"Send Rain"

Springtime weather started off really cool, but as I wrote a few weeks back summer temps were coming. They have definitely arrived......mid 90's and the only rain we have had was .21 inches's the first week of May. So we are in a drought down here. Let's hope we see some moisture soon. We are keeping all our flowers and bushes watered. We have a large investment in them, and a lot of time and hard work.

Fly fishing has been somewhat slowed due to the generation schedules they have been having. The only real good time on the river to get wadable water is when they are shut down. But I guess the high temps we are having require the need for generation. But I have gotten out twice this month......not as much as I had hoped for. Each time out, I get a little better at casting, and I always run into an "old timer" who is anxious to pass on some knowledge, and usually share a fly or two that he has tied.

The real worry here is what's the future of the two trout hatcheries. The Federal Gov't has not set aside any money for the 2013 season. If they are forced to shut down, it will have a huge effect on the economy in the area. People come from all over the country to fish the tail waters for trout. Let's hope the state of Arkansas doesn't let this happen. The amount of revenue it generates would more then pay back what it needs to run them.

Kathy continues to be the big winner on the lake fishing for catfish. She has had two that were over twenty inches, and one that was awfully close to that. We both have had a lot of catfish around fourteen inches, so I too have been catching some. But she has the luck on the boat......no doubt about that!

Kathy loves watching the wildlife that comes around the house. She feeds the birds and the number of new visitors continues to grow. She has been feeding suet cakes, and boy do they love that stuff. Three varieties of Woodpeckers have started coming in for dinner! She also is pleased with how her butterfly bush has grown so well, and as you can see she is pretty good with the Nikon camera!

She wishes our camera had a better zoom lens...............might have to explore that possibility! This was a male Redbellied Woodpecker.

So all is well with us down here, just need some rain!

Till the next time..................
Bob and Kathy