nboucher

You guys are so right. I heard the first tufted titmouse (a cousin of the chickadee) singing here about a week ago (singing, as opposed to calling, which they do year round), and here in New England the first migratory returnees, red-winged blackbirds, should start arriving at swamps within the next couple of weeks. The birds are always on schedule. I keep a yard journal of widlife I can see from the house, and it's amazing how certain species of birds turn up in the spring during the same week year after year. During those rocky times when your life gets to be a mess, it's especially comforting to experience the steadiness of plants and animals, isn't it? One other thing about what birds know: We had a big ice storm here a few days ago, and at the bird feeders I maintain during the winter in my yard I'd been going through less bird seed than usual, thanks to the mild winter. Well, the day before this last storm, the birds started showing up at the feeders in large numbers, and they've continued to feed by the dozens ever since. I was certain we were going to get some kind of storm, no matter what the weather guy on TV said . . .

Muddy, you don't have to wait long for humiliation. March 7, Red Sox at Mets. Bring your Japanese phrase book, my friend.

Muddy, you don't have to wait long for humiliation. March 7, Red Sox at Mets. Bring your Japanese phrase book, :Pmy friend.

Because I'm flying, bringing large quantities of food along is iffy. However, I'm happy to make a grocery run at Fork for salad stuff and throw a salad together. I'm also planning on bringing a box of cigars for general consumption. Again, because I'm flying, don't count on Cubans, and if the feds are reading this, I'm talking about Cuban music.

I'm a sequential specialist, a serial obssessive. In other words, I'll tend to stick with a type of lure or water depth for weeks or months, then realize I'm limiting myself and switch to another type and become focused on that for weeks or months.

KU, I don't know about RW, but I'm impressed. ;D

Okay, stupid question: If you all are spraying your lines, how does that stuff not get on your reel, just through the normal contact and interaction between line and reel???

Seriously, why spray anything on your line?

Ever wonder what happened to preparations A to G ? The inventor applied it, began reciting the alphabet, and when he got to H his discomfort, err, receded.

Dom, sorry I missed the party. Happy Birthday a little late. Let me know how it goes, cuz I'll be 56 in December. Fortunately, my daughter has the same birthday as mine, so the focus is on her, and I can pretend I'm not getting any older. See you at the Fork senior facility.

My Sorels are close to 30 years old. With liners in them, I even wear them snowshoeing. They're indestructable.

My closest and favorite pond is 20 acres or so, too small for anybody to have seriously mapped, so what I do is use a public map that gives me as big an image of it as I can getGoogle maps, or in my case, the state of Massachusetts has put online recent aerial shots of every square inch of the stateand I print this map or image in as high quality as I can. Then I steal a couple of sheets of my daughter's school tracing paper (I recommend you buy your own) and trace the outline of the pond as precisely as I can, as well as docks and buildings along the shoreline, inlet and outlet creeks, etc. Next I note the features that I am familiar with just by having been out there so much--blowdowns, weedy spots, etc. Then I make some photocopies of the map with the contrast on high. Finally, I take one of these photocopies on a clipboard out onto the pond, and using my depthfinder, I sytematically cross the pond, noting water depths as precisely as I can, and add any notes that are significant. As cover changes with the season, I'll switch to a new map, noting the changes and dating the maps. The end result: my own personalized map collection of my own little pond. Eventually, I hope to have all the info memorized . .

I'm shocked! Just shocked!

Been using Tevas or Morrells for many years. Always on sale. Here's an example: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/351,74798_Teva-Dorado-Sandals-For-Men.html

I mainly use these three sites. http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/database/index.htm http://msucares.com/wildfish/fisheries/farmpond/weeds/thumbs.html http://www.mciap.org/herbarium/index.php

Russ, I have a digital camcorder I can bring as well.

Nice photos, Russ. Brrrr. . . I took the dog out for a long walk through the farm fields yesterday and marveled the entire time how the cold seemed not to affect her at all. She was as frisky as ever and made all of her usual sniffing stops. I get such a kick out of people who put sweaters on their dogs this time of year. Loaded up the bird feeders last night and put some extra seed on the ground. Tonight's going to be brutal for birds. At Lowe's on Friday night, I noticed all the seed packets are out on display, and the gardening stuff is getting stocked. Go figure.

KU, what strength Gamma line are you using? How do the pound-test ratings compare to Yo-Zuri's?

I've been "accidentally" head-butted by that gal in my avatar a few times. Fortunately, my head is harder. Get well, man. Now start working on your barroom brawl story. 8-)

Ahem... I feel like I am back in Catholic school being graded for punctuation, grammar and spelling. **Re-corrected** :) :) I feel as if I am back in Catholic school being graded for punctuation, grammar and spelling. This is fun.

I agree that donations are the way to go. As far as the bait store idea goes, I think there'd be too much overhead, and more importantly, filling orders and getting them mailed can quickly get time consuming. I want Glenn out there fishing, not stuffing packages. The magazine I run relies on reader contributions for 60 percent of its budget, and we simply send out a low-key mailing twice a year asking readers to pony up if they like the product. Because this site also has such loyal users, I think this model might work here. If Glenn doesn't want a donation button permanently affixed to the home page, why not send out a message once or twice a year that tells those of us who are willing to donate that it's time again and here's where to send your check or here's where to donate online? This could be on the home page and/or a sticky on the forums (as a notable forum topic), and it could come down after 2 or 3 weeks. Then, six months lateror at whatever interval Glenn thinks is neededit would go back up for a couple of weeks. No pressure, just a reminder that nothing's free.

Carl (riskkid), thanks for the reminder about getting a license. It might be a good idea to put up a post up on Avid's info-only thread about which one to buy and how to do it online. And here's a toast (I'm tipping my coffee mug) to that five-pounder, my friend.

Why? Marriage does not mean you have to root for the same teams. It's only a game, besides, you have a guest room, don't you? ;D (or at least a couch!) For a while last fall, when it looked like the Red Sox might be playing the White Sox in the postseason, we were lining up the marriage therapists. Fortunately, we dodged the bullet. It's not easy having a bisoxual family. ;D

Ronnie, I remember those bikes. Having a Shimano derailleur back then was a real status symbol!

How do you know which size oval rings to use?