Trail Cam

Lena and I put a trail cam up at one of our hunting spots. It took a couple of days but we finally got some pics of some cow elk. Most of the pictures were of cows and calves checking out the camera. Some of them even moved it with their muzzles. We didn't get any pictures of any bulls or deer yet, but there is still time. Here are a couple from the first round.

Remembering what is important

Sometimes late in the season I cringe at the thought of going to work. It is Hot. The river is full of weeds that impede every cast and make fishing difficult, especially for novices. My patience is lower than in June or July, and honestly, the fishing isn't as good. I find all these reasons to complain about what I have to do, while I think about things I would rather do. I think everyone does that, a little? Then as I look around me, I remember... I am a fishing guide! I don't have that important of a job. It is not as though I am saving lives. I take people fishing and try to show them a good time. If there were no fishing guides, life would continue without a mis-step.

Sometimes we need to take a look at our lives from the outside, and realize what we need to be thankful for. I thank God for what I have... I apologize to him for complaining. I hope I never do it agian.

I am thankful to be working, I know many others who are not as fortunate right now.

I am thankful to live where I do.

I am thankful for what I am able to do for a job.

I am thankful for my family.

I am thankful for my friends.

I am thankful for the people I meet in this world, I try to take away something from each of them.

I am thankful for my parents and who they raised me to be.

I am thankful for those I don't like, they remind me who I don't want to be.

I am most thankful for my Wife, Lena. She is everything to me. She inspires me to work hard and give more of myself to others. She leads by wonderful example. She is not a morning person, but she gets up every day of the week to go into work early. She volunteers at our church. She helps her Grandmother, and spends time with her. She loves me, she trusts me, she lets me be myself.

I am a very lucky man.

I hope that I can be strong enough not to ever complain about what I do for a living agian.

I have soo much to be thankful for.

Where I would rather work tomorrow.......

If I could trade places for a day I would. I loved it. Beauty? Check. Solitude? Check. Good fishing? Check.

In the midst

Somewhere out there is a feeling of love. Something that warms you up, relaxes you and takes away your fear. Maybe a fond memory of your childhood. Maybe somewhere there is someone waiting for you to share their life with you. To comfort you, and care for you.

I think we need to hope, and smile when we see something beautiful. Life is good if we make it.

Life on the water

My Days begin with early mornings drinking coffee and reading the paper, watching the outside the windows grow brighter by the minute. I pack my cooler, maybe tie some flies, and mentally prepare myself for the day. I notice the tan lines of my feet growing brighter and brighter with each day as I pour another cup of coffee. I kiss my wife goodbye and head to the gas station, and as usual no one is there. I fill my truck up without even looking how much it costs, who cares anyway nothing I can do about it. I try to scrape the bugs off of my windshield again with the window wash. It never completely works no matter how much time I take, there are always a few smudges left joining the rock chips and cracks that I look past on my way to the river. Most days I listen to my Ipod as I speed out of Helena and through the canyon towards the small, but busy town of Craig. On the way to the river the songs that play remind me of all sorts of things, my family, my friends, clients I once had, a break down in the middle of nowhere... Then reality sets again as I exit the highway into the mess of people from all over the globe who have come to Montana to fish for trout on the Missouri River. They scurry around town like ants, looking for their guides, or trying to milk some information from the shops before they head out on their own. Some stumble around like ants with major hangovers. Coffee, cigarettes, sunglasses, drift boats. Lots of khaki and light blue or sage clothing adorns those on the go. I hook up my boat from the row of guide boats parked outside the shop, head nods exchanged to those people I know. Curious glances exchanged with those I don't. Time ticks by quickly as we wait for our clients to show. Small talk and reports from yesterday drown the silence. I notice a caddis fly fluttering by and landing on the windshield of another truck, adorned with the smudges of fallen caddis comrades. It doesn't seem to notice the corpses plastered in peaceful rest, and moves on looking for another caddis to mate with. I inwardly smile at how much it reminds me of some fishing guides I know.