Saturday, January 09, 2016

Busy Times

LOTS TO DO
Neighborhood Stuff
if the world only knew
FISH NOW
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.. Wintertime in this neck of the woods is frequently as busy as summertime.
PARKING PROBLEMS
.. Traffic jams of snowmobiles, long lines of pushy tour coaches headed into and out of Yellowstone National Park, queues at the grocery for BBQ supplies, skiers in the middle of the street doing combat with slednecks, contractor trucks whizzing around between the hardware store and all the interior remodels: all just in a days work.
ONE OF MANY
.. Then there's the truck plows clearing driveways and sidewalks, as well as biathletes skiing around with rifles strapped to their backs. Of course we should not fail to mention the sled dog rides and the wildlife photographers chasing rare winter birds both in and out of town.
.. By the way quite a few fishers mull about when the temperatures climb above -5°F. We do that occasionally too. Day after day this continues apace with the fun times of winter.
POPULAR PASTIME
.. There's a weird misconception among those poor folks trapped in the warmer climes of the nation that we all live in igloos and that there's nothing to do in the winter time - poor folks.
.. We don't want to dissuade them of their cloistered attitudes; it's crowded and busy enough already.
A WINTER FRIEND
.. So then, the sun has recently come out for a couple of days and, some foehn winds blew down the mountain and, the midges did frolic between the lakes.
.. Quite a few of the neighbors rushed to the water's edge and slammed 'em during the first black speck hatch of the winter. Damn if it didn't top 20° F yesterday!
NOTHING LIKE SUCCESS
.. Great catching success is usually celebrated in the neighborhood with a gathering and some tale-telling. It's always better at home than it is in the pubs, (that happens too.)
.. Therefore, a grand time was had by all yesterday evening. The pre-spawn fish in the Hebgen Dam Tailwater are both earlier and larger than usual - judging by the stories.
FAJITAS GLORIOSO
.. Flank steak fajitas, burgers, dogs, and what ever you brung were charred to perfection and the revelry lasted, (mostly indoors,) until the wee hours - as we post this.
.. Catching down canyon on the Gallatin River has been spotty but not too dismal. Large streamers drifted rather than stripped have been working well, as have large, (size 8 - 10,) non-bead head nymphs.
GOOD OL' HARE'S EAR
.. Streamers of the black or olive persuasion are usually preferred by the neighbors, and nymphs of the hare's ear sort are being used, (and lost,) in abundance.
.. We, up here in the dreary and sullen north woods, will do it again tomorrow. And, the weekends, so be it,  are much more busy than the weekdays.
WORKS ALL WINTER
.. The lowlanders from Bozeman, Ennis, Idaho  Falls, Pocatello, and other foreign venues will be up here for their immersion in the igloo culture of boredom and depression.
.. We enjoy the winter. Unlike the folks who enjoy shorts, cutoffs, bikini garb, and the uniform weather sameness of the beach, we take pleasure in the seasons.
.. Besides that, El NiƱo has dampened many of the snowbirds destinations this year. Warm and wet is not our idea of escape in wintertime.
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TYPICAL  TRANSPORTATION