Friday, February 18, 2011

Photos from the field

Through my adventures photos are taken that never seem to make it into specific fish posts. So much of my fishing goes unseen or heard. Even though these pictures may not be ready for prime time fishing posts, I have found a way to fit them in an excerpt called “Photos from the field.”

Painted caboose

(Above: Turn your back for one minute and your caboose may be painted up, vandalized or otherwise outright bamboozled. This one has been sitting a while and heavily tagged. Watch your caboose!)

Faux Canis

(Above: One of the experiments adopted by some crafty farmers, park managers, and even home owners are wooden silhouettes shaped like a small coyote, large black fox or even your feral domesticus dogicus. This silhouette has managed to keep away the frequenting flocks of geese that once plagued this neighborhood park. You wouldn’t think geese would be such a terror until you factor in all of the year round feces, bacteria and other ills that come along with a species that is just supposed to stop by for a few months a year. Like a bad in-law they have out stayed their welcome. Mr. Faux Canis here gives them the gentle brush off.)

Pixies in Twilight

(Above: Every second of your life can be magic but some moments are always going to be more so than others. The real trick is putting yourself in the best place possible and having eyes wide open to see those moments when they happen. I tend to stumble on these moments more than control them. Even mere snowflakes can come to life at certain times. All they need is a little flash and some twilight.)

Riffles of ice

(Above: As soon as I think nature has shown me everything she slaps my face with something else completely amazing. How the @#$% does this even happen? It is as if the riffles are caught in flight as they cascade over rock.)

Build it…they will come

(Above: Youth is forever determined and if you focus this energy towards the positive they will veer further and further from the negative. In this case some crafty individuals have carved out a freestyle bike park with nothing more than a little dirt, a few shovels and a sliver of hidden space. This is quite the little hot spot on a summer Saturday. Build it and they will come.)

February usually slows my fishing down with frequent snowstorms that cancel high country trips and warm spurts that soften the hard ice of my Front Range venues. Sorting through the gear, watching weather reports and planning my attack for spring is what helps me get through the last month of what I call “The Cold Three”. Still managing to get a few casts here and there but nothing to brag about. Thank you so much for your views, comments and rates. This blog is fueled by your support. 

Good luck and good fishing.

6 comments:

sage said...

Nice graffiti on the caboose, but I'd prefer to see it "natural." Sad that trains no longer use them. Like the ice shot

Jeff Hatt said...

Matt, the local kids to me at Longford, Coventry have built the self same type of bike park just along the canal on a tiddy bit of wasteland. They really have. They've shoveled dirt into ramps, berms and pits and, well, it's a sight to behold.

At their age I would done the same.

In this, the age of teenage profligacy, such things are monuments to youth.

If I could have my time again, at fourteen years of age, I would build a bike park with my mates.

Unknown said...

Frozen riffles - pretty fantastic. Great photo.
-stephanie

cofisher said...

Nice job Matt, love the photos. Definitely worth a 1000 words.

Bill said...

Great shots once again! That 'Pixies in the Twilight' shot is just awesome!

Anonymous said...

I love these "Photos from the field" post. You've got a great eye for finding wonderful things to share. Nicely done!