World War II Museum, Wakefield, RI

 

Audie Murphy, the most
decorated soldier of WWII
played himself in the movie
about him. This is his"uniform"
he wore in the movie

   On the rainy Tuesday, Laurie and I went to the World War II Museum in Wakefield, RI. In a word...AWESOME! I've been to a lot of museums including all of the Smithsonions. I can tell you that if you love history, this small museum is one of the best. 

   Obviously, the museum has artifacts from WWII. There are multiple small rooms absolutely crammed with stuff. They have so much  memoribilia that it is almost piled on the floor up to the ceiling. When I go to a museum, I usually end up seeing a couple of things that really stick with me. For example, I was blown away at the Museum of Fine Art when I came across stones from the Temple of Athena in Athens. 

  At this small museum, my jaw was on the floor almost the entire time. I could not believe that there was so much history in this place. There were artifacts from the US soldiers, Germans including Nazi propoganda, Russians, and even stuff from the Japanese/ Chinese theater of the war. On top of all of that, there were costumes from John Wayne, Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen) and others from Hollywood war movies.

   Nazi's are the worst people as a group to ever live. The horrors they caused is worse than disgusting, it is tragic. So when I tell you that there was a lot of Nazi stuff, I am not glorifying it, Numbers do not tell the story. Knowing the statistics about how many people died in concentration camps, work camps, and battles will still never allow us to understand the suffering. Seeing items from Hitler and other leaders of the Nazis is a strange feeling. Being that close to pure evil is unnatural. Knowing that Herman Goering's DNA could still be on his nightshirt or that Heinrich Himmler (leader of the SS) actually touched a piece of paper that he signed eighty years ago is a strange feeling that I can't explain.

   The cost of admission is ten dollars. We took the tour lead by a volunteer. The tour lasts almost two hours and I am glad we took it. Even the tour leader can only scratch the surface of how much stuff is in the museum, but he pointed out so many things we never would have noticed on our own. As I said, some of this stuff is right on the floor because they have so much of it. 

   The one thing that got me a emotional was a striped uniform that the prisinors in concentration camps had to wear. It is rigtht out in the open on a manikin and we were allowed to touch it. I was thinking about what this poor person had to go through. I do not know their story, but even in a best case scenario that they lived, how much death did  (he?) see? How much did he starve? What family members died or were never seen again? I thought all of this when I touched the uniform. I knew that just on the inside of that materiel a man lived in constant fear, hunger, and surrounded by death. I got a little choked up.

   There is no doubt that we will go back. We will probably go again in the winter. I won't take the tour again, since I see no need to  make the volunteer talk to us for two hours again. We will take our time and walk around and see if we can notice things we did not see before. Below are some of the highlights that I could not believe were in the collection. One last reminder, even though I took photos of Nazi items...facism is very bad and Nazi's were/are evil.

   One more last thought before you look at the photos below, I'm glad all of this stuff is saved and we can all learn from it. As Doctor Indiana Jones said many times "that belongs in a museum"

  Below is actual volcanic sand from the island of Iwo Jima

Dinnerware owned by Hitler

The costume John Wayne wore in the movie "The Sands of Iwo Jima"

Coat worn by Lee Marvin in "The Dirty Dozen"

A plate owned by Eva Braun, Hitler's girlfriend. 

Notice the initials

Many German Lugers

I was allowed to touch the shoulder of this prison uniform 

from a concentration camp. It was the saddest item at the museum

A book signed by Admiral Chester Nimitz 

Naval Commander of the Pacific fleet during the war 

Below is the shovel that Hitler used to break ground in

the creation of the Autobahn

A photo of him holding it

Jewish/ Cocentration Camp prison uniform 

I figure you don't need an explanation for this one

Not a lot of love between General Patton (left) and 

Bernard Montgomery (back to us)

Herman Goering's Nightshirt.

Head of the German Luftwaffe and Hitler's 

second in command

Coral and rock from the island of 

Peleliu a costly, forgotten, and mostly pointless battle fought in the Pacific.

It is highlighted in the Hanks/Speilberg series "The Pacific"

John F. Kennedy's beneficiary form in case of death.

His signiture is on it. He left all of his assets to his father

A section of the U.S.S. Arizon sunk at Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941 

Dog

 

  For the most part, on my days off Laurie and I have been in fields looking for snakes and butterflies. We have quickly learned that seeing a butterfly is much easier than either catching it or photographing it for an ID. As for snakes, we have not seen many except I finally saw my first Black Racer of the year on Friday.

   Fishing... I went twice last week. Once in my canoe in a weedy lake filled with bass and pickerel and the other at a reservoir that can only be fished from shore. Both days were horrible. I caught two small bass on the weedy lake. The second day, I couldn't even get a bluegill or perch to bite the tail of a grub. Lets put it this way... I jokingly told my boss I was going to transfer to the Gifts Department because I could no longer in good conscience give "expert" advice to fishermen. Luckily, he refused my transfer.

 

 Laurie and I wanted to check for Baltimore Checkerspot butterflies in Falmouth. We had seen them around June 20 a few years ago. We couldn't go on Sunday because it rained all day. So we went Wednesday. The plan was to look for the butterflies and then let me go shark fishing for a couple hours since we were only fifteen minutes away. We saw a couple butterflies including a possible Checkerspot but it was moving fast and I left my camera at home so we didn't count it.

   We tried for sharks from dark until 10:40. I didn't catch any real sharks but I did have three runs. The first run I think was a Dogfish but it dropped the bait. The second run was hard and quick and I do think it may have been a shark but it also dropped the dead eel. The third fish I did manage to hook. It was a Dogfish about two and a half to three feet long. I was having uncontrollable shivering from the cold ocean breeze and did not bring a sweatshirt so it was time to go after the one fish. I can't even say I'm sad I didn't catcha shark. A fifteen minute walk back to the car after getting wet head to toe pulling a shark out of the water would have been awful.  

Uncle Ned

   

   When I fish for Smallmouth Bass one of my go to lures has always been a grub on a one eighth ounce jighead. I've been using this lure for years. I keep the colors simple and have used Green Pumpkin and the light purple made by Mister Twister. For the last couple decades, I have only fished for Smallmouth a few times a year. Most of the time was spent fishing for stripers (then finding birds) so I really did not attempt to learn new techniques. 

   Since I hadn't really concentrated on freshwater bass for two decades, I actually had to learn about new ways to catch them when I got hired at Bass Pro. Different ways to catch bass had been invented (or become popular) while I was fishing the surf. So at night after work, I would do a lot of research. Besides learning about these new lures, I'd spend time reading product reviews on rods, reels, and rain gear.

   If I didn't have a good excuse (stripers, albies, and birds) I'd be embarrassed to admit I had to learn about Ned Rigs. A Ned Rig is a soft plastic bait on a jighead. It differs from my go to grub on a jighead in two ways. First is the jig itself. A typical round ball jighead will lie flat on the bottom when at rest. A Ned head is top heavy and will stand up when dropped to the bottom. You can already tell that this will appeal to a fish. Since the plastic will not be lying flat on the bottom, instead swaying in the current it would be very enticing for a fish that sees it.

   Secondly, while anything the right size can be put on a jighead such as a grub, shad body, crawfish, fluke...etc, the most common Ned soft plastic has almost no motion. The most popular soft plastics for bait on a Ned head look like half of a straight tail worm such as a Senko. For whatever reason, three inch straight tail worms are the most popular plastics for Ned Rigs by far. Most companies make them from Yum to Bass Pro Shops. The come in many different colors.

 

 Laat year while smallie fishing in New Hampshire I caught my first fish on a Ned Rig. Ironically, my fist fish was a Rock Bass but I did catch a number of Smallmouth. I knew this was something I wanted to get good at so I bought twenty packages of Ned baits from different companies in different colors. Some are even made of different material. While many feel like traditional plastic worms, some brands such as Z man make them with elastic in them. These baits can be stretched like an elastic and are extremely tough.  You can catch dozens of fish on one bait and you are probably going to get it caught on the bottom long before you would have needed to change the plastic. 

   As for the jighead, I decided not to use lead. Since lead is illegal in Mass, NH, and Maine, I figured I may as well start with tungsten from the beginning. Ned heads are expensive anyway (as opposed to traditional round heads) so the extra cost of the tungsten wasn't very much more.

    I bought my heads from a company called Nako. They specialize in non-lead products. I had ordered from them before so I knew that they have a 20% off sale near Christmas along with free shipping over fifty dollars. So, like I did at work with the bodies, I bought a bunch of packages last December. I bought all sizes from one tenth to one quarter ounce. However, if I could only buy one size it would be the one eighth ounce with a 2/0 hook. You can choose the hook size on most weights. I wish I would have bought less of other sizes and more of that size. Despite having ten or so Nako packs in different sizes, I'll probably order more of that one size again in December.

   This year when I did my annual smallmouth trip, I used Ned rigs. I made a point to fish them instead of the traditional grub on a round head. The truth is, I don't know if I caught anymore fish with Ned jigs than I would have with the grubs, but I figured that learning something new was a good idea. At the very least, it was fun getting hits on something I really never used much before.

  I bought Ned plastics from many different companies. Bass Pro made an elastic plastic that for some reason they discontinued. When I realized this, I bought all of them up that we had left in the store. So I got colors of black/blue, Pb&J, brown/orange, and an off white. I bought the Z man green pumpkin and the Yoga Pants. I bought some of the Rapala Ned BLT and the Missile baits Ned Bomb. 

   Obviously, I did not try all of these brands and colors while fishing for a couple of days. However, of the ones that I used my favorite is the Missile Ned Bomb in the Goby color. Ned Bombs are not shaped like the others. Instead of being a half a plastic worm the end is shaped like a beaver tail. So it sways a little in the water. I felt as though this little bit of movement would entice fish. And again, do I know if I caught more fish with this than I would have if I stuck with the Rapala BLT in brown/ orange ( looks a lot like crawfish color)? I don't know. But I do know confidence is key when fishing. and I was confident in this bait. 

   

Rock Bass on a Ned

One thing that surprised me is how many actual hook ups I got with the bait. I missed very few fish that struck  the bait. I can assume it is because of the bait standing on its end. If I fish hits it, the hook is already in its mouth. There were plenty of times that I didn't feel the hit and when I tightened the line, I had a fish on. This is typical of Ned rigs because you will hook fish on the drop or as soon as it hits the bottom. 

  Despite having twenty packs of various Neds, I bought four more packs of the Missile Bait in the Goby color when I got home (with an employee discount and gift cards). Will I ever use all twenty packs of baits sitting in a shoe box...no. Will someone get use out of them when I die someday? I hope so.

   You may be asking why they are named Ned Rig? Why Uncle Ned? Well, the inventor of Ned Rigs actually was a guy named Ned Kehde. He was a midwestern fisherman and he invented this finesse type of fishing in the early 2000's. So, I think we can all call this guy our Uncle Ned (a term first used by my old boss Marc at work). It is a fun, very successful way to catch fish

Herps and Butterflies

 

  Over the last few days Laurie and I have been out looking for herps and butterflies. I usually get really bad seasonal depression in June. When May migration is over I go into a funk that takes me some time to get out of. The crash after the high of May is hard for me to overcome. The past few years I actually planned vacations in June so I'd have something to look forward to. This strategy worked to a T. However, Laurie and I are planning a long trip to Florida in October so I don't want to use any vacation time.

   On my days off, we have been spending time looking for snakes, turtles, and butterflies. Besides looking at the ground to find snakes, we've been bringing a butterfly net to try to capture some butterflies for easier identification. This time in the field has really been fun and I have not been seasonally depressed. 

   Laurie has really been into this hands on nature viewing. Neither of us are any kind of butterfly expert so we have been taking a field guide with us.

   In terms of herping, we have had quality over quantity. Over the course of my life I had seen a total of three Eastern Box Turtles in New England. Of the three, two of them were at BioBlitz where hundreds of eyes would look at the ground. However, over the course of the last three days I have seen two additional Eastern Box Turtles. Laurie found both of them while we were out hiking for herps. Thanks to her keen eye I have some fantastic photos

Below is the first one that she found. Many pictures and more text below it.

Of the seven species of butterflies that we identified the last few days this is the best photo. The species below is a Red Spotted Purple

  Today's Eastern Box Turtle was at a different location. It did not move when we saw it. We did wait for it to move into tall grass out of the view of possible poachers.

Pelagic Boat Trip

    Despite saying a couple years ago that I had retired from pelagic boat trips I keep finding reasons to go on one. Last year, I went on one because I still needed a species of Shearwater that had been split from another species (Scopolis).

   This year when a pelagic was being planned I asked Laurie if she wanted to go. My logic is that she had never been on a dedicated pelagic and she loves boats. Last year, when I went, I saw hundreds of dolphins. I was hoping this trip would have dolphins and whales to make Laurie happy. 

   The purpose of these trips is actually to see birds. Thirty or so birders charter one of the whale watch boats of the Francis Fleet. You really can't see any of the Shearwaters or Jaegers from shore so taking a trip out to see them is the only way to count them for the year. As many of you know, Laurie is not a birder so she was hoping to see whales.

   The birding was pretty good. We got four species of Shearwaters, a Jaeger, and Wilson's Storm Petrels. Birds were around the boat most of the trip. There was one whale seen. Unfortunately, only myself a couple other people saw it. It was a small whale so it was almost certainly a  Minke. The non-birding highlight of the trip were Ocean Sunfish. These large fish can reach up to six hundred pounds. They will float on their side at the surface. I personally saw three of them. 

With a couple hours left in our trip we took the long way back around the west side of Block ISland. The scenery was terrific. We saw both North Light, Southeast Light, the cliffs, Southwest Point and seals hauled out.

   All in all, if you were a birder it was a pretty good trip. If you like mammals, it wasn't very good. I wish it had been better for Laurie. No pelagics are like any other. Some are great and some can be duds. This one was somewhere in the middle

Below are multiple photos Paul Miller took of the Ocean Sunfish. His photos are way better than mine and by far the best I have seen. Below his photos are a few more of mine from the trip.

This photo and the following three  below were 
taken by Paul Millert

My photos below

Seals off of the North Rip

North Light

Southeast Lighthouse

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, all small fish

    During the days after Memorial Day I went up to New Hampshire to do some Smallmouth fishing. I went up to an impoundment on the Connecticut River. I'm just now getting a chance to write about it. Laurie went up with me so I spent the mornings fishing while she explored downtown Littleton and a covered bridge. The afternoons were taken up by picnics, waterfalls, a little trout fishing, and a couple of mountain lakes.

   I fished two mornings and caught a lot of fish. All of my fish were caught on  Ned Rigs and a couple on topwater lures ( Zara Puppy). The problem I had was, I wasn't looking for a lot of fish, I was hoping for a big fish. I knew I could catch plenty of small males. It was the trophy female I was hoping to catch.

 

 Alas, it was not meant to be. My biggest fish barely cracked fifteen inches and was just under two pounds. I tried shoreline areas and I tried deepwater dropoffs but without any luck. I've caught well over a hundred fish in this lake and I have never cracked three pounds. I think I have to accept that this lake has a lot of fish but no (or very few big ones).

    A few days after I came home, I was talking to a customer at work who fishes the same lake.  He told me he did a tournament up there and they all had the same problem. None of the fish that were weighed in were very big. I think it is time for me to branch out and try different ponds. A four pound Smallmouth has eluded me for too long. 

Rock Bass

   On  the bright side, I did hook up with Rock Bass and a  Black Crappie. I even had a pike follow a small jerkbait. 

Black Billed Cuckoo

   As I said in the last post, the birding highlight of my three days away was a  Black Billed Cuckoo that was just amazing. I've only seen a handful of Black Billed (and for that matter Yellow Billed) Cuckoos. Mostly, I get partial views of them hiding in trees. The bird deserved its own post

   While walking along the road at Plum Island a group of birders were standing at a road crossing of a trail. One told me that a cuckoo was in the bushes. He showed me where to look and sure enough there it was. It was partially obscured by foliage but a step to the right or left and a slight bend and you could see the whole bird. I was quite happy to see it.

                                                  Below is the view I first got of the cuckoo.

  After a few minutes I decided I'd move off and let others get the same view of the bird. I sat on a guard rail and hoped that when it eventually flew it may land in the tree in front of me. Well, it did. It landed on an exposed branch and sat there about thirty seconds. I started shooting my camera hoping the light was good.  The photos below are what I got. I feel very grateful for the experience

   Below is one of the photos cropped. I prefer to post my photos without any enhancements. Even if I could post a nicer photo if I crop it or edit it, I'd rather post the raw honest photo. However, in this case I figured I'd quickly crop one of the above photos. 

Cropped