Terrorism, worldwide, is out of control. The nations of the world, and the hearts of all men, must decide. Will godlessness and chaos reign, or will peace and well being reign, as we truly turn our hearts to the Lord of Lords, and God of gods.
July 19, 2016
Until this last week, the bite had been slow. I was frustrated. However, I attached myself to another young fisherman up at the dam. We fished above the dam, and below, as well. We used crayfish and night crawlers. We caught fish without number. I saw a limit caught within an hour. Catfish, bullheads, small mouths, large mouths, rock bass, bluegill, pumpkin seeds, sucker, drum, gobies, yellow perch and white perch. Halleluiah!
The cottage next door is being purchased by a successful pro guide. He caught 70 trout and salmon on the big water, last weekend.
I’ve struggled terribly to succeed in this quest. The last few years have been difficult. I think I’m breaking through!
July 22,2016
This morning Beau and I took the canoe out on Lake Alice. We fished with minnows and night crawlers, under floats and on the bottom. The catch was limited to two rockies and a bluegill.
Last night we fished below the falls, at the dam, and above the power house. We kept a bucket full of bluegill, rock bass, large and small mouth bass, and three drum.
Beau has been selling his catch at the migrant camps. I’m looking forward to another fish fry. I’m especially looking forward to trying a crispy fried fillet of drum.
Let me note here that the gobies are running larger all the time. It will only be a few years before gobies are accepted as a food fish.
We’ve been catching lot of small bass. They are hitting on crayfish and night crawlers.
Last night we went downstream from the dam to catch crayfish. There were hundreds of them in the shallows. But they were hard to catch. There were thousands of minnows in the shallows too. I have nets and traps to catch bait. And, with the cost of bait, we should be catching our own.
Sat. July 30, 2016
The great luck continues. Beau is a good guide. He’s given me some pointers that are changing my life. Last Saturday night I kept 22 silvers. I was up all night cleaning fish.
Two days ago we floated the canoe from Town Line Bridge, through the stumps, and pulled out at Kenyonville Bridge. Beau gave me the catch that day, eight rockies and sunnies. We hooked a few bass, but only one of legal size.
I met Beau up at the power plant tonight at 8:30. He already had a pail full when I got there. I came home with seven silvers. It took me an hour to clean up the fish, and the kitchen.
The silvers were popping, splashing, and swirling like crazy. But they were only somewhat interested in our offering of chunks of night crawler. We caught 14 between us, but there were hundreds of them feeding there. I’m wondering if a grub, like a mealy, on a small, #8 or #10, hook might get us right into the heart of the action.
It was a fine Friday evening. I did my hour of intercession at the church. I played hymns on the piano for most of my prayer time. Though I was anxious when I arrived at the church, I am now somewhat elated, with those same hymns going through my soul.
Oct. 12, 2016
The silvers have moved on. We caught hundreds of them this year. I’ve got several batches in the freezer. The salmon are in the tributaries. Deer season has begun.
Mom died September 2nd. I miss her dearly. With her death, there has been little time for hunting and fishing.
I’m planning to build a shed with a smokehouse built in.
The wood stove has been installed, and tested. It works well. I’ve ordered firewood. And planning to winter over.
Oct 30, 2016
I got a legal hookup at the dam tonight. It was a large female king, spilling her eggs as I landed her. Her color was blackish with white. I returned her to the water.
2-02-17
The deer season ended well. I took a second big doe with Dave, with a muzzleloader, on his property. And a third deer, a button buck, with Beau, on a property he has access too. I gave the first deer to Pat O. The third deer I split with Beau. I kept 1 ½ deer for myself. About forty pounds of meat.
I had a local, from the Mennonite congregation, help with the two big ones. I had snack sticks, summer and Italian sausages made. He did a great job, and I’ve been sharing with friends.
3-03-17
Now that I am residing here at the lake house, full time, I’m doing a lot more cooking. No more of spending days and weeks back in Amherst, doing business, and taking care of Mom and Dad. They’ve both gone home to be with the Lord, and I’m retiring from my Amherst based garden service.
Beau and I fished several days at the dam. He caught one 27 inch steel head. I broiled up one side of the trout and enjoyed it. Then we switched up to bluegill at the Kenyonville Bridge. Beau has been zoned in and out fished me 15 to 1. Last time out he kept 45 fish to my 4.It’s hard not to be jealous.
Being here full time, I’m working through the cache of venison quickly. This will probably be the first year ever that I run out of venison before next deer season.
5-12-17
Lake Ontario waters are very high. On account of rains, and how the dams downstream are being used. Obama signed a wetlands pact with Canada that requires higher water levels. However there has been massive coastal flooding, with a state of emergency declared.
Our local waters have been too muddy to fish, so Beau and I have scouted eastward. Forty miles east of here is a group of coastal ponds including Long Pond, Cranberry Pond, and Buck Pond. They have been fishable.
We’ve done well with white and yellow perch, one 18 inch catfish, one bullhead, one large bass, and two 13 inch walleyes. Note the minimum size on walleyes is 15 inches, and bass doesn’t open for three weeks.
Were fishing mostly from the canoe, and doing best with minnows, night crawlers, and leeches. I’ve got a lot of bites on leeches, but have not succeeded consistently on hook sets. The leeches curl up around the hook point, like a gumball, and obscure the hook point.
Yesterday we scouted out the canoe access to Long Pond. The shore line there is mostly private or inaccessible. We did, however, find easy access on Northrup Creek. Long Pond Road to Kuhn Road, to Flynn Road. Park on shoulder.
Were collecting fish for a fish fry. We’ll be good to go.
5-22-17
Beau has gone to Syracuse to finish his CDL training. I’ve been fishing alone. Good numbers of silvers at the dam. However they have been running small and I am having to sort through.
In prayer, something about Liz Todd, and a spider on a banana.
7-25-17
The trip to Block Island to visit Sandra and Bob went well. The drive was difficult, perhaps dangerous. But the family time and the fishing were great.
I took grand nephew Noah out for perch, in a pond by their house. The perch were spectacular, running up to fifteen inches. Every trip down to the pond was rewarded with a stringer of great fish.
I took the whole gang night fishing in the surf on Mansion Beach. Our baits were getting slaughtered, but we landed only one two foot long shark. We need to try again with a smaller piece of perch and a smaller hook. We were using whole perch, and 7/0 hooks. We should try smaller baits and 1/0 or 2/0 hooks.
The whole group went on a day trip to Coast Guard Beach. The scup were in. We had a blast. DNR came by and inspected our catch. They let us keep two scup that were slightly under the 10 inch minimum. The officer gave us a measuring stick and a gentle warning.
Last Thursday I arrived back home. On Saturday I went above the dam. The bugs were thick, and the silvers were hitting.
Oct. 8, 2017 10:20pm.
The silvers above the dam were a disappointment this year. They were there, no doubt, but our secret spot had been pressured. There were a few small mouths and drum there, but the silvers were three to four inches long.
Beau and I continued our scouting, with the canoe, and on foot.
Glenwood Lake, early summer, with Dave Ingersoll. Live bait and spinners. Beau has been using crayfish under a float. He hooked something huge, which was uncontrollable, and broke off. Dave hooked several bass in the swift water beneath the falls. And a few rockies and bluegills. Nothing noteworthy.
We floated the Oak, from Stegg Road to Knowlesville Road. A few bass and perch. We floated the Oak, from Knowlesville to Kenyonville Bridge. The water was swift at the launch, and the canoe got banged around. But we ended up with a nice catch of bass and bluegills. Again, crayfish and night crawlers under a bobber.
We scouted out the Phipps Road pond, which turns out to be a very interesting body of water. !50 by 100 yards, and very deep. Thirty feet deep. Fishing from the canoe, we did very well on pumpkin seeds, bluegill, large mouth and small mouth bass, and rock bass. Another fisherman caught a black bullhead. We only kept enough for a lunch. It’s a small pond, and can only sustain a limited harvest.
Tomorrow, another friend is visiting for the day. Hopefully the weather will accommodate.
Today we scouted out Johnson Creek in Lyndonville. The water is shallow and clear today. A lot of salmon, but a legal hook up is hard to get. And to note, there is plenty of law enforcement making the rounds.
In August, we did two open water trips with Mark Morris. Mark, and his wife Lynn, bought the cottage next door. He is a gifted guide. We really slammed ‘em.
Between the warm water and cold water fisheries, the freezers are full.
10-25-17
I scouted out Albion reservoir two. It’s up near Waterport Eagle Harbor road, and route 31, but is not visible from the road. It’s posted. I knocked on doors, with no answer.
Then I went to Phipps Road, and launched the kayak. The bite was slow. I discovered crappies, and caught one bass, and one bluegill.
5-28-18
The miracle of the Lake House comes into being. I hired the Mennonite carpenter to install three out buildings. A cottage, a woodshed, and a smoker. We christened the smoker today.
June 24, 2018
Let me begin with a single paragraph. I’ve been busy. I fell and broke ribs last December, when Sue was here. When Sue left, a friend from church came by often to help me as I mended. We’ve become close. Her name is Jan. I’ve spent the winter in my studio, doing paper cuttings of the dove. We’ve burned a cord of split ash.
Beau has been busy driving the semi. With spring I’ve been out fishing, Perch with Beau on Cranberry Pond. Perch at the dam, and bluegills, lots of bluegills. Some silvers mixed in.
I harvested two deer last fall, and still have a lot of venison to use.
I put in a vegetable garden, and had to put up a five foot fence to keep out the deer. I’ve been spraying with deer repellent.
I talked to Sister Sandy today. They are home on Block Island, from Bangkok. She asked me if I would like to visit.
I brooded six chicks this spring. Andy my hound dog, Andy, got into them and killed them all. A disappointment.
Sept.19th 2018
Continuing on here. A lot of white perch over the summer. They’re still at the dam, up high. The salmon and browns are starting their upstream run, and have appeared at the base of the dam.
I did four charters with Mark Morris. We landed twenty four fish, mostly kings, with a few steelies in the mix. I’ve been developing a recipe for the smoker. Tomorrow will be the seventh run.
The vegetable garden has been productive. Winter squash, cukes, tomatoes, green beans, and lettuce. The cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and chard, did not do well. Nor did the peppers and onions. But bountiful, nevertheless.
I set up a new archery range in back. I took the bow up to Roy, at Little Ridge, on 104. He made some minor adjustments. I’m going to buy new broad heads. Aside from that I’m good to go.
Sister Sue has visited again. She drank every bottle of wine I had in the house. And personal treasures have gone missing. When we spoke on the phone three days ago, she was ugly drunk. She started talking about her plan to put me in an institution.
I did get to spend some time on Block Island with Bob and Sandy. Judy drove with me. Lots of perch and scup. Fish dinners. Fish tacos, specifically. I learned how to debone the scup and make them nice.
Deer season opens in ten days.
11-17-18
First day of regular season. Cold and rainy. No deer. Beau and I hunted the afternoon together. His 24th birthday was celebrated this afternoon at his parents place. His mom and dad have a beautiful set up about eight miles south of here.
They served salad and Spanish rice.
Friends, neighbors and family were there. Agnes, his grandmother, brought a peanut butter cheese cake. Anne, a neighbor, shared stories about her dogs and the ducks she is raising. I took anti anxiety medication and hour before, and navigated the conversations well.
Tom Ives, another young man was there. We got into a good conversation. And began to define friendship. Friends are those who bring us back to peace of mind. Back from hatred, anger, and jealousy.
The terrible violence in our world is done by those consumed by negative emotions. Towers of negativity that could be easily be disassembled by true friendship. True friendship is Christianity. We have the power to heal one another.
It was a good day. We came to understand friendship more clearly. Soon I’ll try duck eggs, and tomorrow I will kill a buck.
5-13-19
This will be my seventh year in the lake house. It’s been a late and cold spring. Wet and miserable. The dam down low has been my sweet spot. I’ve been there ten times. Five times I’ve caught fish. Yellow perch, silvers, bullheads, and one nice crappy.
I took Beau there last Saturday night. We caught eleven fish. Ten were keepers, though we let them all go, as I’ve been waiting for my replacement fish skinner to arrive. I ordered it off of E-bay, and picked it up at the post office today.
I’ve got three charters with Mark, scheduled this summer. There is still much venison and salmon in the freezer from last year.
I kept 17 silvers once this year. It was a hassle cleaning them, as my fish skinner has worn out. Hence the replacement that arrived today.
8-27-19
I sent my Leatherman multi tool in to be replaced today, under their warranty program. They are a handy tool, and this is the fourth replacement I’ve asked for. The original lasted ten years. The rebuilt ones are not quite as sturdy.
I’ve been out on the water, open water, six times so far, this year. Five times with Mark Morris, and once with Colonel Mark Stryker.
I’ve hosted three charters. Dolly and Tony, Chuck Parrinello and Nick. And Pastors Dan Thurber and Eddie English. Also Mark Stryker and his friend accompanied me as guests. Chuck Parrinello is helping me with my publishing efforts. We’ve done a lot of great networking. Building community.
I’ve been using the smoker often, developing the recipe, the procedures, and doing modification to the unit itself. I have had larger wood chip trays welded up. And fabricated a grate that allows me to lower the wood chips closer to the flame. And we are having good success.
I’m using 1 to 2 inch long twigs, ½ to 1’’ in diameter. From trees on my property. Maple, ash poplar, and black walnut. I’ve researched for toxicity issues, and found none. And the flavor they yield is fine.
I did up a batch for Colonel Stryker, which he has shared, and has asked for the recipe, and procedural guidance.
August 18-22, 2019. Kids for Christ Utica.
I spent five days with Kids for Christ , Utica, at the Adirondack Woodscrafters Camp outside of Old Forge, in the Adirondacks. My ministry is to teach children to catch fish. I had two days with five classes a day. Basic skills. Baiting a hook, casting, how a hook, line, bobber and sinker all go together. The kids caught 27 fish. Pumpkin seeds from 6 to 10 inches. And bass from seven to thirteen inches. A huge snapping turtle visited us at the dock, emerging from the dark water like a prehistoric denizen. All adding to the excitement.
8-27-19
Here at the Lake House the garden is full of vegetables ready to be canned, pickled and frozen. I have to get to it.
I’ve been out fishing forty times this year. And have succeeded thirty three times with enough for a dinner, or five fish caught and released. I have done a bit of catch and release.
With Jan’s assistance, we started canning tomatoes yesterday. I’m working at my relationship with her. She doesn’t seem to see colors as vividly as I do.
Captain Mark and Lynn have set up their cottage next door. Having their company this summer was wonderful. They returned to their residence in Stephentown, New York, two day ago.
Note that I have had good success at the dam, up high and down low, throughout the year.
I contracted bronchitis from sleeping in the cold and damp cabin up in the mountains. I shall be well soon.
Good success with the smoker. I’ve shared with my fishing friends. I’ve developed a recipe, using the smoker 13 times. There are progressive notes in the cook book on smoking.
Sun 11-10-19
Bob Burdick visited from Alden to fish the salmon run. The run was not as plentiful this year. But I caught three on three different days. One each day. There has been speculation as to why there have been so few fish. Some say the lack of alewives is causing a die off due to starvation. Others speculate the charter boats are over harvesting.
I have a batch of salmon in brine, in the fridge. But winter weather has come early. And I need a fair day to use the smoker.
Cross bow season is here. I went out today for the first time. Two deer approached within twenty feet, behind thick brush. One was a buck, I could tell by the smell. He snorted, blew, and went crashing off into the thicket.
I didn’t know if I was going to find the courage to hunt again this year. But the hunt is on, and I’m in the hunt.
I caught fish this year beyond counting. Two hundred plus. The most remarkable catch was a twenty plus pound carp from the dam, up high. Spring began in April, with bullheads, yellow and white perch, crappie and bluegill. A few bass in the mix. Summer arrived, with endless silvers. And then the salmon run. The freezer is full of fish.
The garden produced bountifully, as well. We canned tomatoes, and pickled beans and peppers. Beets as well. One of the neighboring farmers let us pick some apples. There is plenty of apple sauce in the freezer. I started my hens as day old chicks on April 1st. I have got seven, they all lived, and are generous layers. I’ve been making eggs in casseroles, scrambled, fried, and gifting a lot too.
I’ve got a case of hard squash out in the studio. Acorn, buttercup, and butternut.
My neighbor to the north has cleared the brush between our houses. But, I prefer privacy.
I’m quite prepared for winter. I have an appointment to put studs on the front end of the van on Tuesday.
The hunting spirit is entering me now. Gun season starts in six days.
The Lake House is much like a business. It is a large under taking, and needs to be run in a systematical and organized way. We have but one goal. The salvation of the world.
Leonard Cohen is playing downstairs. The house is warm and cozy from the wood stove. Hunting clothes are in the dryer.
Judy and Sandy visited last month. Time with them was true medicine. Judy has introduced me to the world of probiotics. How to culture kefir and kombucha. To help me stay strong and healthy.
Tomorrow I need to do a shopping run. Groceries, chicken feed, Tractor Supply, hardware store. But if the predicted storm comes through, I’ll be slipping out into the woods with the cross bow.
Life has become quite an adventure. I’m doing a reading and signing at the library in Albion in two weeks.
Now we face the challenge of another cold winter. But first, the deer season!
Dec. 17, 2019
The deer season ended at dusk today. The woods were under a muffler of white puffy snow. I have not seen a deer since the first day of regular season on November 16th. But fortunately my aim was true, and I harvested a buck and a doe on opening day.
November 16th was also the birthday of the girl I was seeing. I hunted, instead of seeing her, and that was the end of that. However I spent many quiet and kindly hours in the woods. The woods are a happy place for me. And harvesting two deer is bliss. I’m having special venison treats made up. Sausages and snack sticks. I’ll call Pat, my ex-next door neighbor, from Amherst. He’ll pay his share of the processing, and take his share.
Squirrels, jays, geese, a rabbit, were my hunting companions.
The first heavy snow came before I was done harvesting the garden. I lost the chard, and the beets, to the freezing temperatures.
It was a struggle for me to find the courage to hunt this year. My deceased natural father, and the abbot from the monastery, James Cronin, were appealing to me from beyond the grave. Speaking the words “Gentlemen don’t hunt”. And then thoughts of the law of Karma, obeying the will of the Spirit, and God’s punishment of the disobedient.
“Where”, does it say in Scripture, “that hunting is sinful”. Nowhere.
I mustered up my courage, put on my hunting clothes, and headed to the woods. And succeeded in the hunt. However, keeping my balance, my peace, and attitude, has required and demanded that I rigorously attend to prayer.
In a communication I received from the monastery today, Brother Pierre bid me good fortune through the holidays, at my hermitage. And that is pretty much it. I am an Oblate living a monastic life.
My guns are clean and ready to lock up. The hunting clothes are in the dryer, and ready to fold and put back in storage.
Christmas carols are on You Tube. The hunting season melts into Christmas time. Tomorrow I will shop ingredients for my famous granola recipe.
I’ve had two workers here at the house I would like to bless. From difficult circumstances. Substance abuse. I want to help, but not with cash that will buy drugs or alcohol.
4-28-20
The covid 19 pandemic is the main concern these days. There is talk of a pending meat shortage, and the suspension of all hunting and fishing harvest regulations. I hope this prediction does not come to pass.
I have been out fishing about ten times this spring. Perch from Long Pond, rock bass from Holley Falls, and bluegill from Kenyonville Bridge on Waterport Pond. But several trips with no harvest.
The brothers have been consistently taking pan fish from the Waterport Bridge. Though I joined them today, I did not succeed.
I’m going to list here nearby places that I could check out. To stay in the game until i find success:
Johnson Creek. At route 18. At the flats in Lakeside. In Lyndonville.
Bass, carp, suckers, perch and bullhead.
Oak Orchard Creek. The point, the break wall and the docks. The twin bridges. The State Park on Route 98.
The canoe trip from Knowlesville Bridge down to Kenyonville Bridge.
Silvers, bass, bluegill.
Otter Creek. Behind the Lord’s House.
Glenwood Lake. By canoe.
Bass , bluegill , rockies.
Kenyonville Bridge.
Silvers, bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish.
Waterport Bridge.
Waterport Dam, up high.
Silvers, drum, bass, walleye, bluegill, crappie.
Waterport Dam, down low.
Silvers, drum, bass, walleye, bluegill, bull head. yellow perch, and brown trout.
Waterport Dam, downstream.
Salmon and bass.
The Fisherman’s park, off Park Avenue Extension.
Rock bass, bluegill, catfish, bass, and silvers.
Phipps Road Pond.
Bass, crappie, bluegill.
I bought a half pound of minnows yesterday. For our next fishing days. Weather is the issue. I’m targeting Otter Creek, from the bank, behind the Lord’s House. Also Johnson Creek in Lyndonville.
6-21-20
A crappie spring.
I’ve continued to buy and keep minnows. And that has got me into a lot of crappie this year. Mostly from the Kenyonville Bridge, and the dam, up high.
