Spring has sprung

Tuesday I went up to watch the Idaho Fish and Game tend their gill nets (another post) and spent the rest of the day enjoying the wildness of Idaho around Henrys Lake.  It was a beautiful day with the Mountain Bluebirds and the Tree swallows fighting over nest boxes around the lake.  Here is a female bluebird carrying plant material to build the nest in a nest box.

 

Here the male bluebird stands as a sentinel to protect the female as she builds the nest or is just plain lazy or full-of-himself for being so beautiful.

 

Even without a nest box, these two Tree swallow love-birds are busy getting to know each other.

 

By Timber Creek two immature and one mature Bald eagles are waiting for a good chance to pick off a spawning cutthroat trout in the stream.

 

This White-crowned sparrow got into a fight with a male bluebirds because it got too close to a nest box holding a female bluebird.

 

At the edge of the road I found what looked like a six-headed snake.  It was not a one snake but a female with five smaller male Garter snakes trying to breed her.

 

On the cut next to the road were three other males, larger than the five with the female.

 

Eventually the three joined in the mass of snakes as the wrestled in the mud.  I left before the wrestling was over.

 

Then I found two chipmunks chasing each other through the sagebrush.

 

I finished the day by climbing a mountain in search of some garnets and "fairy-cross" crystals.  I found both and got high enough to see some Bighorn sheep.

 

What a great day it was to enjoy the wilds of Idaho.

Red-necked Grebes and Mountain Bluebirds

I have not posted for almost 10 months as I became frustrated with all the anon. comments and others stealing my photos.  So I have made a few changes as a lot of people have asked for me to resume.  So I will try another time.

I went fishing on Henrys Lake on Tuesday and had a good time except for the wind that was blowing  when I got there and then started again about 9 after a couple of hours fishing.  As I was coming off the water I saw a battle waging in the shallows.  It was two male Red-necked grebes competing from a female.  It was the first time I ever saw a Red-necked fly and also the first time for a battle.

 

Here is the winner of the female, showing off after chasing off his enemy.

 

 

This was the battle over the female.

 

Driving around the lake, I observed this mother Mountain Bluebird feeding her young.

First Ice Fishing trip

About 8:30 I decided to skate my way 70 miles to get to Henrys Lake for my first ice fishing trip of the season.  The roads were slow going, but I made after two hours on ice and packed snow.

There were a few fishermen at Staley Springs, but I told a friend I would fish the County Boat Dock area, so I met him there.

Gary was in the process of landing this nice cutthroat  when I arrived.

After a couple of hours of slow fishing, catching four and breaking off two, I landed this large brook trout.

On the way home I watched the waterfowl, especially the Trumpeter swan.  With the water so deep in the river, ducks and geese would swim behind the swan picking up the plants to eat the swan picked loose.  Stealing food.

A great way to spend a wild day in Idaho.

Fishing Henrys again

With rain and snow predicted at Henrys Lake, I still ran up to get a few hours in.  We thought the storm would roll in about 11, but it rolled in about 9.

I got there early and had caught eight cutts before the sun started to come over the eastern skyline.  The clouds were rolling in, but a beautiful eastern sky made catching fish a little more enjoyable.

Before the weather chased me off, I was able to fish next to some fishing friends.  Dave from Utah who is "Utah's Greatest Olympic Diver"  (another story for another time) and Garth from Burley, Idaho, helped me laugh about some old experiences.  A very enjoyable few hours. 

The cutthroats were willing as I caught a total of 14 for the morning before I headed in to protect my camera from the rain and snow.

Another wild day in Idaho.

Fishing with moose and coots.

Yesterday, my son-in-law, Jesse, and I went fishing on Henrys Lake.  We had a wonderful time and the full report can be found on http://billschiessfishing.blgspot.com/.  We got some spawning brook trout and saw some amazing wildlife.  Here is a male spawning brooktrout over five pounds that Jesse caught.

Canada geese flew over us several times.

Coots were working the shore and we saw seven moose along the shoreline.  Here is a young bull that was feeding in the willows as we were fishing.

Just another great day in the wilds of Idaho.

SkyWatch Friday - Henrys Lake sunrise

We have been having unseasonably warm weather with very few clouds in the sky.  Last Saturday as I was getting on Henrys Lake for some fishing, the sun slowly colored the few early morning clouds.



With the weather the weather predicted to change this weekend, we will see a lot more clouds and more colorful sunsets and sunrises.  Just the beginning of a wild day in Idaho.

See other great sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

SkyWatch Friday - Rainbow and storm

After a great day of fishing on Henrys Lake and after getting a load of firewood, I planned on fishing during the evening.  Four foot waves and lightning accompanied by thunder stopped me from heading out on the water.

But as the storm passed just as the sun was setting we were greeted by a fantastic rainbow reflected off the water.

A little later as the sun had set, it reflected off the boiling clouds over Mount Jefferson on the southwest of Henrys Lake.

An unplanned way to end another wild day in Idaho.

See other great sky pictures at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

SkyWatch - Beginning and end of a fishing day.

Sometimes the sunrise starting a fishing day and the sunset, closing it is a good as the catching part of the day.  I try to time my trip to Henrys Lake so that I will catch the sunrise on the Buffalo River or the Henrys Fork.  Here is the sunrise early one morning last week as I was heading fishing.

Then after a successful day of fishing, interrupted by a nap and getting a load of firewood for the winter.  The setting sun bid me farewell as it went to bed.

Just another wild day in Idaho.

House fight - a Battle for a Home

Yesterday the day was too hot for great fishing on Henrys Lake, so on my way home I was taking pictures of some birds.  Many of the old Bluebird nest boxes have been taken over by Tree Swallows.  But a new one had been placed on a pole and the Mountain Bluebirds had a nest of babies there.  The male was guarding the nest while the female came in with some food for the young.

One of the pair would stay perched on the house while the other went for food.

Once when both left for food, a Tree Swallow came and landed on the nest box. It appeared that its mate

tried to tell it that the box was occupied.

They actually got into a fight with them locking bills and the aggressor clawing the other with its feet.

But the swallow wanting the nest box was not convinced until it was attacked by the male bluebird.

The battle was claw and bill combat, but I was unable to stop the action or catch up to them.  But the male continued to fly sorties around the nest box.

He finally landed as the female brought in some food for the babies.

He stayed guard until the babies were fed and the female left the nest box.

This battle over a home between the bluebirds and the swallows happened three times while I watched for a half an hour.

Just another experience in the wilds of Idaho.

Snow again

After the heat in Alabama, I was glad to get back to the coolness of Idaho - but not this cool!!!

I had to go to Island Park to deliver fishing flies to several businesses and it snowed on me all day.  I did find a few birds braving the cold and picking hatching flies of the water like this Yellow Warbler.

A flock of Yellow-rumped warblers as the snow fell near Staley Springs.

On the way home, I even found a few Glacier lilies blooming in the forest.

Even with the cold, it was a great day in the wilds of Idaho.

Geese for Friday, Fish for Saturday

Had a great two days in the Great Outdoors.  With only about a week to enjoy the snow goose migration, Friday evening I went back out to Camas NWR to visit.  The snow geese were in and out with a large flock flying around.

By evening, the geese were all out in the fields feeding but a small group.  But they wer joined by a lot of both Tundra and Trumpeter swan and flocks of ducks.

Then Saturday morning I headed to Henrys Lake to check on the spawning activity (see my fishing blog).  The sun was beautiful coming up over the east and creating a golden glow with all the fog.  Here the glow colors the Henrys Fork by Ponds Lodge.

At Henrys Lake the fish filled the run entering the spawn house.  This is a promise for a great fishing season for this year.

More wild days in Idaho for a guy who loves wildness.

Trash and trashy essay

Janie wrote a blog about finding trash on the trails that she and Steve travel along.  Her beautiful depiction of trash and trashers reminded me of an essay I wrote several years ago.  I do have pictures of used "love peelings" but I will not post them.  I will let your imagination picture them.  This essay was actually printed in a newspaper so I hope it is appropriate here.  Enjoy.


Love Peelings


Sometimes we really don’t think of others when we leave things lying around where we shouldn’t; things that may be harmful to others or just scare the crap out of them. One day while motoring across Henrys Lake, my motor cut out and killed. I thought that the engine had blown and I was not a happy fisherman. After getting it started and moving again, it killed again as I put it in gear. A friend was fishing nearby and we checked the prop and found it bound up with mono fishing line. What a mess someone had left to scare the “holy Toledo” out of me.

An acquaintance of mine told me on their way to Island Park “nature” called on one of the family members so they stopped on top of Ashton Hill to get a little relief. They have a couple of young children and let them out to stretch their legs while nature’s call was answered. When it was time to get back into the car the two youngsters showed their parents some “balloons” they couldn’t get to blow up and asked Dad to help!!!

Dad and Mom were shocked to see that the kids had picked up some used “love peelings” thinking they were balloons. Mom had a fit and could be heard in Idaho Falls wailing while Dad immediately relieved the kids of their new found toys. The area was searched and a total of eight used “love peelings” were discovered and disposed of. It appeared that a couple had been using the turn-off on Anderson Mill Road as a passion place. The parents were more than a little concerned about the health of their two children.

What a way for two children to be introduced to those kind of protectors - they will probably have a phobia for many years and may even need counseling before they can discuss such things!! Who knows who or what the peelings were used to protect!!!! I thought about trying to catch the lovers, scare the jeepers out of them and then set them down and tell them what mental anguish they put a set of parents thru’! I decided not as it might cause mental problems for the couple. It is probably a couple of teenagers practicing their sex education knowledge!

Two lessons should be learned from this experience: first - if your passion produces peelings, dispose of them correctly - don’t leave them laying around to cause a mother to have a mental breakdown; secondly - check the areas your small children will be using, destroy anything like rattlesnakes, fishing line and hooks or “passion peelings” that may hurt them.

I once saw a bull frog that looked like he had swallowed a “love peeling”, but it turned out to be the way he was made - he was just sounding off.

Ice fishing Henrys Lake

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week - I did.  All of our family was home for five days and we had a ball.  Between all the festivities and food, we ice fished Henrys Lake three times.  We were successful every day and saw some beautiful sunsets and sunrises. 
Here is Lion's Head Mountain just northeast of Henrys Lake.

Here is the sunrise on Friday while we were catching fish like mad - just had to take time for the picture.

Results of the fishing was great and we had great times together.

Darn those slippery fish - even below freezing, they are hard to hold on to.

Just three more wild days in Idaho.

First ice fishing trip of the season

Yesterday evening I went to Henrys Lake for my first ice fishing trip of the year.  Several people had done well on Sunday and Monday on ice only about 2 inches thick.  With the cold weather I decided to try it.  It was abou 40 degrees and it looked like some of the ice was getting in bad shape around Staley Springs.  Here a group of fishermen are on the ice just yards from open water.  Some of them had trouble getting off the ice because the edge melted.

So I drove to the County Boat dock where the ice was from three to four inches thick.  The Fish and Game reported that the fishing and the ice was better in that area.  I met a neighbor with a large four pound brook

trout.

By the time I got to fishing, it had slowed down, but I did manage to catch three before it got dark.  It was an enjoyable evening and a great way to start the ice fishing season.  Henrys Lake will close to fishing on Nov. 30, so I will have to make a couple more trips up there.

At four inches the ice is safe for even little kids to get on the ice.

Just another wild day in Idaho