Monday, September 19, 2011

Not much of a "Guard Cat"

I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know the hummingbirds are buzzing around, right behind her.

I guess it's a good thing that we didn't get her from the Pet Rescue with the intention of being a Guard Cat - we'd have been sorely disappointed. But she's very good at shedding hair. And eating.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Quick Caterpillar post

We've been staying busy here in So. Maryland, doing everything but fishing. The rockfish fishing should get nothing but better as the months go on, so plan on reading SOMETHING that has to do with fishing in the near future.

We spent Saturday afternoon at our company picnic. My wife and I fancy ourselves as keen observers of the subtle and minutiae in the ecosystems. In actuality, she's probably better than I am. Anyway, she spotted this very cool caterpillar on a stone path, so I had to take it's picture. It measured probably 3" long and was as fat as my thumb. Then the fun began - I know nothing about caterpillar ID.




I went online with my picture and, after working my way through several pages of the seemingly endless varieties of caterpillars, I found the identity of our mystery fellow. A White-Lined Sphinx moth. Which, in layman's terms, is one of my favorite critters at the butterfly bush - a hummingbird moth!!


Photo by Raymond Christensen

The caterpillar / butterfly / moth group could take a person years to figure out. I'm not ready to dedicate that kind of time, but I DO think they're pretty cool.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Finally, a little bit of fishing in MD

I knew I would get around to fishing sooner or later (hopefully sooner) but the loose ends of this moving thing are never ending. About 1/4 mile from our house is a pond in our development. Looks to be about an acre and a half. Shallow looking - a typical bass / 'gill / maybe catfish spot. I've seen people fishing there with some frequency, so I assume there is SOMETHING in these waters. Recently I got to try it out and see for myself.


The pond at the new house. The debris in the water in the foreground is hurricane junk clogging teh outflow pipe; the fallen tree in the back of the pond is from the hurricane as well



My first thought when fishing small waters is: catch SOMETHING. Anything. Nothing fits the bill for this better than the Cubby Mini-mites I used in IL. Suspended under a weighted bobber, they simply catch fish. Any fish.



the first MD fish!

The first evening out, a week after the hurricane, I managed to get a few small sunfish. Not much action, but something. I also talked to a guy who said there are bass in the pond to 5#. Even if they're 3 pounders, that's OK with me. Last nite, I hit it for 20 minutes and used only a 1/8 oz. buzzbait. Got 2 hits and landed 2 small (12") largemouth.


Pond bass. Bigger ones to follow (I hope)

Nothing to plan a trip around, but at least its a beginning. Next up will be my initial forays into the striper fishing of Fall. Since it will be from shore, I have no predisposed ideas of any success, but I am very anxious to give it a try.