Moira Update

Mo has been recovering well from her spine injury, despite some scary set backs, one of which required an additional surgical procedure. She soldiers on, as does the rest of the Tidball gang. We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of friendship and love that have been such an important part of this last week. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all of the support and prayers. Moira is an inspiration, a strong, tough-minded combination of grace and grit. Here is a picture of her, full-out in her passion, a sporting pursuit as well. I won't speak for all Grousers, but we are sure lucky to have the spouses we have. Let us not take these things for granted.

























Now, somebody please post some of the good stuff. I am armed with a stout bottle of Scotch (from good Sir Peter), and am in need of a good story to go with it.

Horse for Sale...

...or target practice.

For those of you that don't know, Moira was thrown from this horse Wednesday night and suffered a severe spine injury. She is in surgery today, and I am suspended in the wash of all that was, is, and will be. There have been some touch and go moments, but if the surgery goes well, she'll be walking again before we know it. Appeals to whatever gods or deities you make offerings to are appreciated.

The best cure for scurvy

Sunday morning after the grouser mini-reunion found three of us - two suffering from IPA deficiency, one scurvy free - on Seneca Lake in George's magnificent Penn Yann. Slicing through a slight chop, we trolled lures at depths from 25 to 60 feet. Lightning quick, Keith claimed the first strike for his own and soon landed a 21" lake trout. I bungled the following few, but the population was quite forgiving and we eventually landed five of 13. Even Capn. George, ravaged with manly scurvy, left the tiller once to land a magnificent 24" leviathan. Please visit me in PA Furnace if you'd like to sample trout, smoked per Moira's orders.

Fruity, Fruoffy, and other F word beers

Had a nice reunion of some grousers down at the Cayuga pond the other night... cooked up some home grown burgers and kicked back enjoying the High Life...well...some of us did. ;)

A Guide to Snakes of Whip-Poor-Will Hill

Well, two snakes so far (and one lizard: eastern fence lizard, unphotographed).

I came across this black rat snake, about three-feet long, on an old logging road below the house. The dogs ran over it, twice, and never noticed.

A few weeks ago we found a three-foot timber rattlesnake just up from the driveway. This photo was taken by my brother-in law Chris, who had never seen a rattlesnake in the wild. We came across this one as we were driving back from a nice swim at Trout Pond, the only natural lake in West Virginia. My reaction when we drove up to the snake was to stomp on the brakes and yell, "Everyone, out of the car NOW!!" so we could gather around the snake and appreciate it slithering across the road. Probably not a sound behavior from a evolutionary standpoint.

Salvelinus namaycush

A 10 dollar Cameroon wrapper "Black Opal " cigar
and a + ten pound Lake Trout
on a beautiful July morning on Seneca Lake.
Priceless.

Noz on the Rocks

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Noz loves to climb the rocks in WV. Video evidence presented.

... the shock that overrides

Came across this quote I thought I should share while doing some reading...

"I whisper thanks to the animal, hoping I might be worthy of it, worthy of carrying
on the life it has given, worthy of sharing in the larger life of which the deer and I
are a part. Incompatible emotions clash inside me—elation and remorse, excitement
and sorrow, gratitude and shame. It’s always this way: the sudden encounter with
death, the shock that overrides the cushioning of the intellect. I force away the sadness and remember that death is the spark that keeps life itself aflame (p. 263)."

Nelson, R. (1989). The island within. New York: Random House.

An Evening at the Ponds

Warm Water...good for the soul. Enough of the snooty trout, let's get muddy.

Joined up with Mr Bill's clan for an evening of dog training, burger flipping, and kid fishing.

Hannah has a new 'biggest fish', with an assist going to Ben...not Arkansas class catfish, but hey...

And even McPhee went for a swim.