Thursday I decided it was time to take down the rest of the half dead box elder at the rental property.  I had my chains sharpened by George first.  I used big ratchet straps to pull the tree toward the still-standing silver maple.  I notched and felled the tree.  It came down right where I wanted it—not on the house or in the street, but in between.  I limbed and bucked for awhile, then hauled a load of brush down to the dump.  There were some good logs in there and I cut them up and brought them home.  Someone had dumped most of a large American Basswood.  This is excellent carving wood, and I set aside a few logs for future projects.  Guess I can always burn my mistakes!  I made three trips to the brush dump and back.  I didn't quite finish off the box elder, but my firewood racks are nearly full.  What a relief.  We'll be ready for next winter.  I used the new chainsawing helmet (with attached ear muffs and face shield) that I had picked up in Wisconsin.  It worked great.  I'll cut up the rest of the box elder another day.

Returning from vacation produced a few surprises.  The home prairie is in full bloom, with purple coneflowers, monarda, and others flowering.  Savannah had shot a rabbit in the back yard with the BB gun, but left the carcass for me to dispose of.  Stacey noticed an odor in the basement but couldn't figure it out.  After I smelled it, the logic circuits began to operate, and I deduced that we had caught another mouse in the remaining trap I had set.  The mouse had died sometime while we were gone and was beginning to produce decomposition gases.  I found it and threw it out.  The fishing spider also died while I was gone.  Too bad.  They say deaths come in threes.  We apparently got an inch of rain in our absence (on the 4th).  The trumpet creepers that I had sprayed with Round-Up was all dead.  So was the lawn around them, but I expected that.  Maybe I'm winning that war.

I forgot to mention that we had fried cheese curds in Wisconsin.  Even Stacey ate them.  Stacey put a bunch of the Wisconsin pics up on Facebook, for those who may be interested.  I went kind of long last week so I'll put Ron's poem in this issue.

THE GUIDE

Last year, “There are no fish in Ron’s River”, Joe said 

Further he said, “Ron’s River is dead” 

This year he may sing a different tune 

Because he knows Ron’s River is truly a boon 

He caught more northern than ever before 

And the rest of his fishing wasn’t a bore 

Over in the lily pads he got a big strike 

And immediately he knew it was something he did like 

He grunted and groaned with all his might 

And got really excited when the fish was within sight 

For on the end of the line was a 5-pound bass 

That he pulled from Ron’s River’s grass 

Remember, he used my boat, rod, reel, bait and I was the guide 

I just wanted all of you to know before he lied 

He’ll probably say HE caught the fish 

But without me he wouldn’t have fulfilled his wish 

Ron Cronacher, Owner of Ron’s River

Guide Extraordinaire


Friday we went to Quincy and ran errands.  I dropped off some stuff at my office, including the bear skull.  We were all the way back to main campus before I remembered that I had a phone message.  After getting my mail, we went back to North Campus.  The message was a hang-up.

Saturday was my birthday.  We didn't know if Stacey was going to have to work the County Fair in the firefighting capacity, so we made no plans.  It turned out that she didn't, and we had a relaxing day at home.  I reviewed a manuscript and got some simple tasks done.  I found out one of my photos was accepted into a show by MONEP members at Powder Valley Conservation Area near St. Louis.  In the first email they didn't tell me which of my submissions had made it.  Surprise!  It's a snake.
This red-sided garter was in the road right outside Lowell's house last fall.

In the afternoon I went out into my prairie to see what I could shoot.  My goal was to capture the flight of the bumble bee, so to speak.
This was the best of many, many attempts.  Physics is against me here, as you need fast shutter speed to freeze the action and small aperture to get enough depth of field.  The darn sun just isn't bright enough!

These bee flies (Bombylius) are a lot more cooperative.

I didn't notice until later examination of the image that this robber fly was eating a tiny wasp.


This gorgeous jumping spider hopped into the vegetation after just three frames.

I bought a kaleidoscope-like toy at Shell Lake to demonstrate the insect compound eye in class.  I didn't experiment with it long, but this gives you the idea.
Garden phlox through fly's eyes.

Sunday morning I read the paper on the back porch with a cup of coffee.  I geared up for a bike ride, only the second of the summer.  I was riding past a house and saw a little dog on the front stoop.  He was so still I thought he was a statue—until he started running after me.  I figured with his short legs I'd outdistance him, but he wouldn't give up.  I stopped on the Wyaconda bridge to let him catch up and greet him, so that maybe he'd go home afterward.  No such luck.  He'd get distracted by some roadside diversion and I'd think I'd lost him, then he'd come running up behind me again.  I decided to reverse my route and do the loop in the opposite direction.  That way when I went past his house he might stay there.  Nope.  He kept following, but I lost him by taking a short cut.  I did the loop out through Amish country and saw a lot of horses.  On the way back on route F I saw a coyote.  I got out my camera from a fanny pack without stopping and tried to follow him.  Of course, I had the short lens on, and he had put some distance between us by the time I caught up. 

I shouldn't show an image this bad.  It's embarrassing. 
When I got back to highway 16, the dog picked me up at his house again.  Dang!  I encountered a couple of ladies with a flat tire.  They said they had help on the way.  The dog stopped to greet them and I kept going.  I stopped to pick up a rubber tie-down, and thought someone might be losing their load.  Twenty yards farther on I picked up another, figuring the load was significantly less secure. A doe came out on the side of the road like she was going to cross, then ran back into the woods.  Another twenty yards and I picked up a big draw bar pin.  Someone definitely lost their load!  Then the damn dog caught up with me.  I was almost back to 61 when I found a horseshoe, obviously from an Amish horse.  I picked that up too, glad that the ride was almost over with all the extra weight I was now carrying.  The dog followed.  I was almost home when the dog got distracted by something.  I rounded a corner, zipped into the garage and closed it. 

At the risk of breaking my policy of publishing no more than one Ron poem per blog, here's another he wrote in honor of my birthday.

HAPPY BUGGUYDAY 

Happy Bugguyday, lover of the insect 

Like the Pied Piper, they come to your call and beck 

I bet you thought I forgot but not so 

The orgy ladies really had me on the go 

As the ladder of age we climb 

It’s not how far but what we do with our time 

No matter the age, you’re a young kid 

Since it’s obvious from Father Time you hid 

The next time you fish Ron’s River so great 

You will have to bring your own bait 

Since my gift to you is a 5-pound bass 

That you caught out of Ron’s River grass 

Anyway Happy Bugguyday, have a good time 

And I hope you enjoy your special rhyme 

Your Friend and Fishing Guide

Ron

I put the ring flash on the macro lens and prowled around the prairie.  It compensated for the overcast day, and made exposure faster and more predictable.
This caterpillar may be what's eating the apical meristems off my cup plants.  I shouldn't have let him live.

I'm really starting to like flies.  They have a lot of character.

This paper wasp worker was trying to carry this macerated bit of caterpillar back to the nest, and took a rest on the side of the house.  I'm really liking the ring flash now. 

Savannah has been going to the fair every night and enjoying the events and the live band.  She didn't have to work Sunday, but went to the usual teen nightclub with her friend.  Since she was all dressed up, I asked her to pose for me to practice some portrait photography.  This is 3-point lighting plus flash.

This was a spontaneous moment between poses.  You can see our investment in her teeth has paid off.

Monday morning I took the kayak out for some local fishing.  I was given permission to fish these two farm ponds at an ATV run last winter, and hadn't gotten around to it until now.  I tried the north one first, as it was bigger, maybe 4 acres.  Getting there was a challenge, as my truck wouldn't fit down the ATV trail.  So I pulled the kayak maybe 100 yards down and up and through tall weeds to get to the pond.  I figured I'd pay with 10,000 chigger bites, but I hadn't counted on paying with a rod.  One of my rigs stuck in the weeds, bent back, and broke in two places.  At least it was an old one I had gotten at a garage sale maybe 15 years ago.  That left me just the spinning outfit.  As it was early, I tried a buzzbait for a long time, then a spinner, then a rat-l-trap, then a topwater popper.  No bites.  At least it was lovely weather and a pretty place.  There was a lot of standing timber, deadfalls, and brush piles.   Finally, I tried an orange curlytail grub and caught a small crappie (I think) that got off next to the boat.  I gave up on that lake.  I pulled the kayak up on the shore and drove the truck around and down the hill on a route that I should have taken in the first place. 

I loaded up and moved to the south lake.  It was smaller, but just as attractive.  I used a chartreuse spinnerbait, and made it 3/4 of the way around before anything bit.  There was a shallow arm with some wood in it that reminded me of a spot at Lowell's lake where I almost always catch a fish.  I cast up in there and hooked a good fish that measured 16 inches.  For this one, I used the new fish grabber I got for my birthday.  I took its picture and put it back, thinking that was the biggest bass I've caught out of the kayak.  I continued around, caught another small fish.  On the second round I cast up next to a log and hooked a big one.  It jumped and looked like it had a mouth I could put my fist in.  It pulled the kayak around and bend the rod over.  The line broke and the lure stayed with the fish.  I guessed it was 4 or 5 pounds.   I didn't take it too hard, and found another similar spinnerbait in the little tackle box.  I caught another foot long bass in the same arm as the first fish, and a tiny one farther down.   It was getting toward lunch time, but I thought I'd try the spot where I'd hooked the big one.  Before I even got there I threw the lure over to a different log and hooked something quite large. It didn't jump, and fought like a catfish.  When I got it up to the surface it was a bass, and it measured 20 inches.  A five pounder is supposed to be 19 inches.  This one was a bit thin, but probably would go 5.  Fortunately, I had done some experiments in positioning my camera on the bow of the kayak to take a self portrait.

This is definitely the biggest bass caught from the kayak. 

You can also see the new kayaking dork hat I bought in Wisconsin.  It kept my nice and cool.  I look like a mushroom head, but I don't get a sunburn.  I fished just a little more, then packed up and headed out.  I ended up with 5 bass and two bluegills.

I felt pretty good that afternoon and I cut up the remainder of the boxelder maple, stacked the wood and hauled the last of the brush.  Stacey and I had dinner at the Mexican restaurant.   I think I've said it before, but I'm having a pretty good year.