The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey November 21, 2023

21 November 2023

Not Winter, just yet, but it is swinging the bat in the on-deck circle. We're getting regular overnight lows in the teens (°F), and the smaller ponds and lakes are starting to ice over as the colder temps take hold. The bulk of the leaves are cleared or mulched in - I have one more round of that work to do, probably over the holiday weekend. We didn't miss out on the fall color, though it has come and gone... We had a smattering of snow three weeks back, and perhaps a quarter inch fallen on the ninth, some of…

Brian Bilbrey October 10, 2023

10 October 2023

We've had family visiting in the past few weeks. First Marcia's brother and his wife, then Marcia's niece and her family (hubby and three kids). It was hectic, and fun. We went to the local Common Ground Fair (pricy, crowded ... meh). We went for lobster on the coast (or, in my case, bacon-wrapped scallops), and we did some fishing. Then with the second group: cook outs, a family party, and fishing. A reasonably good time was apparently had by all, including us. Georgia, the rescue mutt, did pretty well with all the hustle and bustle, too. The fishing this…

Brian Bilbrey July 11, 2023

11 July 2023

First, some context: From The Washington Post: Theater is in freefall, and the pandemic isn't the only thing to blame. I place this in light of the woes that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is going through, as mentioned in that article. And indeed, it's not just the pandemic. For OSF, it was the Almeda Fire of 2020, and it was the smoke filled skies in the Pacific Northwest last year that cancelled so many outdoor performances on the Elizabethan Stage. It was the cracked main load beam in the Angus Bowmar a decade ago that had that venue closed for…

Brian Bilbrey June 11, 2023

11 June 2023

It's been gray and raining far more often than not these last few weeks. Nothing ever really dries out. Not me, not the dog. We got the boat out of storage on a Saturday in early May ... immediately followed by 3.6 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. Everything flooded. Bits of docks were floating away. It was two or three weeks before things stabilized and we could put our boat in the water. We've been out a few times, caught a few small bass and a monster of a great northern pike that I got to the…

Brian Bilbrey April 19, 2023

19 April 2023

Nearly three weeks ago, the (perhaps) last snow of the season came and went. (I've doomed us, now.) Friday last, it was in the high 70's (F) hereabouts, shorts and tshirt while walking the dog. This week, we've been back down in the mid-thirties overnight most night, and might approach freezing again a few times. That said, I've arrange for us to pick up the boat from winter storage at the end of the month (I've doomed us, again). The weather doesn't look auspicious for early May fishing yet, but if the boat isn't out, there's no hope at all.