Sometimes

we do something besides work. It was doctor day.  I enjoyed the flowers at their office.  We were in and out quickly.  Surprise.

We took a back way to a WalMart

and had an early lunch out. This unique salad bar was in a canoe!

From our table we viewed a boat dock and the great White River.

Hubby had fish.  I had mussels.

We were both pleased and full.

We crossed White River as we took Highway 9 home.

The roads were curvy.  The driver drove fast.

It felt good to see someone else's trees.

Catfish

Catfish shed winter

Undulating shapes of gray

feeding cautiously

Attempt at Haiku for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

Sometimes, We Look...

instead of working.

We checked the pond to see

how many catfish were still "bedding".

I discovered it takes a special photographer

to take underwater shots.

There is a fish in this photo, right hand side.

This one, you can't miss.

A big catfish guarding her eggs swims away.

Seining Fish...

When I was a child, seining the pond was a annual event as the water grew low from the dry weather.  Low water, less oxygen...removing some fish assured the survival of the whole.

Our seine was about fifteen feet long with weights on the bottom and two poles at each end.  One person stood on the bank as the other waded out, set the seine and began to walk to the bank with the net on the bottom.  I was always the lucky one, red clay mud sucked at my feet and caused me to stumble but I held my pole straight and steady as I walked that seine to the bank.

A large bass kept jumping the net and we walked the seine again and again. We caught several catfish, some large perch and some small bass, plenty for supper and some for the freezer.

I was soaked from head to toe, mud all over me but we tried one more time. During the last sweep, there was no jumping fish, maybe he was worn out!  There was a chance, a small chance, Big Bass was in the net.

Struggling through the mud at the edge, I fell but spotted the giant bass flopping to reenter the deeper water.  No way was he escaping this time!

I dived toward the bass in the shallow, covering him with my body until I could get a good grip.  The fins stuck my stomach as I worked to get a hold.

Finally, triumphantly, I stand, totally mud-covered with a thumb in his gills and hold him high above my head while whooping at the top of my voice!

The sun shined bright as Daddy smiled.

Marcy's Fishing Morning

Marcy is always saying she wants to fish. Bev and I said go, but Marcy said there was too much work to do. Bev said if you wait until the work is done, you will never go.

So Marcy went fishing and the fish were biting. Her view from behind the fishing pole.

Bringing one in, he has finally quit fighting. She reels in three and looses three and of course the biggest ones got away.

Channel catfish, farm raised. Fresh from the pond and ready to prepare for the skillet.
The three Marcy did get to shore were all twenty-two inches long. Do not know the weight but it doesn't matter. Marcy fried them and brought a huge plate over warm for supper. I was not thinking about how much they weighed, only that they were delicious. Can't get any fresher fish than these.

Thanks, Marcy!