Tag: Winter

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At the Tying Bench

 

Winter’s cold arrived this week. Coupled with the Governor’s “stay at home” request, our activities cooled as well.

We don’t stop fishing in the winter,  just shift tactics. Some streams open all year, and of course fish don’t hibernate.

One thing that does pick up is activity at the tying bench.

Flyfishing, like most hobbies, offers lots of distractions to occupy time and resources, Some more essential than others. Fly tying is one of these side ventures.

Winter, or off season, at the bench serves two functions. First it replenishes boxes depleted by summer’s excursions . There are also some very different types of flies used in the cold months.

The art of dry dropper,  wet fly, or Euro nymphing techniques is, for us, just in the formative stage, as are any patterns used in those tactics. It’s helpful to be able to sit down at the bench, work out different artificial based on what we see on the river.

There is also a cathartic and meditative side of attaching bits of feather, fur and tinsel to bends of wire.

Like standing in the middle of a stream … fly tying has its own sort of Zen.

With shortened days … that’s a good thing.

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Winter’s Return

 

Winter’s start is always messy. The warm days of fall still linger and melt early winter snows. This week we’ve had a mix of weather … most of it wet … much of that snow.

The week ended with a winter storm watch for the Cascades making passes un-passable. We’re not looking to get far. At present we will enjoy a crisp morning stroll that includes untracked powder.

The snow fall we got at the beginning of the week came under a cold front and frocked pine bows.

However, by the end of the week the temperatures warmed and the snow it brought was deeper but also heavy and hard to shovel. By afternoon the city plows were clearing the rutted streets of a slushy mix.

 

The shift to consistent cold is coming, but for now we have to contend with this snow and rain mix.

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Snow Boots

Right after the holidays Central Oregon got a huge boost to the snow pack.  In the few years since moving here we’ve grown accustomed to these “foot in a day” dumps of snow. The scene outside our front door can change dramatically in a matter of hours.

Luckily the neighborhood gets a regular snow plowing and our Subaru has it’s winter boots on. We’re basically ready for winter’s inevitable challenges.

As pointed out numerous times in our blog, morning walks with Tip is how we start the day. The addition of a layer of snow means you need to add traction devices to boots and boots to paws.

The latter can be a bit of a challenge. Tip doesn’t mind wearing boots, however they do add to prep time. Then there is the occasional occurrence with boots coming off in deep snow.

Often the walk will start with boots on and end with them in pockets … we’ll get the hang of this eventually. For now we don’t let it interfere with the morning’s activities.

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A Winter Hat

This is not a complaint. Winter has arrived, shortening our fall . This morning the temperature was 3º.

Seems like a good time to look for a new winter cap.

A trip to REI is the easy part. The hard part is going through the huge selection and finding the right one.

There are lots of different factors that go into hat selection but one aspect of hat buying is getting JQ to model silly looking hats.

We both had a good laugh … albeit at JQ’s expense. However, in the end we found a good fit, nice color and great price. Everyone was happy.

And the winner is … Powder Beanie by Pistil Designs. Boiled wool for seriously cold weather, inner fleece ear band for soft warmth and comfort.
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Winter hiking

Chalk this up to cabin fever. Tired of walking neighborhood paths, we headed off to a “year around” trailhead. Rim Rock Springs wildlife area is listed as “open all season.” Because it is pretty much out in the open, there was hope the trail would be somewhat snow clear or at least passable. It wasn’t.

The trailhead is a few miles east of Madras on Highway 26 and the real draw for this mile plus loop trail is an abundance of wildlife.  Despite being located in basically a barren landscape, there is a marsh and with it lots of birds and critters in the area.  For now, we’ll move it to the ‘a bit later’ spring hiking list.

Heck…we’re in the car pointed east why not see if there is some snow cover on the Painted Hills? Forty minutes later we are in the John Day formation and yeah, there was a lot of snow.

The road had been plowed, so we did manage to get to the overlook and of course JQ shot a few frames.  We had a picnic lunch. Tip chased a ball and sniffed some sagebrush. The only thing we didn’t get in was some hiking mileage. Just have to double up on the neighborhood loop tomorrow.

Another sunny day road trip success!!!