Photos from the field

May the Forest be with you.

(Above: This is a T-shirt for display and sale. This angle was the only one that didn’t reflect the light right back into the camera. My shots are rarely perfect.)

Estes Park is a crazy cool town with a lot of that quaint mountain town flavor. This is but one of their brilliant outdoor phrases and philosophies. As most outdoorsfolks can attest; at times the forest can be with you or against you. To all of my followers, viewers and the one guy that didn’t try to cut me off in traffic today…”May the forest be with you”.

This picture is worth: Two Bucks

(Above: These may be the most glorious mule deer that I have ever seen. I took this photo from the roadside on my way home from work-no zoom.)

There are times when I kick myself for not purchasing high-end photography equipment or at least something that I could use for those truly amazing photographs that pop up when you least expect them. For this reason I carry my POS digital just about everywhere.

How about Four Ducks?

This is not my best duck shot by any means but seemed to go with the mule deer above. Two bucks, four ducks and I wish that I had a platypus in a pear tree or something really clever to finish the thought.

Even though I no longer hunt in Colorado due to intense crowds and a number of really close calls, hunting is still deeply respected in my heart. Hunters and hunting management pays for so much of the wildlife habitat in this state and across the nation. If not for the protecting, managing and funding of wildlife spaces by sports-folks and true wildlife agencies like Ducks Unlimited and so many more…this state would have been devoured by real estate developers long ago. Even though I no longer hunt in Colorado, I support and thank you all for your support in regards to wildlife management.

Feral apples

The term “feral” generally means having escaped from domestication and becoming wild. For some silly reason I enjoy feral apples above the granny smith or even Fuji style apples bartered at my local grocer. Sometimes the bite is extra tart or I may have to inspect a few before finding one void of bugs. Nonetheless, I relish the art of locating, capturing and yes…even devouring said wild fruits. See? It is indeed true. I don’t catch and release all of the time.

One shard at a time…

So there is a lake that I fish with a long sandy shoreline that can form a large or small beach depending on where the water level decides to be on that given day. Every year some kid gashes his\her foot on shards of glass. Luckily the worst outcome thus far has been a few stitches. But every year the parents curse, swear and cringe at the fact the damage could have been a lot worse.

I hear a lot of swearing these days. But rather than join in the tirade I have decided to pick up these shards in sandy areas where humans may want to kick off their shoes or that good place to throw a stick for the dog (insert crazy no-leash dog\oblivious or absent owner rant here). In little over an hour I had cleared a gorgeous section of sandy lakeside paradise of every shard to be seen. Some of these have rounded edges showing signs of wear over time. The water was fairly low and a perfect time to do this. Hopefully this effort will eliminate a great many gashed feet and cursing parents. Maybe then I can fish the edge of these beaches (the transition from rock to sand) in peace.

(Above: All pieces combined in one plastic bag it shows the potential for injury. (Sigh) And we spend all this money chasing mud snails and exotic crayfish.)

Some areas may already be beyond hope and the broken glass on the shoreline may look like the aftermath of a hundred fish bowls colliding in a strung out mess. Well maybe except the fish bowls are made mostly of brown glass for some reason. But so many other places are worth the effort even if it is only one beach section at a time. Then all we would need is to keep people from tossing out any more glass bottles. That would be sweet. Those little toes and paws are worth the extra thought.

Once again a huge thank you to the followers, comment posters and viewers of my fishing blogilicious. I can’t say enough about how humbled I am that you folks even put up with me. Even though I am busy finishing off a few projects at work while gearing up for some new ones, I will still do my best to keep things rolling with fantastic Mattsabasser fishing blog updates through the upcoming winter season.

Good luck and good fishing.