Swan Lake Canoe Trails

This is where we went this past weekend! We took off with our 80lb. canoe, loaded down with supplies for 2.5 days from the west entrance. We traveled down to the fork on Spruce Lake on Friday night. We took off the next morning, early as the sun is up over 18 hours, and traveled through the upper loop through Swan lake, and down to Loon Lake. We stopped at the island and camped for the 2nd night. Sunday morning we headed home, but not before taking some extra time to fish and nap! We had an amazing time!! We traveled through 15 different lakes, 5 twice, and portaged for 5 miles - 3 times as we had two loads! We took our "real" camera as our digital only holds battery power for about an hour! We hope to get more photos to you as soon as we can!! I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with my personal ability to make it that far!! Oh, yeah, that photo is not of us!!! Our big red/orange canoe will be obvious!

Sunday Afternoon

This weekend we took the afternoon and went to Engineer Lake. Supposedly there are trout there, and though we saw many in their acrobatic feats, none seamed to be interested in our flies or spinners. We did seem to find a way to spend our time, though!

Melli's Garden...almost

Greenhouse Needed!!! Actually, we are going to get a heater tomorrow so I can move some of these kitchen plants outside! I have a lovely array of plants including, but not limited to, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuce, daisies, forget-me-not, hollyhocks, pansies, columbine, & dianthus! I have seedlings and potted plants, so I'm definitely needing to spread out!! Fortunately for me, my fabulous husband has provided me with a greenhouse! Someday soon, I will be picking tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, lettuce, and smelling lots of blooms!! We'll see how things go this year of the "Potted Garden"!!! I hope the moose don't get any of it!!

It's not easy being ... brown

Okay, here is where our climate leaves us! There are a few little buds starting to show, and some green beginning to grow! Pat's surprise that he made for me is this great mini-greenhouse! I love it! It's just big enough to hold a tomato or two, some peppers, and my little seedlings!! I have to get a heater for it before I put those little plants into their new home! Isn't my hubby wonderful!! He's already making plans for next years' model!

Ol' Wollynimblebuggerbeater egg-noodlingwickybomble

Hey, Adam - Is this what you were talking about?!!! It is a particularly large "fly" that uses a hook about 4" long!! If you have any other suggestions, please let us know!!!!

egg-sucking girdlebooger!!

Today Melissa and I went to Sport Lake to do some trout fishing. The last of the ice cleared off the lake today and we were exited to put the canoe in and do some fly-fishing. The weather was nice, 54 degrees and just a little breezy. We launched the canoe and paddled across the lake to a calm cove. Melissa had a fish in the boat before I could even get my fly line in the water!! she boated three small Kokanee salmon and released them before I had my first fish on. Some popular fly patterns here are the egg sucking leach, the girdle bug, and the wooly bugger. I figured I would cover all the bases so I sat down at my fly-tying table in the tackle room and invented the egg-sucking girdlebugger. It was the only fly that produced fish, we were there for two and a half hours and caught nine fish. I now have a lot of egg-sucking girdlebuggers to tie before our next outing!!

Posterity

It's snowing right now! Big Fat Flakes! It won't stick, thankfully, but thought I'd keep you up on our weather!!!

It's Begun!

We have been out! The ice is breaking up and this weekend we got out and worked out the kinks in our canoe skills! We tried a little fishing, but it seems we will need much more practice on this one! In fact, Pat is out as I write honing his fishing skills at a different lake!

4TH BIRTHDAY AND 1ST TOOTH!

Here's what's happenin' in Kansas! Jackson is now the full, fabulous FOUR! Sydney is now one tooth shy of a full mouth! Fortunately, the replacement tooth isn't far behind!! Her "6-year-old" tooth is coming in!