Cedar Waxwings

The Cedar Waxwings arrived. They will probably only be here for a day or two but they are something to watch when they arrive. They swarm the junipers and fill the air with their soft high-pitched trill "brezee zee" call. In the third picture there is a squirrel wondering who these birds are. He looks scared.

Bluebirds - The Second Build

A few weeks ago the female bluebird vanished after a few days of building. The male sang and sang and did his "look at this great place I have found for you to build your nest" dance. I figured something got her (and something might have and he has attracted another mate) or she just didn't like something about the spot. Then I got a phone call from Jen. "Your bluebirds are back, both of them and they are building again. I was so happy and laughed at how sappy I have gotten over these birds and how worried I became after I stopped seeing them outside around the house. 

Well they are back and at it again. This female carries huge bunches of grasses and branches into the nest box. During one of her trips she crossed paths with a squirrel and dropped what she was carrying to beat the squirrel, with the help of the male. They made this awesome "click click click" sound and dive bombed the squirrel until it retreated into the trees. Several other birds met the same treatment when they landed too close to the nest box. It was a pretty entertaining day in the back yard. 

Tater was not impressed. 

A Pair of Visitors at Dusk

I stepped out on the porch to enjoy some Sushi Monster (dad's favorite) and while taking it all in I noticed someone running by. It stopped for a bit and then found something that it spent some effort digging out and yipping happily before it ran off over the hill. A few moments later and here comes another visitor. It watched me eat the sushi as I "clicked" at it. Then it took off on the same trail and stopped at the top of the hill to look back one more time before vanishing. 

Fishing Room / Fly Tying Room

We all have them and if we don't have them, we want them. They are custom made, organized (some more than others) and decorated but they all contain the same things. Fish art, tying table, materials, boxes, flies, books and photos. Fly fishing rooms are awesome. Below is Captain Greg Moon's Fishing Room.  Kick ass.

Tying Table

Materials

Flies

DIY Bed Frame

A week ago we decided it was time for a new bed (because before there was no bed frame). After some internet inspiration we decided on this design. This bed is rock solid. We basically built a box with a lip around our bed frame, box spring and mattress. 

We used 

9 = 2 x 6's

3 = 2 x 12's

3 = 2 x 8's

1 = 2 x 4 (cut into many pieces for bracing)

lots of wood screws with a KREG jig

4 lag screws and washers

Gel Stain

(inside of the frame)

90.5" (foot of the bed - horizontal platform)
2x80"(sides of the bed - horizontal platform)

those then sit on 82.5" (Foot of the bed - vertical)
and 2x 81.5" (sides - vertical)

the horizontal foot overlaps the vertical sides like a puzzle.

The headboard was made with 90.5" lumber stacked on top of each other and then connected with a 2x4 that was lag bolted into side of the bed. 

All of these dimensions were measured to fit our king sized bed and box springs. Measure your bed to make sure these dimensions will work before you start cutting lumber. 

Reloading

During the last trip to the coast I pulled an absolute rookie move. While landing a redfish, I allowed the fish to swim between me and my kayak, which was attached to me by a 3ft rope. In my attempt to not break my rod I made a heroic effort which I will never be able to describe. It is best summed up by the statement, "I was very grateful that no one was watching and that the Gopro was not running." Needless to say I saved the rod but broke the red off when it dragged the leader across the rope. I retied and cast to another red, which I hooked and when the line became tight and the fish started its first run the line broke. Another few fish were meandering by so I quickly retied, cast and hooked up and when the line came tight it quickly snapped. What I failed to do was to check my leader after my fiasco. The rope had frayed the leader in several spots and weakened the leader.

Lesson relearned - always check the leader after a few fish or after heroic measures. 

Bluebirds Building Their Nest

This morning over coffee, Jen and I watched these two build their nest. We must have sat out there forever and I am sure the neighbors were wondering what we were watching. It was a perfect way to start the day.

For more bluebird information check out:


http://www.sialis.org

http://www.texasbluebirdsociety.org

Bluebirds (choosing a nesting site)

Bluebird sitting on Jen's hanging strawberries.

If you look real close you can see the girl looking out of the house.

Then they took off. I hope they liked the house tour. It was pretty neat watching them this morning.

For more bluebird information check out:

http://www.sialis.org

http://www.texasbluebirdsociety.org

Aransas Pass / Port Aransas /Rockport, TX

Home away from home.

Cajun Combo w/ 2 lbs of crawdads

Key Lime Tart to top it off 

Of course there was Mexican Food along the way.

(Phil's Anchor)

There always seems be something that gets left at home when kayak fishing and we always say, "Lets make a check off list for the next trip so this doesn't happen again." This trip an anchor was left at home but have no fear. We are firefighters and fly-fishermen. We are experts at adapting and overcoming and rigging things to make them work in our favor. After all, an anchor is just a heavy object attached to a rope.

(a few casts with an awesome eat and a very bad trout set)

(Possum)