Revolver

I remember hunting whitetail deer with this .357 magnum many, many years ago. After two seasons of sitting in the snow, getting cold, bored and never seeing anything to shoot at, I gave up. Deer hunting was one of the least interesting activities in which I have ever engaged.  Retrospectly, I’m glad I never had the opportunity to kill a deer. While I’ve shot squirrels, rabbits, partridge and a few other small game animals, I never derived any great pleasure or satisfaction from the killing sports. On the other hand, I do remember some fine meals of rabbit stew, roasted partridge, and pheasant pie.

I still keep a collection of firearms, and even fire them occasionally – rarely, but only at paper targets. The cartridges in this holster belt have somewhat corroded and have over the years, undoubtedly, lost some of their explosive power. Soon, I will take them out, polish them up and replace them in those same loops, maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, the guns sit in a cabinet holding on to memories of times long past.

 

Sunrise This Morning

I had the awesome experience of watching the sunrise over two different lakes this morning, June 7, 2017. We put the boat in at the western end of White Lake where I took the first photo, and then motored out to Lake Michigan where I caught a different view about 20 minutes later. I’m liking this smart-phone camera more every time I use it.

To make the day even better, we caught two King Salmon, which equaled our catch for the entire season last year.

 

Sunrise over White Lake, June 7, 2017.

Sunrise over Lake Michigan, June 7, 2017.

Order

Springtime in Michigan

Earth

Free Fishing Weekend

Families line the bank of White Lake for Michigan’s biannual “Free Fishing Weekend.”

The state of Michigan offers two free-fishing weekends a year. This year’s summer event occurred June 13^th and 14th. The purpose is to encourage children and families to enjoy the great outdoors, especially the wonders of sport fishing. It is thought that people who fish are more attuned to the demands of the aquatic environment and will help to improve and maintain it.

Payton Ohs, with her mother, and brother, shows off her prized Bluegill early in the morning. (click on the photo to see a larger image.)

Families with their children traveled from around the state to participate in the White Lake Area Sportfishing Association fishing contest for children.

Jaxton Monroe, 8 years old, poses with his dad and their freshly caught Bluegill. (click on photo to see a larger image.)

Sunrise on White Lake

Click on photo to see larger image

Sunrises and sunsets on the lake are almost always spectacular. This was taken on my smartphone yesterday morning about 7:00 o’clock. There were more fishermen out than I had expected; 10 minutes earlier we couldn’t see the boat next to us because of the fog.

By 11:00 o’clock, it had greatly dissipated, but not completely. We nearly had our limit of Bluegills and headed for the cleaning station at the Montague boat launch to beat the rush of other fishermen who might have the same idea.

I keep thinking, “I am not a morning person,” nonetheless, I have posted many more sunrise pictures here than sunset pictures. I would much rather go to bed well after sundown and sleep in the following morning, but it seems that whenever my friend, Wes, asks if I want to go fishing, I always say, “Yes, of course. What time?” – Oh crap, he wants to go early in the morning. So, there I am, often before sunrise, helping to launch the boat. Clearly, I am not the man that I think I am.