Dear Santa...

I have taken four months to write a post.  I am sure that you don't remember me as a fly fishing blogger.  You probably think that I got lost in Portugal somewhere and didn't come home.  I did have thoughts...  But, no.  I did come home after a most wonderful vacation with my son, Dan and daughter in law, Aurelia.  I came home with no weight gain despite the fact that I tried every flavor of gelato and ate a couple of Pasteis de Nata custard tarts each day.  Maybe I didn't gain weight because I was hiking 5 to 7 mi every day.  No joke.  And believe it or not, I enjoyed it!  Who wouldn't enjoy a walk through lush foliage and scenic views of the ocean?  Well, that was back in July.  Seems so long ago now.

  

Then, in August and September, there were fishing tripsh.  I got in some quality time in Wyoming and Idaho.  Not too far away.  I caught a birthday fish or two in August.  And caught some beautiful brown trout in September.  My favorite month to fish as the weather cools down!!  I am not a summer person.

Now, I take a rest from fishing.  I hope that this "time out" so to speak, will have some silver linings.  More time to be home and more time to get caught up with some computer projects that have been ignored.  Someone needs to download a whole lot of pictures from this year... 

Santa, I don't need anything for Christmas.  I've been truly blessed this year.  I have had a good year with love and support of family and friends.  And I have an awesome job to go to each day.  

  I truly hope that my fishy friends enjoy the blessings of the holiday season this month. 

With Love,

RD 

Bon Voyage!

You might think that this is goodbye.  Well, I know that I haven't posted much this year.  But, I am still here.  Taking a breath here and there.  Some days it feels as if I can't get off the crazy train.  So much to do each day.  So, I am finally taking a long vacation!  I have never left work more than 3 or 4 days at a time.  This time, it is 10 days!  Will I still worry about the office?  Well, yeah.  Cause that is who I am.  But, things will still get done in my absence and I have very competent co-workers.  So, let's have some fun!  

I am off to Madeira, Portugal today!  My son lived in Portugal for 2 years as a church missionary years ago.  He still goes back every year or two.  So, I am in good hands.  No problemo with the language thing.  We are covered.  And he is quite the tour guide.  So, it should be a blast.  We start on the island of Madeira and stay there for a few days.  I get off the plane after 20 hrs and sleep for 8 (hopefully) and get up the next morning and fish the salt.  I have never fished the ocean before.  So, I am pretty excited.  I will try my hand at the fly rod first.  If my efforts don't pan out, we might switch over to the spin rod.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  I think that we are going to really have good results!  

From Madeira, we go to Porto, Portuagal on the mainland.  See the sights and hopefully not the smoke of the wildfires that are going on around that region.  I am anxious to see where my son was for 2 years.  He absolutely loved it there.  He just got married a few months ago and his new wife, Aurelia, will be there too.  So nice of them to invite old mom to join them on their second honeymoon!  Hahahaha.

I might keel over from hiking.  I think that I can do it.  But, the gym is different than actual hiking.  Dan promised me that he will put me on the easier trails first.  =)

Take care of yourselves until I get back Aug. 1st.  Here I go on another adventure!  

Time Flies...

When time flies, that means that we are having too much fun or just way too busy.  Have you ever thought about that?  Maybe both are true in my case.  There have been those weeks of too much work and those days of too much fun with family or fish.  That might not make a whole lot of sense, but in my world, it does.  I try to get it all in.  And sometimes I put myself on overload.  Let's talk fish, why don't we?  This used to be a fly fishing blog...  Hope everyone is doing well.

Here are a few trout that graced my net.

And good friends to fish and share an adventure with...

And from my oldest son's wedding last month..  We were able 

to show Aurelia around Salt Lake City.  She is from Prague, Czech Republic!

Such a sweet addition to our family.

So, that is some of what has been going on around here before I realized it was May!!!

Tulips.  My favorite.

RD

RD & Friends 2021

 What a year 2021 was.  I started with thumb surgery and ended with "frozen shoulders".  But, in between, it was pretty darn good year with my fishies.  I was able to go all over the West and catch some amazing fish.  Great memories with special friends that make the adventure even more fun.  My bonus this year was getting out on the water with my two sons.  Seeing them with a fly rod, even though it might not be a regular thing, was super gratifying and special to me. Thanks for following along and sharing my passion of fly fishing.  =)

Butterballs

With not feeling my best, now it's time to rest.  Nice rhyme.  I have a hard time giving up my fall fishing days.  So, now we go to doctor #3 this week and see if we can get some answers.  I've had bicep pain in both arms for eight weeks.  It's just not getting any better.  Something tells me it is not related to fishing.

 

The gym eight week ago, possibly?  Haven't been back.

I met up with Holly and Jared this past week.  We had a great fishing day on the Snake River in Idaho.  The fish were feisty and several runs delivered for me.  I wasn't feeling a lot of energy within me that day, so I found some nice big rocks to sit on in between catches.   Rainbows and more rainbows graced our nets.  

As Holly and Jared bounced around from spot to spot, I finally settled into a comfortable run that delivered for several hours.  I  don't usually stay put that long, but it was hard to say goodbye to fish that were sipping emergers in front of me!

  Do you blame me?

I threw on a size 20 midge emerger.  I had been streamer fishing until then.  But, when the midge hatch is going and you see dark bodies of fish a foot under the water, you switch.  And they gave me enough bends in my rod to make me happy.

You thought that this was going to be a Thanksgiving recap on our Butterball turkey, didn't you?  Hahahaha.  Nope, Snake River Butterballs.  =)

Holly gave me her favorite bread recipe years ago.  She also makes amazing jam.  Got to keep her around.  Wink wink.  She is a trooper to put up with my shenanigans.  As I was almost laying on the water getting a video of a fish release, she started reeling up her line to run down the river and help me as she thought that I had fallen.  Lol. 

 No, Holly, not this time!  =)

As my last fish gave me a wave goodbye, I counted my blessings this day.  I am truly blessed with a great family, amazing friends, a wonderful job, and so many tremendous days on the water this year.

"The Wave"