CAMPFIRE BREAKFAST..WELL ALMOST

     I'm an early riser. I take the early to bed and early to rise thing quite literally. Although of the three consequences of this pursuit..health, wealth and wisdom..I can only testify to the first.

     Some of my most inspired thinking hits me after my second cup of coffee..say about the 4:30 mark. And around that time a couple of early morning's ago, I was going thru some photos of our past trips to West Grand Lake, feeling sad that we would not be there this summer.  Part of that experience was of course eating campfire food, particularly breakfast.  So it was during one of these caffeine stimulated moments it came to me that even though we are not at Grand Lake Stream , a campfire breakfast is certainly not out of reach. Plus it would give me the opportunity to try out my new Coleman Coffee Percolator that was a Christmas gift to me from the Bailey's of Searsmont, even though I didn't receive it until April.  Christmas in April has a nice ring to it, eh?

     It wasn't long before I had the campfire started in our pit...

     Normally our fires are reserved for the evenings but there is something really special about the morning fires. I mean one can ward off the morning chill as easily as the evening chill, is it not so? And could it not also be the smell of  bacon grease over an open flame?

    Relaxing by the warmth of the flames, I plan my strategy. 

     You see during our WG trips I am always out on the lake fishing for landlocks well before any of my companions have started to stir. And when I get back to camp, the coffee pot is on and breakfast has started cooking in the experienced hands of my wife Pat, in laws Deb and Mike and camp chef extraordinaire Rob.

     When the fire is deemed just right, the coffee pot goes on and soon starts to perc it's little heart out, steam rising into the cool, morning air. Anticipation....

A closeup reveals perhaps a bit of bubbling, brown liquid...

     And finally, a cup of wood fire inspired Joe, java, or in my case, muddy water. A bit weak perhaps but tasty just the same and served up in my favorite man's cup with plenty of room for all four fingers.

     With the coffee pot resting comfortably and warmly on a hot stone, it's time for the bacon, the cornerstone of camp fire cooking. And from the leavings of which ALL good things are made.

Now I'm not a huge egg eater(or small for that case either) but how could I not, considering the bubbling layer of bacon fat that had accumulated in my cast iron fry pan.

     And finally my camp fire breakfast is consummated, even though my egg was slightly over cooked. 

     Perhaps next time the camp fire will be located on the shores of West Grand or some little island in Penobscot Bay. And better still, perhaps the next time breakfast will be cooked by someone who actually knows what they are doing.

UNTIL THEN........

Let's give a cheer to a smooth running outboard on Lake St. George..

What can I say except that I have been a big slacker lately as far as blogging and fishing. What with motor on our boat having to be repaired...lots of rain and wind..work..and that darned lawn constantly demanding to be mowed (well at least semi-constantly as my wife Pat does more of the mowing than me), my excuses are piling up higher than Josh Beckett's ERA.

So yesterday morning I headed up Rt.3 to Lake St. George to put the 50 hp thru it's paces and coincidentally do some actual fishing.

All went well as I pulled away from the boat landing and soon I was deciding on which streamer pattern I would be using. I finally decided on this pretty number..a Crystal Smelt pattern that I picked up on my last trip to L.L.Bean. Attached to a full sinking fly line

this little beauty should be just the ticket to entice a wary landlocked salmon.

The lake was a dark and foreboding place yesterday morning with low-lying clouds and a slight mist in the air, the breeze kicking up what my Dad used to call salmon chop.

And there were fish showing up, pretty steadily all morning on my sonar ...

Skirting one of the islands I came across this platform overhanging the rocks and ledge.

Would there be fish lurking in its shadow? Would my crystal smelt make its hoped for magic?

And not far from the platform..a strike..FISH ON...a leap..and then..FISH OFF.. Disappointing but exciting in the anticipation of my first successful LL salmon trip for the season. During the next 4 hours I got exactly 0 strikes during which time I drank two bottles of water, snacked on pretzels and consumed a roast beef and swiss cheese sandwich.

With the wind starting to pick up and the chop getting more choppy , in desperation I decided to troll back toward the boat landing, and as I was cleaning up my crumbs, a hit! This time the hook was well set and with my landing net prepared to cradle my catch I reeled in...in great excitement to find....

one small bass..my only catch for the day.

But I'm ok with it all. The motor ran great and it's always great  to be back on the water..except when it rains, or is foggy, or too windy, or too cold, or the fish aren't biting, or Big Ray upchucks in the boat, or ......

This was my day...

I spent most of the day spilting wood for our firepit....

After the strenuous exertion of the splitting I needed a bit of refreshment..

Accompanying the refreshment was a bit of Hank...

I threw some BBQ chicken and some potatoes with onions wrapped up and cooked in their own juices..

And they turned out pretty, wicked good. 

The only thing missing, and the most important ingredient, my honey  Pat..who is out of state for a week...

Buttercups and Bambis in Belfast

I haven't been very active in the blogosphere lately as I haven't doing much lately.

Between a combination of the Lund Rebel Sport laid up for the past week with a bum motor,

(the technical term according to the dealer..."Crap in the gas"),

and all the lovely weather we've been experiencing of late,

(meaning cold and rain with the accompanying high water),

it's been pretty quiet around here, no fishing of any sort.

Just watching the grass grow...

But this morning I got a bit of a boost with some company showing up in the field outside our door

that I  noticed while I was traveling thru the living room on route to another cup of coffee.

Ray and Zed hadn't spotted them yet so I had time to grab the camera and attach the telephoto lens.

Sneaking out the kitchen door and skulking around the side of the house , I managed to catch them unawares, for a second,  from the back corner. Just one shutter release was enough noise for them to wise up to my presence.

 

With the light being a bit low and my hands a bit shaky, the photos are a bit fuzzy.

It was the best that I could do...

And with the third shutter release they disappeared into the brush but it was wicked good of them to visit.