Chinook rebuff

Today marked the arrival of Chinook salmon to the Snake River from the Pacific Ocean, and the state’s approval to fish for them. My husband took the morning off so we could fish for the salmon while they’re here and before the females lay their eggs and the males follow to fertilize the eggs. The adults typically die after these accomplishments.

We did not manage to intercept the life cycle of any salmon. My husband caught a good-size bass, and I was skunked. We enjoyed a pleasant morning on the river. We saw a few salmon jumping, but not for the joy of coming home with us.

The railroad bridge across the Snake River

Sunbeams glistening on the river

Westerly greetings

These sunflowers beam their cheery golden brightness into a west-facing window.

Effie among Grapes

Special Guest Star Halvor basks in the welcome sunshine on the patio. . . .

Effie enjoys a bit of shade near a chair.

Effie checks out a blackberry branch. She probably doesn’t mind that the blackberries have all been picked. Behind her are ripening Flame grapes.

Happy girl in a pleasant garden!

Back on the River

We launched beautiful Pisca-Dory at 9:15 this morning. The weather was pleasantly cool, and the air was fresh. The sun shined through light cloud cover that was neither stormy nor smokey. The day was all-around pleasant and beautiful. My husband and I caught five fair-size bass between us; he caught three and I caught two. I caught two small feisty ones that I would have released had they not released themselves. Vic suddenly started catching little ones too–at least 13 of them! He released them all; a few jumped unassisted from the lures.

It was so good to be out in our dory fishing again! I hope the rest of the summer will be amenable to regular at-least-weekly fishing again. I hope the wildfires are over for the season ahead. Chinook salmon season opens next week, and I still aspire to catch some crappie!

I’ll post a video later on when Vic finishes editing it. I’ll make it a separate post so Followers of my blog will receive a notification when it’s up.

Rather Suddenly: RAIN!!

Yes! Rain is falling, and westerly winds are blowing! And we are going fishing!

More later. . .for now, we thank and praise our God who hears and loves and cares for His people.

Effie and blackberries

I took this photo last summer, of Effie slavering over the unripe blackberries she had been checking out. This year she has shown no interest in them at all, even when they were ripe. I think she does really cute things with her tongue.

Her cute look elevated my morale after reading the NOAA wildfire reports and predictions. It was a tad demoralizing to learn that I am not cut out for life on earth, but hey, I’ve had a fair number of decades to prove I am blessed with some kind of knack for survival–aka God’s preserving grace.

I have a wonderful husband, a compatible cat, a pleasant home, and a well-matched church. Smoke happens. I’ve been outdoors only briefly, to run up the hill to get any eggs our hens have laid, and down the hill to pick up our mail. I feel a little cooped up, staying in the house so much, and very ready to get back to fishing in the Snake River again. The fires have kept us from fishing for three whole weeks.

Like most nuisances, smoke doesn’t stay forever.

A welcome touch of blue (even if it’s not the sky)

As I fed Effie her daily fresh catnip leaves in Effieland this morning, I noticed a small handful of suddenly ripe blueberries that brought me joy and consolation nearly two weeks into the absence of any hint of blue in the sky or elsewhere. The smoke is predicted to clear tomorrow–we’ll see. Much-needed rain and westerly winds continue to elude the smokey valley.

I’ve picked all the blackberries, and Vic picks several large, full stems of Himrod (green) and Flame (dark pink) grapes every evening. We’re thankful we have plenty of water on tap to keep the fruits of the garden and the chickens hale.

We are also extremely thankful for the aerial and land firefighting crews in Washington, Idaho, and Montana. May God continue to sustain these wonderful people. I don’t know how the losses they have prevented can ever be calculated.