THE STORM HAS PASSED.

 The storm rolled in early Friday morning and school let out by 12:30.  Beau and I took the dogs out for some nordic style bushwhakin back in the timber and down the old logging road to the abandoned farm down in the bottom. 

 Then today we met up with friends out at joan and marty's  for some back country skiing, Jackson county style. We were right in the sweet spot for yesterdays storm, picking up just over 7" of fresh powder.









My role seems to be that of trail buster with strong back and weak mind.  By the time we had made it around to Louie's lodge we had all broken a bead and were ready for a break and a seat around the fire.  The smell of cedar and the warmth of the fire was a tough vortex to pull our selves out of.




A loop down the valley and then back to the top of the ridge helped to build up an appetite.  The cook stove in Joans kitchen felt warm an inviting.  Susie had made a spicy carrot, potato and leek stew to be served over rice and Joan had a made a curry spiced squash stew.

presnow.....







postsnow.....

 Its been a great couple days of bird watching.  The feeders have been busy.  Yesterday we had 8 male cardinals,  harry, downy and red bellied wood peckers, nut hatches, tit mice, finches, grackles and blue jays.  This morning as we drank our coffee a eagle flew over the house and dropped in to roost in our oaks.  Over a hundred eagles hanging out below the lock and dam in town.

Below is a passing shot of some Canadian Geese that are getting a late start for the run South.

You've got to get out and enjoy it while you can.

Learning To Fly Again.

We got our first measurable snow fall last weekend. So, we finely got out and strapped on the skis.  Saturday we ventured over to the land of "Recall Walker" to at our friends Pete and Kathy.




Their log home lies at the confluence of the Platte and Little Platte Rivers  in exceptionally hilly terrain known as the Driftless area of south eastern Wisconsin. Many steep limestone bluffs dominate the landscape, covered by white pines, which is uncharacteristic in the region.

They had 15 of us over for an afternoon of outdoor activities.  Some hiked and took a toboaggan for a walk and a few of us cross country skied followed by a great meal.

 Here's a shot of Pete and Shawn.  Below that is Susie and Shawn's wife Barb.








Before we sat down to eat Pete showed me his beautiful split bamboo fly rod that he had made last fall.  Great action.  He also gave me an assortment of wet and dry flies that he had tied.



Susie and I got out and skied the hay field Sunday am.  It was nice to be able to walk out the door strap the skies on and go.  Great exercise.



Monday evening I hit the stream before the cold snap hit.  Nice, light weight action but my fly line kept  hitting the water like a bull whip with a splash.  It wasn't too long before got rat nested in a little box elder across the stream.

Spooking trout right and left and this little bunch of geese too.   Down to the next little ripple and hung up again.  Snapped tipit, tie a new fly on with cold finger tips and a few more casts and that was the end of Mondays flying lesson.  Big learning curve here.  It might be a while before I catch another trout but I'll keep at it.

Looking forward to another batch of snow this weekend and some more skiing.
Check out this Iowa City based site too.
Susie has some of her holga horse pictures here.
http://holgaiowacity.com/