The Princess goes fishing

We call my little grand-daughter a princess and she loves pretty dresses and her baby dolls and a myriad of other things and lest I forget she is into melodramatics when it benefits her cause..  But Nana is teaching her girls can do things that boys like to do too.  Like fishing.  I loved to fish when I was a kid.  In fact,  I asked for and got a tackle box and pole for my 16th birthday.  There was a pond on the property next to where I grew up and after school I would change my clothes and  climb over the fence and tromp through the woods to get to that pond so I could fish before it got dark.  So it made me happy to see my little grand-daughter wanting to go fishing!

Her dad is teaching her the basic skills of fishing.  Like how to cast.  

Don't think she was interested in the first basic skill of how to bait your hook.  We'll save that lesson for another day.  It's enough that she wants to hold the pole at this point. 

Look at that smile!  

And of course you must be barefoot to be a real fisherman.  Er, fisherwoman....

And here's Nana and Maddy sitting on the dock benches getting our picture taken together.  Fishing buddies for sure!  

The dock benches have been refurbished!

The benches that have been down at the pond are looking kinda rough and in need of repair and we have a wedding coming up at The Lodge so the boy's Poppy  loaded up the grand kids for some more character building projects. 

Since the boys are working on building their muscles we let them load the benches on the trailer.  

 Miss Maddy wanted to ride on the trailer but you can tell she's a little nervous but big brother mark is looking after her .  Nothing like big brothers arm around you to make you feel safe.

Cedar boards have to be cut and then planed for smoothness.   

Notice Koda has his ear protectors on.  He's learning to protect your hearing cause those machines are loud!

 

Maddy believes just because you are a girl doesn't mean you can't do what the boys get to do! 

Look what the static electricity does to her hair!!!

Koda wanted his picture taken next to his Poppy's  hand crafted work bench,  I believe he inherited his Poppy's original tool box .  He made a bunch of bird houses one year and then sold them.  Learning some skills in the shop!

The cedar slats have been cut and planed and sprayed with a sealer so they are ready to be taken back to the pond.

Don't they look great!  Just in time for the wedding.  I think they will make great photo props besides a great place to sit on and reflect on life while down at the dock.  Homestead life is fun but projects are always needing to be done!

Picnic Down on the Dock Time..

It's a beautiful Fall day here on the homestead and grandson Kaden is having a Nana Night so we thought it would be a great idea to pack a picnic lunch and eat down on the dock.  Loaded up some grilled cheese sandwiches,  some Frito corn chips, some Root Beer and some Ding Dongs and hopped on the 4 wheeler and off we went.  It's deer hunting season but it's noon so hoping the deer hunters are taking a lunch break.  No one is suppose to be hunting on the property anyways.

Kaden threw some Corn Chips into the water and the fish came up to try it much to his delight.  Notice the ripples he is watching...  Just a reminder that life is short so take time out of your busy lives to do the simple things that bring joy to your heart.  Family and a sunny day and a pond to enjoy.  Does it get any better?  I think not!

"Gone Fishin"

We went down to the pond this evening for some "fishin" and my oldest son Kevin and his little boy Luke were already down there giving it a try. Kevin was catching fish as fast as he could throw out his lure. Mostly perch but still the fish were biting. Rachel said she wanted whatever Kevin had on his line put on hers too!

But she did catch a fish. Bass I think.

Poppy was helping the boys with their pole. Notice Koda wasn't hanging around too close as Poppy was trying to show him the fish.

He's not sure if he likes being this close.

And Mark wasn't having any part of it at all.

Isn't this a precious sight? Momma teaching her boy how to fish. It's the simple things in life that we remember most when we grow up. Bet Koda will remember sitting on the dock fishing with his momma!

Here's Luke. He was telling me something about being tired of not being able to catch any fish at his Grandpa Lon's pond. He wasn't happy about it at all. So his dad was demonstrating the proper way to fish to him.

Kevin is telling me this is the kind of lure to have.

This is baby Kaden's first fishing trip. What's a cell phone doing on this trip? You don't take cell phones fishing! It's not allowed!

And I noticed tonight when I opened the frig that there was a carton of fishing worms right on the top shelf. Now who do you suppose put them there?

Take a break from your hectic schedules to take the kids fishing someplace. Even if you never touch a fishing pole or a worm, you'll enjoy sitting by the pond or lake or river and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

Enjoy your summer because it's moving along fast.

The fish are biting down at the pond!

My son Kevin showing off the Channel Cat that he caught this evening down at the pond. Was starting to thunder. My dad always told me the fish bite just before a rain. Hmmm...

Guess we need to think about restocking the pond again this year so we will have lots of fish.

Our Heron

He (or she) thinks I can't see him.

There's ice on the pond and it was cute to watch it try to walk on the pond.

I guess I wasn't quiet enough. I'll do better next time.

I think Blue Herons are beautiful. Not sure how excited I am about it fishing for fish in the pond I stocked last year though. Guess everything has to eat!

Camping By The Pond

My daughter and I thought it would be a good night to set up the tent down by the pond so the boys could "camp out". Poppy helped us get the tent up and they were so excited at the thought of sleeping outside. We kept watching frogs jump into the water and I told them my "going froggin" story. I promised them that we would take our flashlights after dark and go down to the dock and shine the lights in the frogs eyes, which blinds them, and then you can reach down and pick them up. Nobody believes me that froglegs are wonderful. Tastes like chicken, I tell them all.

So just about dark we carried all the stuff we needed including lanterns and flashlights and pillows and sleeping bags and headed down to the tent. Rachel brought some story books to read and it was fun reading by lantern light. Then we turned out the lights and told "once upon a time" stories. Then the boys quoted the old "starlight, starbright poem and made wishes on the stars. Remember doing that as a kid?

The moon was full and bright tonight and the peepers were peeping. The boys questioned what every little noise was. We could even hear the race cars from town. Everything seems so loud when lying in a tent. Cows were mooing, you could hear the cars on the highway, frogs were croaking, peepers were peeping and best of all the moon was shining brightly down on us. And the gentle breeze after the sun went down made it just about perfect. If you haven't taken your sleeping bag and pitched it under the stars for a while, why not give it a try? It will take you back to a simpler time in life where it doesn't take a lot of money to have a good time!



Life is good on the 80 acre homestead.

Time To Restock The Pond

We use to catch some pretty big fish out of the pond, but it has been a few years, so we decided to do some restocking. We ordered channel catfish, hybrid bluegill and a thousand fathead minnows! Sounds like a lot but the minnows came in a pretty small bag. It's the little things in life that make it special and we want the grand-kids to enjoy watching the fish come to the surface and "beg" for food. When my daughter and youngest son were little, we had a neighbor who stocked his pond and every night he would go down to the dock and throw out the fish food. How they loved watching the fish come to the surface and have a feeding frenzy!

The day to pick up the fish dawned warm and beautiful. We loaded the big black tub into the back of the truck, filled it with pond water and off we went. The kids had been waiting for the big day so we picked them on the way back through.  Poppy dumped the fish in the pond while the kids watched with excitement.



They could hardly wait to go fishing!

The Pond

We live in the country on a 80 acre homestead and I enjoy praying as I walk our land. I believe God has given this piece of property to us for a purpose, as well as wanting us to enjoy living here. One day as I was walking and praying I was asking God what His purpose for this place is to be. I want to know His plan so I can agree and pray it will come about.

I decided to walk to my daughter's house by way of the pond. You can see the pond from my house in the distance, but I had not walked around it for a while, so I was shocked when I got close up. I was aware we had not had rain for a while, and were in a drought, but I was still shocked to see how very low the water was. When you live in town, and your water is piped in, and all you have to do is turn on the faucet to get water, you don't think about what the farmers in the country are dealing with during a drought.

Now , because the level of water in the pond was so low, you could see the tree roots out of the water. And, you could also see all the limbs and branches and "crap" that is in the pond also. Stuff that is normally below the water. Stuff that has always been there, but because the pond was previously full of water--it was hidden.  The Lord spoke to me that this pond was like us individually and also like the Body of Christ. There are ugly, destructive things in all of us that we will not deal with until dry times come. The good thing about a drought is that it forces us to have to see and thus deal with all the junk that is hidden down deep within us. Things we don't see when times are good or maybe things we did not realize were even there. And not only can we now see this stuff, but others can also see it. When the water dries up, everything that is in the pond is visible. There are things hidden within each of us that God wants us to deal with. And many times, we wait until we go through dry times in our lives, when the water is withheld--before we are willing to deal with them.

God spoke to me that this pond needed cleaned out, just as each of us need cleansed, and just as the Body of Christ needs cleansed of all the junk that has accumulated in it over time. And so, He had me get my rake and begin to reach into the water and pull out the limbs and branches and pop cans and dead trees that had fallen into the water over time. And to throw them back up over the pond bank where they could eventually be burned. It was dirty, tedious , hard work. But what God was having me do in the natural, was symbolic of what was also needing to be done in the spiritual realm. We ourselves, as well as the Body of Christ, is in need of some "junk" being cleaned out of it. God wants a vessel He can work through. He wants us to be a House of Righteousness. We must be willing to let Him deal with those things that we have in us that need to go, those things that are displeasing to
Him, those things that we have allowed to remain in us thinking no one else can see. When the rains come again, the pond will not only be functional , it will also be beautiful. It will be a place where others can come and find "rest for their souls." A place of peace and tranquility.

Recently, much activity has taken place around the pond. The rains have come and the pond is once again filling up with water. To look at it now , you would have no indication that it had so much debris in it. Neighbors have brought their families over to fish and have enjoyed being able to sit under the shade trees (that have been trimmed) and to walk up to the waters edge without having to worry about snakes in the tall grass (the grass has been mowed and weed-eated). We have enjoyed taking the paddle boat out. I have watched the deer in the evenings play around the pond as they go looking for a drink. I have seen my grandson's "pet turkey" as well as a duck enjoying the waters edge. We have pitched a tent down by the pond and watched the moon and stars overhead and listened to the frogs and other night sounds heard around the pond.

Am I done working around the pond? I have a feeling it will be a continual process. But God keeps using the pond to show me things that relate to everyday life. I continue to ask Him to open my eyes and unplug my ears so I can see and hear in a spiritual way, instead of only in the natural. If we will all do this , I believe He will speak many things to us and show us many things, and He will do it using everyday wonders like a pond.