Why Its Good To Be A Grandpa

Johnny Boden wishing me a happy birthday. He calls his grandpas - "papa". He got on the phone and wished me a happy birthday 4 or 5 times. He is too cool.

I had a good b-day. I got up and went cross country skiing with Farley the dog. We went to our favorite spot and saw the moose again. I skied for about 3 hours. I went back and got a massage at the Z-spa. A nice mild looking gal named Michelle worked me over like a professional wrestler. It hurt at times but felt great after. Then Tasha came over and we ordered out and had dinner and my favorite desert that Lisa makes it is not cake but a kinda of a pie thing. They gave me some great gifts, especially an I-Pod, I finally realized how damn cool these things are and wanted one to take to the gym. Every one was nice and I talked to Adam and Gordo and got emails from Andrew in Alaska and Ben in China. Of course ma and pa called and Ty, Sloan and Bodie. I might be an aging sorry ass but I have a great family - thanks guys.

43

Hear 'em singing happy birthday
Better think about the wish I make
This year gone by it's been a piece of cake.
Every day's a revolution Pull it together and it comes undone
Just one more candle and a trip around the sun.
I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control.
If there's one thing that I've learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.
No you never see it coming, Always wind up wondering where it went.
Only time will tell If it was time well spent
It's another revelation,
Celebrating what I should have done With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun.
I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinning
And it's good to know it's out of my control.
If there's one thing I have learned from all this living
Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.
Yes I'll make a resolution
That I'll never make another one.
Just enjoy this ride on my Trip around the sun.

Jimmy Buffet

Words of Wisdom

This Popular Drink May Delay Aging!
Sip a glass of red wine with dinner most nights, and it may buy you a longer life as well as delay the onset of aging.
That's the word from scientists at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, who have shown that red wine can actually delay the onset of aging thanks to the ingredient resveratrol. At least it works in fish, and the researchers think the findings could apply to humans as well.
Resveratrol, an organic compound found in grapes and particularly enriched in red wines such as pinot noir, is part of a group of antioxidant compounds known as polyphenols. Scientists have shown through previous studies that resveratrol can help prevent inflammation and cancer. The Italian researchers, led by Alessandro Cellerino, added resveratrol to the daily diet of 150 Nothobranchius furzeri fish, a breed that typically lives about nine weeks in captivity. The result? It not only significantly prolonged their lifespan, but also delayed the onset of age-related problems, including loss of memory and diminished muscular performance.
The fish that received a lower dose of resveratrol lived on average 33 percent longer than fish fed their normal diets, while those fed the higher dose lived more than 50 percent longer. Previous research showed a similar effect in fruit flies and worms, making resveratrol the first compound to consistently prolong life in three very different animal groups. The hope is that resveratrol could someday be used in drugs that would help prevent age-related diseases in humans. The study findings were published in the journal Current Biology.
This isn't the first research to show the anti-aging qualities of wine. Women who drink one glass wine daily tend to have sharper minds into old age than do women who abstain, reports Reuters of a large study of 12,500 nurses from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Light to moderate drinking has also been shown to prevent heart disease and stroke.
Led by Dr. Meir Stampfer, the team found that female drinkers aged 70 to 81 were 20 percent less likely to experience a decline in their thinking skills over a two-year period than women who did not drink at all. Specifically, women who drank daily tended to have the mental agility of someone a year and a half younger than abstainers.
Just in case you have any ideas about beefing that up by imbibing more, forget it. Drinking more than one glass of wine a day didn't provide a greater cognitive benefit.

I Report - You Decide

Lunch Peak Lookout

This old fire lookout will be my vacation home for four days in July. I reserved it through the Forest Service, it sits on top of Lunch Peak in the Bitteroot Mountains near Sandpoint overlooking Lake Pend O'rielle. It is at 7,000 feet elevation which is high for this area. Most fire lookouts have been deactivated due to satellite technology and they have made these available to the public on a first come basis. I reserved it on the first day they were available and it should be fun. The road goes right to the lookout but has a gate miles down the road that is locked so it should be pretty private. It is near some trails that go to some high country lakes that should be fishing well about that time of the summer. I'll be hanging out like Ed Abbey hisself. Ty said he would try and come up then and Lisa might even spend a night or two. One thing for sure, its gonna have a great view.

Moose Deuce

I went cross country skiing again, I realize this is in danger of becoming a ski blog but I don't do much else. I went up in the mountains and took off up an old logging road and it was a good day to be skiing, about four inches of fresh snow and the conditions were good. I noticed some huge tracks going up the road and took a closer look, moose. The tracks were sinking in about a foot and there were two sets of them. I thought they looked fresh so I called Farley back and made him stay behind me and started looking ahead hoping to catch a glimpse of the aformentioned meeces. I had gone about half a mile and the tracks were were veering side to side as I could tell they were trying to get off the road, but it was a steep slope and deep snow on both sides so they couldn't. Then I saw a steaming pile of droppings and I knew I was getting close. I skied as quietly as possible and finally came around a corner and snow flew as a cow moose and a large calf took off. They were only about 25 yards away and they trotted ahead, I watched them as they headed up the road, they can really cover ground even at a trot. Finally I could see the big one head up into the trees off the road. It took me about 15 minutes to ski to where it disapeared (uphill all the way) When I got there I saw the tracks of the big one go up into the trees and the tracks of the smaller continue up the road. Hmmmm. Didn't really like this scenario. So now I was in between a cow moose and her calf on a narrow little logging road with nowhere to hide and skis on that would make me a sitting duck. Farley wouldn't be much help, he didn't seem to even notice them, and I think if they charged he would be running like hell. Oh well, I continued on up the road and kept pushing the other moose ahead of me. I would stride, breathe, look over my shoulder. I wasn't scared, but I did want to avoid getting the shit kicked out of me by a pissed off 2000 lb. mother ungulate. After a couple more miles of uphill skiing I was tired and decided to head back, downhill glide the whole way. Never did see either moose again, but I'm glad I got to watch them. I felt a little bad about seperating them so far, but it wasn't a small calf - it was almost half the size of its mother. More like a teenager - as soon as it needed some money it would find its way back to mommy.

Yoda

Do or do not there is no try.

X-Country Part Deux

The plan was for some downhill skiing but Bryant was sick so I went to plan B. Once again I loaded up the cross country skis and the dogs and went to mountains. I headed to 4th of July Pass that is east of Coeur d'Alene and found a lot fresh snow had fallen. There were a lot of snowmobile trailers parked there so I drove down a plowed road and found a turn off to a forest service road that was closed. The road had been groomed for snowmobiles so it was smooth but with a soft surface. It made the skiing smooth and easy. The road took off on a moderate uphill grade and it kept me working hard but nothing steep. I skied for a couple of miles and it was great. There was a light snow falling and it was quiet and pretty. The snow off to the side was deep and when the dogs ran out in it they disapeared from sight. I finally turned around and started down. It was perfect conditions I glided down without trouble. Nice outing, cross country skiing is great.

Lake CDA

X-Country

The early November snows that dumped two feet around our house got me wanting some cross-country skis. So in early December I went to REI in Spokane and got outfitted with some nice skis, boots, bindings and poles. I went several times near our place on the forest service trails and it was fun, the dogs loved it and I was getting some good exercise and showing some style. Then it started to rain and the snow melted, it rained off and on for about 3 weeks, real soggy out there boss.
Finally I woke up this morning and there was 5 inches of fresh snow, hot damn. I took off early for the trails but was disapointed to see there was less snow there even though is only about a mile or two away. Also there were several vehicles in the parking area which meant that there were probably people on my private trails which would not do at all. So I headed for the nearby mountains and drove until the road was closed and found a trail heading up the through the thick trees. The route was steep and I was working pretty hard and enjoying the fresh snow, it caused the trees and bushes to overhang the trail but I knocked the snow off with my poles and pushed on. The ground under the snow was still soft and muddy in places and the snow was sticking to and building up on my skis, a little irritating but going uphill it wasnt too bad. I topped out and the trail ended at a nice little creek I looked forward to the trip down.
I turned around and started down and things took a turn for the worse. The snow was still sticking to my skis and when I would knock it off I would either take off like a rocket or fall over backwards on my ass. The trail was narrow and steep and there was no way to frigging way to slow down, even if I could manage a half ass telemark turn there was no room to pull it off. So I fell and skidded myself down the mountain, grunting and cursing the whole way. I came to one steep section with a hairpin turn at the bottom right at a huge tree, I studied the route and planned my strategy and then took off my skis and walked down like a weasel. I'll spare you the rest of the descent.
At the bottom I loaded up the dogs (who had a fine outing) and surveyed the damage - a bent pole, bruises and a chapped ass. So much for the fresh snow, tomorrow me and Boo are going up to Lookout Pass Ski Resort and do some downhill skiing. Cross country sucks.

Winter

You want a prediction? I'll give you a prediction. It's going to be cold and dark and it's going to last you for the rest of your life.

Winter Settles In

Johnny Bo Steppin Out In CDA

Blues Traveler

Me and the Tee Rone went to Spokane on a chilly November night and faced the classic dilemma. Stained or Blues Traveler in concert. We cose the latter due to the fact that I would have been the oldest dickweed in the Stained line. Good call, we had fun and the warm up band Carbon Leaf was awesome. Blues Traveler dude plays a wicked harmonica and threw a lot of them into the crowd, it would be cool to have one without the spit. It was a good time and on the way out we saw a crackhead a whore and a crackwhore so the visit to the city was real.

Hayduke Lives!

Eastern Washington University has an inspiring program that brings authors to audiences in Spokane. The 'Get Lit" series encourages people to read and write, last week the speaker was Douglas Peacock - Green Beret, grizzly protector and the inspiration for the Ed Abbey character 'Hayduke'. Ty and yours truly took the drive to the Metropolitan Theater in downtown Spokane to listen to a living legend.
Like most face to face meetings with someone you have heard about, it was a little bit anticlimatic to see the actual Hayduke as a portly, bald, 50ish cat that was not a great public speaker kind of brought reality in. On the other hand it was very interesting and informative. He is a cool guy that has done a lot of interesting things and has a new book that he is trying to sell, hence the appearance. He talked about Ed Abbeys last days and burying him in an illegal grave without a death certificate on pulic lands. Very graphic and emotional. He gave his imput on the current day status of the enviromental movement. (he thought Ed would be disgusted) and took a few cheap shots at George Bush and the Iraq war. The crowd was an interesting mix of scholarly types, aging hippies and young idealists who havent developed their sense of cynicalism that will come with time. He didn't mention the obvious curse of the planet which is of course too many people and not enough space between them. He talked about the grizzlies and Hollywood and the prospect of bringing The Monkey Wrench Gang to the big screen (it is in the works) he said that the part of Hayduke might be played by Collin Ferill and that brought boos from the crowd. He hopes that it will happen and that he will be a consultant because he could use the money - it all comes down to money - even to Hayduke. Case closed, the world is ending.

Hang On

Well, no one is updating their blog. I think this is a bad sign, a definite malaise that has settled over the world. Hurricanes, wars, high gas prices, man panties on wiggers, yes all a sign of shit storm 05. Stay posted for further updates. If a major earthquake hits California then start storing food and go to church, possibly join the choir and sing like you have never sang before. -Things are gonna get bad, real bad.

The Debut of the Boo

Bry made his first stage appearance in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He is Brom Bones and does a great job. He plays a bully that pushes Ichabod around and gets the girl, good work if you can get it. It is community theater and a lot of fun. He looks huge on stage and plays the part of big roughneck real well. It has been six weeks of hard work and we are proud of him. He signs autographs after the play, the girls love him and some of the little kids are scared of him.

Fall on the Couer d'Alene River

The fly fishing is very good. I recommend it.

Sometimes

The reports from the rivers left no doubt, the fly fishing is as good as it gets. So I decided to wait until Saturday so Boo and Farley could go with me. Saturday morning Boo has a sore throat and fever and Farley has a eye filled with puss, to heck with them I'm going alone.
I head for the Couer d'Alene River the head waters, the North Fork to be exact where the cutthroats are wild and hungry. The nice thing about fishing the rivers around here is that they don't stock them, the fish are wild, they are natives and reproduce on their own just like me. (!?)And the fish hit dry flies so you don't have to compromise your own principles by nymph fishing the bottom of the river like a scum sucking parasite. I haven't tied a nymph on all summer and that is how it should be, Nick caught a big ugly whitefish on the Clark Fork when he was here with a nymph and I still haven't got the slime out my net from it, I will probably have to burn it next full moon. Anyone who thinks a whitefish is a trout shouldn't be trusted with sharp objects like fish hooks. I digress.
I fished all day on the river and never saw another fisherman, a few hunters but no one else on over 30 miles of prime river on a saturday no less. Reminds me of why I like it here. The fishing was great, no other way to put it. There was a caddis hatch that kept the fish looking up and I caught probably 40 fish, most in the 10 to 12 inch range but one big fatty, about 17 inches. At one point I stood in the same spot and caught at least 15 fish, when I finally moved my legs were numb and I about fell in. It was a beatiful day sun and clouds alternating, they temperature about 65. Fly patterns varied, just about any caddis pattern worked in size 12 or 14. Parachute Adams was my favorite because it is so easy to see, but a elk hair worked and stimulators, I caught the big one a size 10 orange stimulator, he probably thought it was a hopper. At one point I sat on a big log jam and daydreamed for half an hour, someone has to do it. I finally got tired of catching them and drove home at a leisurely pace through the mountains. I

Johnny Bo

Ty and his family have been up visiting us for the past week. My grandson Johnny Boden is the smartest, cutest, funnest, fastest kid on earth. He kept us running and laughing. We miss him already.