The Cost of Fun

Seems as though one should post a picture or two when updating the blog. I have not taken any pictures of late and am too lazy (actually, it is cold and windy outside) to go take a picture to put in the blog. So how about a couple old pictures of the family charmer?

Have purchased a utility trailer for the purpose of hauling around the kick boats. Even have it licensed. Had to send Jane back to Boise (she was going anyway to shop with Barb) to get another bill of sale. I lost the first one. Did not even get out of the pickup after pocketing the paper and still lost it. I am still in wonderment and awe over how I managed that. The next challenge is learning to back it up. Haha. The first attempt did not go well. The trailer is light and if all else fails, I can just unhook it and move it by hand. I can see myself backing the trailer and two kick boats down the ramp to the lake. Those ramps are slanted and the trailer will gain speed and I will be running behind it tryinig to slow it down. That ought to bring plenty of laughs to the onlookers. Heck, I might even be on You Tube.

I mentioned that we had fished Malheur Reservoir last Sunday and I got skunked. That is hardly news. I have yet to catch a fish this spring. But the wind blew like the dickens and I managed to get my eyes irritated--maybe even some sunburn with the glare off the lake and forgetting to wear sunglasses. By Monday night I seemed to have an infection in my left eye and by Tuesday I couldn't keep the eyes from watering and the kids in class were asking what was wrong with my eyes. I stopped in at the optomotrist's office in Payette on the way home from work. The receptionist took one look at me, shuddered, (I must have really had a case of the uglies) went and retrieved my file and put me in a chair. You know how people in the waiting room like that!

Doctor determined that I had something (they always have long unpronounceable Latin names that impresses us while at the same time relieving us), that I did not have an infection yet, and that I needed a prescription and needed to get started on it right away. Oh, Boy! You now how relieved we are when our ailment has a name. Now we are getting somewhere.

I went to Walgreens in Ontario at noon. I was the only customer at the Rx window. In my wildest dreams I could not have hoped for better luck than that. I got these eye drops to place in my eyes four times a day. With my trusty Blue Cross Plan I only had to pay $34--FOR EYE DROPS???!!! When I got home and read the entire bill I about dropped. Blue Cross picked up $85 of the bill. Gads!! What's that? Like about $119 for about forty drops ?? JEEZ. When J puts in the drops (one drop for each eye) I am feeling most of the drop run down to the corner of my eye only to be dapped up by a tissue. Hey, we are talking about $3 a drop and most of it is being soaked up by a tissue. My eyes are still a bit itchy, but better. My left eye still is definitely not focusing as well as it should, yet.

While at the counter of the optomotrist waiting to get a total of my bill, I see some clip-on/flip-up sunglasses for twelve dollars. I bought those. Now hopefully I will have sunglasses on when fishing the next time. Oh, yeah. The bill at the eye doctor was $32. You know what? That first fish is going to cost me, well...we are already into the hundreds with gas and all.

It has been so cold here (suppose to be below freezing again tomorrow morning) that I don't know if the water temperature will ever warm to 70 degrees to trigger the warmwater species to begin spawning. That is when the fish get really dumb and that is when I can catch them I have a fairly narrow window there and had better catch a few hundered to get the cost of each fish below a dollar a fish.

While looking for mushrooms last Saturday, Genille came across a deep, dark purple trillium (also known as Wake Robbin) near the banks of the Middle Fork of the Weiser. Turns out that is a rather rare flower in our area. I should go back and take a picture of that. I will be sure to take a picture of my first fish of the year and post the purple trillium and fish together as a couple of rare finds. Oh, I had better post the picture of the skink with those, too. M, did you ever find the name of that critter with the bright blue tail?

M, do you need to build up your arm strength? Here is a good way to do it. Start by holding a five pound potato sack in each hand with your arms straight out from your body. Hold them steady for a minute. Do this three times, three times a week. The following week use ten pound potato sacks. The next week use twenty pound potato sacks. Work your way gradually up to FIFTY POUND potato sacks. Then when you can easily do that, start putting potatoes in the sacks. Watch those guns begin to bulge!!

Papa Coyote must retire to his den,

Yeeeeeoooooowwwwwww!! Lovin ya'all