Too Cold to Dream?
Almost.
Snowing this am with the mercury reading 5F. Winds from the North at 10-15mph. Wind chill values well below ZERO.
I like the look of falling snow. The feel. The fantasy. Out in it 8-10 hrs a day, not so much.
John, Julie, and I all spent better than a decade in the ski biz. Any of those outdoor winter jobs require lots of snow shoveling. In the elements, buried ad sweaty. John and I both taught skiing and cannot remember if Julie did. HH Guide Brett Matula spent many seasons teaching and now enjoys the winter months traveling, split-boarding/snowboarding with helicopter and snow cat assist on occasion. Hiking too. He is the winter maverick of our group.
Many anglers head to warmer climates for the winter fix. Smart. Maybe it is too cold, not, to dream!
The YouTube live webcam channels get me though some of the darker winter days. Tune into a beach scene around the globe, a great surf wave, an eagles nest, an underwater tropical view, or a beach bar in St Johns! Those live images do keep my soul warmer.
Dreaming about those sunny days in June and July and August. That is what I commonly dream of. If I close my eyes I can replay moments of summers past. Lots of ’em. I can also metaphysically enjoy a reel that includes the sun warming my body, PMD’s quietly lifting from the water headed upstream silently winging though my summer baked flight lane.
Back to reality here in Craig Montana. Cold. Quiet. Deep Winter Mode. Call if you need gift sent to a friend or loved one. We are huddled around the heater dreaming of PMD’s, Trico’s, Caddis…
4 Comments.
Mark, got to dream of walking the flats in Belize in March for bonefish or hooking a tarpon and watching him jump eight feet in the air when you strip-set the hook. That’s when your heart stops!
Keep up the good work, look at your blog every morning and stop into the shop when we’re in Craig in late June every year.
Best, Rick Mintzlaff
Thanks Rick. Looking forward to June! Thanks for the comment. Love jumping tarpon!
Cool post here Mark. Gotta re-live great moments from life as a way to relax and enjoy down time. Learned this tactic to graduate from MTU way north in the UP of Michigan – averages well over 200 inches of snow a year. I often re-trace my jet sled guide runs up and down Alaska rivers – channels burned into memory. Grey Drake spinner falls, Good reads before a jolting streamer strike or a Nice dry line cast and hook-up also do the trick. Live strong daily.
What’s so funny about the “dream” aspect of your post is when I 1st looked at that photo I thought it was some kind of tow in surfing shot. I thought the guy on the 4 wheeler was on a jet ski and the irrigation spray was just mare’s tails coming off the back of the wave.
I must need a beach vacation already.