Gone Fishin’

When my friend recently suggested we go fishing, I jumped at the opportunity.  With our first experience, we didn’t catch many, but it felt good to cast my line.  Being near the water and hearing it lap up on the rocks was refreshing.  The next few attempts were more successful:  crappie, catfish, bluegill, perch, and a bass here and there!  To add to the satisfaction of the sport, I decided to learn how to fillet pan fish.  As a result we have enjoyed several tasty meals of crappie and blue gill!

What my friend and I didn’t realize, however, was I would become slightly obsessed with the pastime.   It’s true- I’m “hooked” on fishing.  (Pun intended!) My car automatically turns in at a reservoir or lake, just to see if there are any good fishing spots.  My pole, and most probably some wax worms, are always in my back seat, along with my tackle box. When I cross a bridge I think about all the crappie and bluegill hanging out in the sheltered water below.  Even the search history on my computer will reveal video after video about reels, cleaning fish, best bait to use, etc.

So I asked myself today, while fishing and catching some nice fat bluegill, “Why do I like this so much?”

The answer was multifaceted.  Fishing takes me back to a safe, happy time in my life: Memories of summertime weekends spent with my cousins at my grandparent's lake cottage, waking in the morning there to sounds of the water outside my window and the smell of Grandma’s cooking all come to mind in a swirl of joy that stirs me in a way I can’t sufficiently describe.  I only know it is wonderful.

Somehow recalling the security of my childhood gives me a sense of being anchored, so when I fish, I am often overwhelmed with gratitude. 

An abundance of blue gill at Griggs Reservoir!

The quietness of fishing gives me a chance to express that gratitude to God.  We have a lot of talks, God and I, while I’m fishing.  The beauty of the water, the company of the ducks passing by, and the sound-the beautiful sweet sound of water against the shore all whisper God’s presence to me. 

Fishing gives me a reprieve from the many unknowns in my present life.  “Not knowing” is not scary for me, mind you.  He has shown me time and time again in my life that I can trust Him.  However, getting away from my work, really away, beside a quiet stream or along side a lake allows me to maintain that assurance by taking time to breath deeply and focus on Him. 
I'm grateful my friend re-introduced me to fishing.  It's a vacation I can take any day I want, even if just for a few hours.  No fancy hotel, no big screen TV, no room service- just me, my God, a quiet spot by the water, and my fishin' pole.  Perfection!                                   ©2014jcd

 Psalm 23: 2-3a  
"He makes me to lie down in green pastures;  He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul.

 

One of the many beautiful views at Griggs Reservoir

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Home Made Herbicide

It was bound to happen, since I haven’t used commercial weed killers in my back yard for several years.  I’ve never minded clover and the occasional dandelion, but during the past two weeks, my back yard has been taken over with a plethora of uninvited plants: thistles, quack grass, spurge, chickweed, etc.  It seems the weeds have spread the word that my back yard is the place to come and thrive, safe and non-threatened.

One of the offending thistles.

Honestly, if I were in the country, I wouldn’t mind most of these more aggressive plants. With the appearance of thistles by the pool steps, however, (ouch!) and the re-emergence of a most unwelcome poison ivy vine next to my kitchen window, I decided to search for a remedy that would end the silent takeover that has been slowly spreading throughout the summer.

A friend of mine gave me a safe and simple weed-killing
 recipe to try on my worst offenders.

Two days ago I mixed the inexpensive ingredients together and walked around my entire back yard, spraying the solution on thistles, crab grass, dandelions, and the poison ivy vine.  It was nice to know that what I was applying wasn’t toxic to wildlife, though I noted that my back yard smelled like a salad for about a day.

One day later, every plant I sprayed was showing signs of dying. 

2 days after with the homemade herbicide

  
Two days after application, (today)
 they look even worse and the thistles,
which I have been fighting all summer, look
completely dead.  Even the poison ivy is shriveled up!
 I am curious to see if re-growth occurs but so far I am really
 happy with the results, so thought I would share the recipe  
 with my readers!
 Here it is!

 Home made, safe weed killer.

1 gallon vinegar

2 cups salt (I used Epsom’s)

¼ cup liquid soap  (I used dishwashing liquid)

Mix it all together, put it in a sprayer, and apply to any unwanted plants-over leaves and down at the root.

Spray directly on the soil where you want no growth.  For me this was the area around my pool, and the sitting area in my back garden.

Hope it works as well for you as it did for me!