the snow out into the lawn....I hope you're enjoying that trusty snow blower I left you Mike because that is about the only regret I have in my life right now . We spend the day reading , a guy only needs so much news this day and age....Then about pre-cocktail hour we decide to walk down to the Casino to jokingly make a withdrawal.  They were happy to see us . Now I never hardly gamble but MP she likes to play the reels a bit and turn a 25 dollar breakfast into 40 dollar breakfast sometimes.  It's her upbringing I guess, she loves the hope, the mystery but she was taught to conserve everything so she will never lose any money to speak of . But me...well I usually go full speed ahead and man the torpedoes, that's why I seldom gamble.

So I get an ace and a King dealt to me and then the 10, Jack and Queen come on the draw...Walla !!!...the holy grail for video poker players . So now I've gambled twice in the last year and this is my second Royal Flush. Did I ever tell ya'all that I'm an awful lucky guy ?  It's just a shame to use up your moe-joe on $$$$$ when life's challenges await . So we left and walked home and the next day resisted the temptation to go again...It's called Balance . 

And that's the report from storm central.  We'll be Mazatlan soon and thanks to St. Pete's physical therapy and re hab I'm feeling like I can fish, all be it a bit slower I suppose . Hope ya come along.

The King of understatement

That would be my friend  and fellow retired fishing Pro Randy Berg who stated ' ya know this ageing process can be tricky '.  So as I type ( sitting in a chair of course as the desk hurts my neck ) I'm fasting and beginning my laxative treatment for tomorrow's colonoscopy.  Now if there's anything more awkward than having a colonscopy from a young female doctor I'd like to know what it is . So I might not have a lot fish pics foe this issue of Mile 14 but I do have the promise of a good story....and here's what we got goin on....

We've closed down the ranch portion of Mile 14 south and what a season it was. We have a drip system on a 20 X 20 foot area that out produces the 40 X 40 and two greenhouses we had in Alaska. A couple days ago we pulled  the row of tomatoes and harvest two full baskets and that's after supplying the gym, the neighbors, MP's family. our friends and the food share. We had the most gorgeous Black Crem tomatoes that are a Russian Heirloom....We donated at least 100 pounds of produce to Helena Food Share. Here's a pic of a Zucchini the evaded detection and got to big....The garden plants are so full of fruit that it's like mining when you pick as you never know what you'll find hidden away...we like it.

I was finally feeling good enough to go fishing the other morning. Well I was using that invisible leader that is new to me and on my third cast I hook a good Bass that pulls just hard enough to pull my botched knot job apart....so add a Rainbow colored Rapala shad rap to my losses. I've now lost more Rapala lures than your average fisherman has ever owned . It took a bit but I carefully tie on another and seeing a Bass surface a little farther out than a normal cast I gave it a little extra and walla....a searing pain shoots down my shoulder to my arm and I'm done fishing.....how exciting. Ya know for years I've told people  that this ol life is a marathon and not a sprint. Well, for me it's turning into a sprint.  But somebody somewhere has faith in me, this next pic was my fortune cookie the other night at Yatson's Chinese food , Several of my friends have suggested that I learn to bait fish so I don't have to cast.....mmmm.....nope, not, ain't gonna give it up that easy.

I haven't found anything that isn't helped by walking so I put the rod away and hiked around the lake. The fall colors and soooo vibrant and it looks to me we're an even month behind the world famous Mile 14 of the Kenai River.

Nov 7th we're gonna jump the jet. Ya know if a guy has to slow down a bit and do my re hab Physical Therapy exercises why not do it on the beach ? So being a 100 % guy I'm gonna apply myself to avoiding surgery on the neck. Strengthen the muscles, budget the activities that trigger the pain that are basically my lifestyle.....oh man, I gotta get better and I will.

The good news is that me and this new Chromebook computer are getting along splendidly. It's lightening fast and intuitive. It's going to make my winter of writing a lot easier as I move forward with Mile 14 and other writing projects......and yes, fish pics to come . See all my Team Xer buddies real soon.