Sunday Sunshine Album

Twas a day for basking in and enjoying the August sunshine.

We made the most of it. 

After Bill came home from church, and I had brought the horses up from pasture, we put the dogs in the run and headed off to pick up Willie. 

Willie's summer vacation days are winding down, so he didn't have to think twice when we asked him to join us on a drive up Myrtle Creek. 

We took along fishing gear (even me), some munchies, a chair and my book. 

I wanted to leave options open in case they wanted to fish longer than I did. 

Plus, I'm on the downward slope in finishing Where the Crawdads Sing.   

I saw in yesterday's news that Delia Owen's book has remained at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for six months. 

It deserves to stay at the top because it's a great read. 

This morning I can say that the crawdads will continue to sing because I opted for fishing instead of reading.

Before heading up Myrtle Creek, Bill wanted to check Cascade Creek, so we took a slight detour.  He pulled out his rod and dropped a fly in the little roadside waterfall.  

No luck, so we returned to Myrtle Creek Road and enjoyed some lovely views of the Kootenai Valley.   

When we arrived at Cooke's Pass between Myrtle Creek and Snow Creek drainages, Bill mentioned Cooke's Lake. 

He said later that we had visited the lake once when the kids were little.  That trip was a "brown Ford pickup" drive.  

Yesterday's was a new "dark gray Chevy drive."  I'm thinking two other pickups have taken us to the mountains between the brown Ford and the Chevy Silverado.

  The road into the lake was rough, but that Silverado did its job.

After gearing up with rods and tackle, we set off up a rocky, steep trail toward the lake.  Thankfully, the hike was short cuz that trail was definitely steep.  

Soon, however, we were admiring a lovely mountain lake, accented by some artistic shoreline boulder masses,  scattered patches of tall, verdant grass stems and old faded logs that had probably lain in the lake for along time. 

Willie immediately started walking the lake trail and soon hollered back, "Mom there's a good boulder where you can stand and fish."  

Then, he moved on.  

Both Bill and Willie wore their fishing boots, while I had my new hikers.  So, having the big somewhat flat and safe mass of rock was nice.  Plus, it offered plenty of open-air space so I could easily cast my spinner rod. 

Leave it to me though:  I lost my first lure on my first cast---to the tree right next to the boulder. 

Pretty much normal for my lifelong fishing experiences.  If there's a way to mess up with a fishing pole, I can do it. 

After some patient reloading the line and a bit more strategic thought before casting, I was able to get the line out into the water.  

Soon after a cast or two, I heard "Fish on . . . fish off!" from Willie.  His disappointment was short-lived because it couldn't have been a minute before he could yell out "Fish on!" again.  This time HE released the trout. 

Between the two of the William's, they landed about five fish, some eight inches long. 

We spent about 45 minutes at the lake. I eventually moved from my rock slab to some logs over on the left side of the lake. 

I never did get to yell "Fish on!"  

Just caught a lot of grass, but that was okay, cuz it doesn't wiggle when you take it off the hook. 

We enjoyed our time at this gorgeous and serene mountain lake, which, as the sun cast its final rays on the water, reminded me of an "On Golden Pond" scene. 

Bill said that in the morning, he had no idea he would be headed to Myrtle Creek, and when we drove the Myrtle Creek Road, he had no idea we'd end up at Cooke's Lake.

I think he liked the way the day turned out just as much as Willie and I.  Plus, they've got big plans for when they return to Cooke's lake, hopefully at a time when it can once again be a "dark gray Chevy pickup" drive. 

A great Sunday of August sunshine, for sure. 

Happy Monday.

If you want to learn about an oyster party in Hope, check out Connie's blog. 

https://retiredmtnlady.blogspot.com/

I've been keeping an eye out on the plant growing from a sweet potato sprout, which I planted in a deck planter this spring. 

It's gradually opening into this pretty blossom.  Can't wait to see when it's completely open.

Gonna have to plant a bunch of those next year.