February 24, 2024
When you work weekdays, there’s nothing as exciting as Saturday morning. While it was easy to be excited about Friday evenings, most of the time, I felt tired from the workday. But waking up on Saturday, I felt refreshed and ready to take on the weekend. After coffee, my wife asked if I wanted to go eat breakfast. I told her yes and started getting ready, when she told me I didn’t have to hurry. I enthusiastically told her not to “un-rush me”. We both laughed, got dressed, and headed to the Wilson Cracker Barrel.
After we returned home, we spent time outdoors dismantling an old fire pit I built when we first moved here. We had since added a fire pit in the garden area and a Solo Stove on the rear deck. The old fire pit was surrounded by several large granite rocks that needed to be moved. This made for a good workout. The day was sunny and cool; it was the perfect weather for working outside.
Tired from moving rocks, we took Bodhi for a walk through the woods. The forest, which seemed tired and drab a few weeks ago, felt fresh and full of life. Trees budded and plants sprouted everywhere. My wife placed old eggs from the refrigerator onto Beaver Tooth Rock, a treat for whoever would have them for a nutritious midnight snack. Bodhi enjoyed the outing, especially when he found a pile of deer poop and rolled on it, neck first. Afterwards, smeared feces covered his entire neck, and he emitted a foul odor. Dogs naturally do this to cover their scent from prey. I wiped him down when we got back home, but dog baths would happen tomorrow.
After a brief rest, my wife left for a massage appointment and I wrangled live bait from my worm farm and took off to fish at the Buckhorn Reservoir. The lake was busier than I had seen since last summer. Lines of trucks with boats on trailers were waiting to drop into the water, while lines of boaters in the water waited to load their boats and leave. The whole place smelled of exhaust.
I found a quiet place at the end of the easternmost pier and set up my rods and reels. Two seagulls hung out with me for a few minutes before one flew off. The other bird stayed within ten feet of me for the rest of my time on the reservoir. The stiff wind blew hard, rocking the pier, making it hard to fish or stand. Unfortunately, the wind came from the same direction as the sun, so I had to turn away from the sun to block my face from the wind, which prevented me from staying warm.
After a few minutes of fishing, it rained lightly, but the seagull and I remained. Determined to catch a fish, I stayed out on the water for a few hours before I was so cold and soaking wet that I had to leave. Gusts of wind and a sudden downpour pushed me off of the pier. The rain blew so hard that it stung when pelting my neck. While I caught no fish, I successfully froze my ass off. Bravo.
I met my wife at the house as she returned from her massage and a planned delivery of delicious food she picked up at Señor Munchies. When I pulled onto the dirt road that leads to my house, I noticed the pear trees were blooming, their small white flowers bursting out on trees in the grove. I ate several carnitas tacos smothered in the red and green hot sauces they provided. The food was delicious and helped warm my mood, if not my body. I took a hot shower and put on some warm, dry clothes.
In the evening, I split firewood and built a fire. My wife and I made it through a couple of beers and about ten songs before the weather broke up our party. We weathered the rain for about fifteen minutes, but the skies turned ominous and the water dumped from the sky. Like the trained professional we were, we took the party inside without missing a beat. It was good to have my partner back, even if we weren’t out doing crimes.