Just getting through the Big Suck

Thanks for the January highlight, Georgia

I haven't wrote much lately simply because there wasn't been much to write about.  I always tell people that January is a big pile of suck.A quick summary of the few things I did below

 This month hasn't been much different. I did get out ice fishing one time. My first fish of the year was a sixteen inch Rainbow.  The ice was probably safe a couple other days I had free time but didn't feel comfortable venturing out on it after getting two inches of 50 degree rain.

The one thing that breaks up cabin fever are the outdoor shows. I went to the fly fishing show in Marlboro a couple weeks ago and the Boxboro show over the weekend. I didn't do a "write up" because they are basically the same every year.  Coming up are the Springfield Show which I am going to and the RISA show which I will only go to if the weather sucks.

Like everyone else, I'm pumped about the Super Bowl. I have realized that the forty year old Patriots quarterback is a demigod. I spent most of last Monday at work trying to convince employees that he is really an illegitimate son of Zeus and a hero along the lines of Hercules and Perseus. 

More than most, I am looking forward to the Olympics. Laurie will be over every night and we will watch Primetime. As I've pointed out, she knows as much about figure skating as stat geek fantasy baseball owners know about their sport. So, I will be watching and understanding figure skating far more than any straight man should.

As for the month we just had, the highlight was by far the Peabody Essex Museum (and Kelly's Roast Beef). I went to the two fishing shows and three movies. The movies were  "The Darkest Hour" "The Greatest Showman" and "I, Tonya". All three were average movies. Nothing worth paying movie theater prices for, but all worthy of a Redbox selection.  Gary Oldman was awesome as Churchill in "The Darkest Hour"

The only other thing I really did was go to Moonstone Beach with Laurie on Sunday. The plan was for her to collect pretty rocks while I birded. This ended up working out way better for her than me. She got a bucket full of rocks. Meanwhile, I got fifty feet of grey air. The whole area was socked in with fog. I did manage to see a lifebird which is amazing considering I only saw six species (and three of those were swan, Canada geese, and mallards). The lifer was an American Bittern that I accidentally flushed while walking through some reeds. So go figure.

Looking ahead, I think the rest of the winter will be more fun. I've got 18 days of Olympics to look forward to. By the time they are over it will still be light out until almost 6 pm.  I've got tickets to a couple concerts and plays for Feb/March that I am looking forward to. My days off are going to be spent birding for the next month or so if the weather is good those days. Thursday, I am probably going to my favorite winter destination, Sachuest NWR. All in all, we made it through January, that in itself is a good thing (unless of course you are skiing five to six days a week then January wasn't so bad after all...Dave)

Georgia O' Keeffe at the Peabody Essex Museum

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Today, Laurie and I went to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. The goal was to see the special  Georgia O' Keeffe exhibition. The special exhibition is at the museum until April 1. Georgia O'Keeffe is an American artist most famous for paintings of the Southwest and of flowers that may or may not resemble a female body part. She is one of the few artists of the 20th Century that I enjoy.

Although Salem is a tourist trap loaded with many places to check out, most are only open during the summer and the fall. There wasn't much to do in town. Not to mention, the temperature was over 55 degrees when we walked in and thirty seven and windy when we walked out. All we did on the North Shore after the museum was go to Kelly's Roast Beef on Revere Beach for a late lunch.

The Peabody Essex Museum has a few galleries. Most of their stuff is Asian and Indian Art. There was a room dedicated to American artists. There was also an impressive room dedicated to Maritime Art. There is a twenty dollar entrance fee. It is not a huge museum but it is nice.

The Georgia O' Keeffe gallery is on the top floor. Besides her paintings, there was a lot of clothes. Apparently, her "style" was a big topic. I get it, she designed and wore what she wanted not what was considered proper or in style. That said, I didn't spend a  whole lot of time looking at her shoes.  She spent time in both New York and New Mexico. Georgia and her husband, who was a famous photographer, had a place on Lake George. He also took many photos of her, many of which are in the exhibition.

We spent around two hours in the museum. Over half of that time was spent in the Georgia O' Keeffe gallery. Admission for an adult is $20. There is some free parking in the area. If you have to pay to park the cost is only seventy five cents. Two photos of her paintings and three photos of Georgia below.

First ice fishing trip

I had planned on snowshoeing today after work. The two places that I went were not plowed out so I had no where to park. I gave up on snowshoeing and decidedto go ice fishing I stopped home and get my auger, jigging rod, and waxworms. since I wasted so much time on my failed snowshoeing jaunt, it was almost 4:30 by the time I got on the ice. There were a couple of holes that had skim ice, so I broke through two of them. I didn't have to dig my own holes.

I jigged in the first one for 30 seconds without a hit. I tried the second one and within seconds I had a hookup. After a brief but spirited battle I landed a 16 inch rainbow. I was pretty shocked to catch a nice trout as my first fish of the year. Between getting out of the car and pulling it through the ice the span was less than three minutes. I'm going to consider it a good (great!) omen going into 2018.

I only had 30 minutes or so to fish. I ended up with two small yellow perch and a pretty bluegill besides the trout. Not a bad way to spend a half hour.

Ice seemed to be about 8 inches thick on the pond.