Christmas 2007

Well, it's Christmas. Tomorrow we head up to New York to see Alan's family. A Santa suit may be in his future for the little ones.... :-) We had our usual Fed Ex delivered tree from Weir Tree Farms and it's a sweetie, pictured here in our new "library." I enjoyed reading by the tree this afternoon and told Alan I think it will be one of my new favorite activities (to still be enjoyed once the tree leaves!). We found the tree farm this summer on our apple picking adventure--pretty cool. And pretty neat to be supporting the great north woods with our Christmas purchase that is not more expensive than the local tree lot.

Alan's group had a 60s themed Christmas party - a few of the brave dressed the part. Here we are alone and pictured with John and Duran.

Sunning in Seattle

We have been out in Seattle since Monday for the 2007 Educause conference, which ended yesterday. It was a good conference, highlight by keynote speeches by Doris Kearns Goodwin, who spoke about Lincoln's leadership qualities, and Bruce Scheier, a security expert who talked about the top ten issues he saw facing us on the IT security front. The bad news is he thinks it's going to get worse before it gets better and he proposed some fascinating reasons why, all getting back to economics and human psychology.

Afterwards, we spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Seattle, which is quite attractive. We had a bowl of award-winning clam chowder from Pike Place Chowder and then we wandered around the Pike Place Market, enjoying sampling the area honey which was quite tasty. Then, we hooked up with fellow conferees Jenn, Jim, and Brian and walked over to the Olympic sculpture garden which was located up the sound about a mile and a half. It looks like the shoreline of the sound has been rather recently redone into condos/apartments and restaurants. After the sculpture garden, we headed up the hill to the Space Needle and since it was a clear and sunny day, paid the $16 to go up. Two thoughts: the views were stupendous and Mt. Rainer is a very big mountain.

On our way back to our hotels, we stopped into a wine bar and had a glass of wine, enjoying the sunshine streaming into the room. We all agreed that we could be sitting in parts of New York or San Francisco or Oakland. Probably not Atlanta, though.

Today we're going to do some shopping and visit the Seattle Public Library.

Coot v. Bobcat on Magalloway

Two years ago, on a lovely summer afternoon, we made our way over to Pittsburg, NH to climb Mt. Magalloway. We knew little about the climb, other than there were two trails to the top. One was named Coot, the other Bobcat. On that fine summer day, we started up the nearest trail to the car. So, we discovered The Coot. After a brief leisurely stroll past the historic Magalloway cabin and some lovely mountain flank maple grove, the Coot veers sharply vertical. And it doesn't stop. The charms of clawing your way up a trailbed that clearly doubles as a streambed for mountain waterfalls loses its charms quickly. Very quickly.

Today, we chose the Bobcat. Ascending through the same maple grove, the trail quietly kept the same unforgiving ascent as the Coot, albeit in a more scenic manner. Where before, the unrelenting gravel footpath emphasized the painful challenge that lay ahead of every bend, the Bobcat was no less vertical but much more seductive with numerous false summits, and wonderful ridgeline views to accompany its New Hampshire certified "shitkicker" pitch.

The summit, however, was worth it. We had a nice picnic lunch, featuring grinders from Young's, apples from our picking expedition, and cheese from Canada, at the top. Then down, admiring the mountain's immense flank.

Back at Camp, we took advantage of the last 45 minutes of light to cast down at the ponds. Alan started on the lower pond and hooked a rainbow but it evaded landing. Carole got two nice brookies out of the upper pond -- a 10" female and a huge 14" male. They both looked to be native and ready to spawn....maybe native brookies in our own pond next year?

Foraging for Foliage and Apples

Another beautiful clear day with warm temperatures. A gorgeous morning. For the afternoon, Alan was the man with the plan. His proposal: lunch at Balsam's, foliage tour, followed by apple picking just east of Colebrook. I enthusiastically endorsed and we headed out. Balsam's was hopping -- we had to wait for a table -- but enjoyed the view from the terrace as we waited.

After a tasty lunch, we headed back towards Colebrook over Rte 26, which is undergoing major rebuilding -- totally digging out the old road and putting in a new one. The apple orchard beckoned at the entrance to Fish Hatchery Rd and we took the lure, heading up into the hills until the top. A beautiful small orchard called Two Sparrows. We picked half a bushel of Cortland and McIntosh for ourselves and Priscilla and Hans. The apple trees were so beautiful and just loaded with apples. We picked our limit quickly!

On our way back, we journeyed about searching out back roads and finding Weir Tree Farms, where we get our Christmas tree (FedEx'd to our front door :-), along with Coleman State Park and the Diamond ponds. Mt Monadonack was majestic (and very large) in the distance, overseeing all of our meanderings.

Back at camp, the lake was calm and the light lovely. We headed down to the beach for our first canoe ride (the lake has been rough) and there came upon about 300 geese floating in the cove. As we came onto the beach, they started honking, moving offshore, settling for a bit, but then as we got the canoe in the water, they headed out. They left in waves, twenty or so at a time, beating their wings against the water -- flap, flap, flap, flap -- and then taking to the air, clearing the trees at the far end of the lake. We last saw them outlined in the sky above Sable Mountain.

We thought we might see Priscilla out and about on the lake but did not. Our small jaunt turned into a half lake tour, which, since its 1200 acres, wasn't small. Dusk was falling as we got back to the beach. Another great day at Averill.

Last fishing adventure with Bill

Yesterday was our last fishing adventure of the season with Bill. :-( But it was a lot of fun. We started off at the Judges and Jury pools for a couple of hours. I had good luck and caught a beautiful 14" male brook trout -- not the one pictured here but similar in color. Alan had a good stretch as well although when he reeled up, he discovered that his hook had snapped in half. No wonder he missed all those fish!

After a couple of hours, we headed north to try to hit the Meadows again but there was a car in the pullout, so we went up to the dam below second Connecticut which we had never been to before. It doesn't seem like it gets fished much -- certainly not as much as the dam below first Connecticut -- and we both pulled out a good number of fish, brookies and salmon, ranging from 6-12". Lots of fun. Oddly enough, given the time of year, there was a hatch on of these enormous stone flies -- they looked like B-52 bombers buzzing on down the river.

At the end of the day, we were all a little sad to realize the season was over. Seems like it just started.

Brousseau sunset

Back in Vermont

So, we are back in Vermont for the final trip of the year. It's peak foliage here and so pretty, although it's not as vibrant as in some years past. I think two years ago might have been the best. This year it's more yellows and browns with the occasional splotch of red. Jacques and Jenn came up for a quick weekend visit and yesterday we did a full day on the Connecticut with guide Bill. I had the fish of the day -- indeed my largest trout ever -- a 19" landlocked salmon.



On a disturbing note, the Connecticut has been infected with "rock snot" or Didymo. This is not good as it could endanger the fishery. Eradication does not sound possible and containment the only option. We washed everything off with a 2% bleach solution -- boots, waders, wading staff, rods -- anything that touched the water. But you have to imagine that not everyone will do it and a single drop of water can spread the organism. I think it must be spreading fast as Bill says now when you float the Connecticut, you routinely have to clean gobs of the stuff off your fly, which did not happen a year ago.

Labor Day weekend with the family

We just got back from Philadelphia, home of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and most of my (Carole's) family. We usually get together for a summer holiday reunion but this year our travel schedule pushed this visit until Labor Day weekend. After a grueling back to school week, we headed up Saturday am. Spent Saturday with such pleasures as taking my nephews to the park and having a lovely dinner at my aunt Nancy's. Nephew Nolan loved her yard which featured a fox statue, two fountains, and various metal birds. He was in heaven.


On Sunday, we went to an amazing children's play site -- the Smith Playground in Fairmont Park. This is a wonderful outdoor and indoor playground that has been open since 1899, established by Richard and Sarah Smith in memory of their child, Stanfield. They wanted to build a safe place in (what was then) the country where children from the city could come to play, free of charge. I gather that is has recently reopened -- certainly much of the outdoor area looked brand new. The Giant slide and the Playhouse itself are charmingly reminiscent of an older time. The slide is slippery -- and fast -- I've got the skin burns to show for it.


Sunday pm we went for a walk with Nancy and cousin Bill in a recently established nature conservancy on property originally owned by the Haas family of Rohm and Haas. Very cool to feel like you were out in nature in this increasingly settled exurb of Philly (Devon area). Sunday night was dinner at aunt Marilyn's and it was, again, really nice to be with the whole family.

Back to school 2007

Today was freshman arrival day -- 1300 new faces and new computers on the Emory campus. Our job is to get them onto both the wireless and wired networks, set up with Emory's software, and ready to begin their lives at Emory, one of the first tasks of which will be to register for classes using their computers. So, it's important that they work. And if we don't recognize that fact, their parents are sure to remind us! :-)

This is a weekend that reminds you, forcibly and completely, of where we work and what we're all about -- in a good way.

For Alan and me, the day began in the gym, where everyone goes to get their initial materials. The whole place is set up with tables with information on everything from majors, to the arts, to transportation, etc. Everyone has handouts and freebies. This year, our big ones were pens, mints, and retractable ethernet cables. You have to explain to the 18 year olds what they are because they've never seen them! The gym is exhausting -- six hours on your feet saying the same thing 64 million times (Did you get your computer on the network? No, okay, did you run the CD we sent?). But we had fun with Rhonda, the head of Net Comm, and Brett, Alan's new boss, who handled Back to School like a master.



While we were in the gym, 70 IT staff were in the residence halls, helping students to get their computers ready for Emory. This year went well. The network was great and the only major problems involved Vista authentication. Tomorrow should be okay.

At the close of the day, we enjoyed some beers back at the Jones room. Stories were shared, laughs exchanged, and we all reveled in our shared labor and enjoyment of an important job well done.

Idaho meanderings

The Seminar on Academic Computing sessions were great--it was perfect to plunge into two days of intensive talks and discussions on all matters IT after the two very different musical encounters of the weekend. Somehow the music seemed to open up our brains to soak in the intelligence, wisdom, and creativity of the SAC crowd, sadly for the last time at Snowmass. Tuesday night there was a heartfelt tribute to the many years of SAC at Snowmass (30+ years). Lots of folks made it an annual tradition, meeting up with old friends and colleagues, so there was a definite sense of melancholy in the air. Next year will be in Broomfield, CO. We'll hope for new traditions and adventures.


Wednesday morning we headed out to meet up with Alan's sister Suzy in Sun Valley, Idaho. While in the airport, I called into work to check in with Nancy; she asked where I was and I said, "I'm at the Aspen airport headed for Sun Valley." "You suck," was her rejoinder. :-) En route to Sun Valley on a prop plane, I took this photo looking out at the engine--weird how the light refraction produced this image.


Suzy rented her usual awesome house, this one with a beautiful pool and hot tub that we enjoyed thoroughly Wednesday afternoon and into the evening. The pool and hot tub are separated only by a wall so you can hop into the hot water and then back into the cool water, a strategy our niece Avery apparently mastered while she was here. I'm told deer wander through the yard although I haven't seen it myself.


Today, we got up and went to Silver Creek to arrange for Alan to have a fishing adventure tomorrow morning on, you guessed it, Silver Creek. I bagged out because of too much sun -- the sun is so strong out here that even with SPF 45, I'm getting burned. For lunch, we took the chair lift up Mt Baldy to the summit. Unfortunately for us, there was a party of 22 ahead of us in line for hamburgers. In time, and after being 'helped' by an incredibly rude server, we got our lunch which was tasty, as were the views. I had perfect connectivity with my iPhone and seeing that the weather in Atlanta was 100 degrees was just icing on the cake. Heading down on the chairlift, both Alan and I lost our hats to a gust of wind -- his only about 2 hours into his possession, mine a beloved Patagonia hat that had been on many adventures. I will miss it. :-(

Music of a different sort

The day dawned cool and misty in Snowmass. We toured through the arts fair here in Snowmass Village, checking out the photography, jewelry, and other works, including some hand-crafted lamps made out of fishing rods. They were pretty cool, with actual reels (spin and fly) that really spun. Floor and table. There is a website but it says "coming soon." We liked the contemplative collage work of Ann Astrella Buel and stopped to chat with her briefly. She's a native San Franciscan who now makes her home in Colorado. I was intrigued to read in her biography that she does work with art therapy and Alzheimers patients.



Following a delicious lunch at Cantina, we headed down the river path towards the Benedict Music Tent of the Aspen Music Festival. En route, we saw some trout in the Roaring Fork, including one *huge* fish -- looked like a brown trout -- that kept coming to the surface to feed. We had tickets to the 4pm symphony performance which was a tribute to the late CBS newsman, Ed Bradley, conducted by his good friend, James DePreist. The concert began with excerpts from Chris Brubeck's Convergence, which was both beautiful and jazzy in the New Orleans style, followed by excerpts from Bernstein's 2nd Symphony, featuring Misha Dichter on piano. He was phenomenal--so powerful, yet delicate. The piece is difficult, based on Auden's "The Age of Anxiety," and some in the audience looked less than intrigued, but we liked it.

Following an intermission, Sarah Chang took the stage as the soloist for Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, which she has recorded here.
She is a virtuoso with the instrument and quite passionate in her performance, which was well received. Lots of people left after her piece, but we stayed for a beautiful rendering of excerpts from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.

During the concert, rain came and went, pattering gently on the roof of the tent. The aspen trees that surround swayed and shook in the wind, adding another dimension to the sound. It was one of the most beautiful performance venues we have ever attended.

Our original thought had been to wander the streets of Aspen and discover dinner but more rain put that thought to rest and we came back to the Silvertree for some light room service and Sunday night TV. Tomorrow, the conference begins early at 7:45am.

P.S. Aspen came back to beat Steamboat, 28-25.

Serendipity in Snowmass

This morning found us on the 7am flight out of Atlanta, westward bound for Snowmass and the final Seminar on Academic Computing at the Silvertree Hotel. This is an event Alan has gone to regularly for many years and we didn't want to miss the last meeting. Apparently, they will tear down the entire complex to put in high end lodging and condos. Sad, but that seems to be the theme these days in Aspen-Snowmass.

We lunched at a lovely French café at the foot of Mt Aspen. Alan indulged in moulles et fritês, l'Amerique (which involved Sam Adams). I had a very nice gazpacho. We wandered around Aspen, through the Saturday market, where Alan bought me a purse made out of recycled soda bottles -- it looks like a straw bag but you can wipe it down. Cute, too. We also spent a good 45 minutes watching the Aspen rugby team take on Steamboat Springs. Unfortunately for Aspen, Steamboat dominated play, at least in the first half.

On arriving at the Silvertree, the very friendly general manager informed me that there was a free evening concert on Fanny Hill, immediately adjacent to the hotel. The artists? Shawn Colvin opening for John Hiatt!! Alan couldn't believe it. We could actually see the stage from our room and enjoyed John's extensive sound check from there but went out on the hill for the actual show, which was amazing. He's such a great performer and brought out lots of goodies -- Tennessee Plates, Thing Called Love, Crossing Muddy Waters, Memphis in the Meantime, Perfectly Good Guitar, and Real Fine Love, finishing up with a sweet version of Slow Turning.

We sat on the hillside, watching the sunset in the distance over the mountains and felt lucky indeed.

Home again, home again

Ah, it was good to sleep in our own bed last night, crowded though it was. LB believes his best place is lying immediately next to my head so I had a few moments where I woke up sputtering on fur. Tolstoi took his place next to Alan and Turtle wandered by every now and then. Even amongst all this activity, we both slept well. Now, a day to reacclimate, do laundry, get food, and get ready for the week.

Tolstoi looks great and it appears the meds are helping his irritable bowel syndrome. The others are fine -- needing a good brushing. Thanks to Kim and Aunt Barb for their excellent care. Tolstoi particularly appreciate the rotisserie chicken that Barb brought over!

Friday night we had a nice dinner with Jacques and Jenn, with beautiful lamb and steak from Lobel's and all the best vegetables Vermont can offer -- swiss chard, lettuce, fresh peas. We will miss the produce.

Yesterday, we took Rte 2 down to Burlington which was a marked improvement over 100c, which had been our route of choice. Construction and congestion have made the last half hour of that drive just a chore. The Rte 2 method puts you on the interstate at Montpelier and from there it's a quick 45 minutes to an exit quite close to the airport.

Came home to a note from Hardy with the following recipes. Apparently, he's got his eye on a T3 from the local Orvis store.

Red Beans and Rice

1 lb red beans
1 lb sausage
1 onion
1 bell pepper
Cajun seasoning to taste

Cajun seasoning*

5 T salt
2 T cayenne
1 T white pepper
1 T black pepper
1/2 T garlic powder
1/2 T onion powder
1 T paprika

* This is pretty strong so use sparingly. (Hardy, you'll be happy to know that Camp now has cayenne and cumin.)

Lemon Pepper Pork marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 T cracked pepper
5 cloves garlic
salt

The lake is warming up

Another sunny day dawned here in Averill -- bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds dotting the horizon. The wind is from the north so the weather should hold for tomorrow. With six days of sun, the lake has warmed measurably. I wouldn't call it warm but it's not the frigid experience it was on Saturday, that's for sure.

Thursday brought more Harry Potter (really good), more puzzling, more naps in the hammock, more kayaking, more swimming, more sleeping in the sun. We also took an evening trip over to the Connecticut to Junction Pool. It was a beautiful evening although we never did figure out what they would bite on. Alan lost a bunch on an elkwing caddis but that didn't prove to have lasting appeal. We did see a mink which surfaced briefly on a rock before heading back into the water -- Alan's second of the week and Carole's first.

Back at Camp, we had a late dinner of Solomon's boneless ribs (wishing for Hardy's rub), fresh peas, spinach, and beet greens. About 10pm, headlights flashed in the driveway and Jacques, Jenn, and Bandit arrived to start their week. Late night visiting on the porch took us to midnight and bed.

Slowing down....

Yesterday was our first day without Hardy and we elected to take it easy. I (Carole) woke up and read in bed for an hour -- luxurious. Then spent the day reading, internetting, or puzzling. Alan went to Solomon's for red beans so we could make red beans and rice for dinner, courtesy of Dawn's andouille. (It was yummy.) Alan made one Solomon's worker's day by asking whether they had "Soft Scrub" -- in the cosmetics aisle. Well, it was on the list.... "You don't shop much, do you?," was her question after she stopped laughing.

Upon his return he borrowed Priscilla's station wagon to bring over two kayaks for a couple of days since she wouldn't be using them. We took them out and can both vouch that kayaks use very different muscles than canoes. Yow. I have new respect for Priscilla's arms!

It has been sunny all week and the lake is warming up. Notice I said "warming," not warm. It's brisk, for sure, but refreshing. We jumped in after the kayak ride. Then Alan went down to the ponds to fish. Caught 3 or 4, including one large female brookie that he kept since she had been the victim of a bird attack earlier in the day and was missing a large part of her back. Trout for breakfast -- yum.

I'm in the midst of the new Harry Potter (delivered from Amazon to the Lakeview store -- it is a small world). It's dark.....three deaths in the first 30 pages, two of them major characters. But good.

Goodbyes and Hellos

Last morning with Hardy dawned with Alan running out for more eggs to prepare for "Cajun Breakfast" super-charged by Dawn's andouille sausage. The morning was already too short -- and gorgeous. Yet another calm Averill dawn with colors of mauve and rose.

Following breakfast, Hardy packed up shop and went with Alan down to the ponds for one last casting session. Hardy landed three brookies and Alan had four (such an over-achiever) in the short time before the long drive to Burlington.

As the deadline loomed for departure.....Carole arrived at the ponds with a 10 cast limit, strictly enforced. In this case, training and prior shock therapy prevailed and Alan reeled right up. Hardy, however, was not so well oriented as to how things were going to be and required further cajoling (we don't shock guests--yet). Alas, despite everyone's best wishes, it was time to go and we set off for BTV.

Amidst strains of banjo and fiddle, we sailed southward. Within about 15 minutes, young Reichel was horizontal and snoozing hard. Alan and Carole enjoyed tunes from Mecuen & Salazar and Leo Kottke down into Johnson. Stopped at Edelweiss for lunch -- nice sandwiches enjoyed in one of the loveliest gardens we had ever seen (with a water feature). Sweets purchased included eclairs, ginger snaps, "gnomes--??," raspberry shortbread, almond croissant, and a peanut-butter chocolate cookie sandwich. Hardy was begging surrender as we approached Burlington airport.

Airport logistics worked through, we said fond goodbyes, and waved behind glass as Hardy got onto the plane.

Returning a less traveled route, a bit longer, we still got in in time to take a nice canoe ride around the lake with Priscilla from the Lakeview Store. As we circumnavigated a deliciously calm Lake Averill, we talked and we visited and we looked and we wondered where were the loons.

The answer appeared on our own beach as we returned from the ride -- a mature loon hanging out about 15 feet from shore. S/he didn't bat an eye as the canoe drifted in -- just gave a couple of warning 'coots' -- and ignored us as we first watched in wonder and then (as mosquito feeding frenzy set in) banked the canoe. Such calm, such beauty, hello.

A day on the river...

Monday dawned bright and early with a 7am breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage, courtesy of Hardy. Then it was time to hit the road for Lopstick Lodge and our rendezvous with Bill for a day of wading the Connecticut. For once, we arrived early, before the designated 8:30am time. Bill was waiting and after some brief consultation, we headed down to the parking area directly below 1st Connecticut dam at the headwaters of the trophy section.

At the parking lot, we divied up presentation strategies -- Hardy went nymph, as did Carole, and Alan went for the old favorite, the dry fly. Headed down to the river where we saw several fisherman upstream (who we were told later didn't catch anything). We got back on the path and headed down to Judges and Juries where we spread out onto three beautiful pools. Hardy struck early and got the beautiful -- and huge -- brook trout pictured here. Alan took the first salmon and a couple rainbows. Carole struggled to find her touch, having a hard time sealing the deal with the firm set.

Heading downstream the boys continued to find fish and Carole finally ended the drought with a tiny (but beautiful!) salmon and then a little bit later a beautiful rainbow and another salmon. By this time we were in the upper reaches of Ledges and it was 1:30ish so we determined to quit for lunch.

Lunch was another one of Bill's gourmet feasts. Cheese, crackers, mushroom dip (sorry, Alan), plus then a meal of steak, chicken, roasted veggies, and salad. Dessert would have been apples and chocolate but Carole and Hardy ate all the apple slices as an appy. Oh well.

After lunch, we headed back to the dam parking lot and went directly downstream. By this point, we had all switched to Elkwing Caddis with an emerger for the dropper. Fish were biting on both. Hardy and Alan headed downstream, catching fish regularly, while Carole and Bill concentrated on the top section where Carole finally hit her stride, catching three good fish in about half an hour. Alan found a good spot where he pulled out five rainbows and a salmon. Just south of there was a deep eddie between a rock and a birch tree with overhanging trees. It was immediately adjacent to a good current, making it a great place for a big fish to hang out and feed. Only problem for the angler was that it was an impossible cast. You had to hit an area the size of a pie plate, immediately mend, and then pray. Bill challenged Carole who wisely turned it over to Alan who tried first with the 3 weight and a dry fly and then with Pinky on both dry and streamer (bambino). He managed to interest the fish on both the caddis and the bambino but lost the streamer in the end. The brookie was enormous -- maybe 22 inches. Maybe next time....

To close out the day, Bill took Hardy up to the pools immediately below the dam where fish were seen but not caught. They witnessed a fish suicide attempt when one leaped out of the river onto a flat rock. Not the outcome it intended.

Around 6 o'clock, we called it a day so that we could return to Camp for dinner and then the annual Quimby's shareholder meeting. Thankfully, it was brief and the efforts by one family to call down doom and gloom were foiled.

So ends another great day at Papelousu. Unfortunately, we take Hardy to the airport tomorrow but perhaps one more fishing adventure to Forrest Pond in the am.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The day began as a "12" on a scale of "10." Lake Averill mirrored the cloudless sky as the sun shone down across the mountains. The first errand of the day was the most important -- get breakfast. An early morning trip to Priscilla's Lakeview Store for eggs and milk yielded a delicious morning repast (sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits) courtesy of Hardy. (Hey, we could get used to this!)

After a cursory review of the NY Times, it was off to the ponds at Little Camp for a casting clinic, courtesy of Alan. He put Hardy on the lower pond and Carole on the upper pond and, alternating between the two, made gentle and less than gentle suggestions about where we were going wrong. He was right just about all of the time and maybe all of the time. I (Carole) made some improvement casting with rods other than my own, moving btw Alan's delicate 3 wt and Hardy's monster 5 wt -- wow what a difference. For his part, Hardy enjoyed meeting "Pinky" -- and who wouldn't since she's an Orvis T3 5 wt paired with a sweet Ross reel.

After an exhilarating dip in the lake, we dined on sandwiches and Sergio's collapse in the British Open (oh, dude, we saw it coming). At 2:30pm, Hardy and Alan headed off to the Connectictut to rendezvous with Bill Bernhardt, great guide and friend, at the Rte 3 rest area outside of Colebrook. Today's float was aboard Bill's new pontoon raft, and after preliminary introductions and setting forth, Hardy and Alan were soon upon fish. Kudos surely go to Hardy for identifying before the float even started that an ant hatch had aroused the curiosity of the fish and this info allowed the fishing team to get started right away. Alas, knowing what the fish wanted to eat was not the same as providing it. :-( Amidst a flotilla of feeding trout, our delicious ant appetizer was repeatedly snubbed and when ordered was taken with way too much delicacy.

There were rare gluttons. Hardy hooked into a beautiful foot-long brown trout that tenaciously fought while Alan snuck a cast into a small eddy and hooked a startling, leopard-like spotted brown. Beautiful fish. But the day belonged to Hardy with a gorgeous rainbow caught just off the bow as the sun was setting over Mt Monadnock. With his line hooked onto the floor clamp, Bill yelled "Set the hook!" Hardy yanked back, falling into his seat, reefing on Pinky, and nearly falling into the Connecticut. Amidst cheers and laughes a beautiful trout was landed in the net.

The setting as the sun dipped below the horizon was typical Norm's. Fish rising everywhere, fishermen casting blindly, bats zooming in and out, and some of the most ferocious mosquitos that Vermont has ever known. But amidst this beauty, and the ending of the day, there was gratitude for some wonderful fish and good company.

Dinner was Hardy's marinated lemon pepper pork and teriyaki pork.

Saturday July 21, 2007

First day at camp! After saying goodbye to Henri, Lisa, Trevor, Pierce, and Avery, Alan, Carole and Hardy headed out for food shopping and general surveillance. A trip to the farm stand in Beecher's Falls resulted in huge bags of spinach and lettuce, along with some beets and baby carrots, all pulled fresh from the ground. We went by Colebrook for the organic market but were 45 minutes too late -- it closed at 11am. After a stop at Ducret's for some fishing supplies, we headed to Solomon's where we "licensed up" (in Bill's terms) and picked up pork ribs, pork tenderloins, and fixings for bolognese sauce. Hardy promised his special ribs for supper.....

Back at the house, we made sandwiches and talked about hiking up Brousseau. It was a beautiful day -- sunny with large cumulous clouds floating by and about 70 degrees. But the ground was wet and we decided the Brousseau trail was likely to be a running stream and so we determined to swim instead. Hardy and Carole piled onto the large yellow raft Henri had bought for the kids and made Alan push us out into the lake. It was a labor of love as the water was cold. Once out, both Hardy and Carole took the plunge down the slide -- yikes! It was....refreshing. And not bad once you were in. Next came a canoe tour around the property. Not much going on in the inlet to report.

Time for the honored Papelousu tradition of casting at the ponds before dinner. Hardy and Alan headed down while Carole washed spinach and lettuce before joining them. Casted until dark at 8:30pm (Alan got four large brookies from the upper pond) and then headed back to grill Hardy's famous ribs, which had simmered earlier in the afternoon, make Carole's famous creamed spinach, and hang out with John and Dawn who had come back from a day fishing on Little Averill. Yummy dinner concluded with strawberries picked from Quebec. Yum, yum, yum.

After dinner, we turned out all the lights and found our way outside to the telescope. Ah, the joys of the country.

Recipe for Hardy's ribs:

5 T chili powder
3 T mustard
2-3 T cumin
1 T paprika
1 T salt
1 T garlic powder
1 t black pepper
1 t white pepper
1 t cayenne

Boil ribs in water with 2 T of the rub mix for half an hour. Leave in water on stove until ready to grill. Grill for half an hour, glazing with honey at the end over a hot fire on both sides.

Averill Arrival July 2007

After evading summer thunderstorms and a dark and stormy drive, we (Alan, Carole, and Hardy) arrived at Papelousu last night about 10pm. Henri and Lisa had hot ziti and mozzarella sticks waiting. A quick meal and then we all headed to bed.

In the morning, Henri and Lisa packed up the clan after a yummy breakfast of toaster waffles and frittata.