Welcome back again to the fishing report for less than competent anglers.
First off, let me make something clear. I bank fish. For the most part, I use worms. I catch plenty of fish. And I enjoy myself immensely. Which, I would think, is the point. Apparently there's some kind of boat vs bank bias. Meh. We have a boat. We use it sometimes. But when I'm by myself, which is most of the time, I don't take the boat. I've actually had better luck from the shore. And WAY better luck with worms than lures. :shrug: As long as you're catching fish and enjoying yourself, it shouldn't matter.
Saturday 3/4 - It was a gorgeous morning, so I went to the park. The idea was to go to that spot where I almost caught the whopper walleye. Too bad for me, someone was already there. I went elsewhere in the park, but no bites. Then I had to use the facilities, and noticed that guy had moved, so I went to the spot I had originally intended. But by then, it was too late. I got a few bites, but no fish. Still, enjoyed myself and it was, like I said, gorgeous out.
Sunday - Woke up to gray skies and 50+ temps. Perfect. I went to my main go-to fishing spot. Got there at like 8:50am. (Just in time for the wind to start gusting, btw.) By 9am, I already had a fish on. It fought like a champion and I wasn't really sure what I had hooked. Turned out to be my first good-sized smallie. 14.5" smallmouth bass. Felt like a male (no fat egg-belly). About 10am, I caught an 11" spotted bass. Long about 10:30, I hooked into another big fighter. When I got it in, it was a 16" spotted. My biggest bass yet. Fat with eggs. I swear she had to be over 2lbs. With great sadness, I put her back. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, I caught a little 4-5" bluegill. By 11, I was tired of fighting the wind, so I went home. 2hrs/4 fish. On worms.
Monday - Went out in the morning. It was cooler and sunny. And windy, of course. I tried that spot where I almost caught that hog walleye. Nope. Not a bite. Then I went back to the go-to spot. Nope. So I wandered around. I finally got some back deep in a little cove, but they were all worm thieves. So I put the pole down and pulled line. Came home with a half dozen sinkers and a weird lure.
Thursday - Tried the afternoon fishing thing again. The temps were in the mid-70s and the breeze was nice. It was blowing north, which works better for me at the go-to spot. Got out there around 3:30pm. Didn't catch anything until almost 5. An 11" spotted bass. Shortly after, I almost got what I guess was a 12-13" inch spot. It shook it's head about two feet from shore and got off. The only other things biting were little worm thieves. I left at 5:20 because a storm was rolling in. Thunder and standing on the bank with a graphite rod in your hands do not mix.
That's it for me this week. Have a great next week and get out in nature, if you can.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Thursday This n That
I was this close to dipping into full edit-insanity mode yesterday. I was walking around going 'thatthatthatthatthatthatthat...' Then I made up a little song. It went something like this, 'know know know, knowing, knowing, know, knowledge, know know, acknowledged'. I stopped edits around 7:45 last night and sent the manuscript off to my editor. That may have saved what little sanity I have left.
Today, I plan to do yard work. The weeds are starting to take over the driveway and the paths.
This new keyboard is a pain. I keep hitting the caps lock when I shift. Derp.
We had an immature eagle circling the house yesterday. No, he wasn't acting like that wheel of cheese on those commercials. Bald eagles don't actually get their white feathers until around 3 years old, if I remember right. This bird must've been like 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 because he had some white, but not all of it.
I've been so focused on editing, that I only just now noticed my calendar says February. Derp.
Today's Bird of the Day is a bearded reedling. Cute and unusual looking. Definitely not one I've ever seen.
Okay, that's it for me. Time to rejoin the real world and see what's happening out there. Or maybe I should just go fishing. LOL
What about you?
Today, I plan to do yard work. The weeds are starting to take over the driveway and the paths.
This new keyboard is a pain. I keep hitting the caps lock when I shift. Derp.
We had an immature eagle circling the house yesterday. No, he wasn't acting like that wheel of cheese on those commercials. Bald eagles don't actually get their white feathers until around 3 years old, if I remember right. This bird must've been like 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 because he had some white, but not all of it.
I've been so focused on editing, that I only just now noticed my calendar says February. Derp.
Today's Bird of the Day is a bearded reedling. Cute and unusual looking. Definitely not one I've ever seen.
Okay, that's it for me. Time to rejoin the real world and see what's happening out there. Or maybe I should just go fishing. LOL
What about you?
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Stormy Weather
In case anyone was wondering, yes, we did get storms last night, and we are fine.
Of course, we were sleeping when the big one arrived. The wind woke Hubs up around 11:30. The thunder woke me up around 12:30. Then we both went back to sleep. (Not sure if he was awake from 11:30 to 12:30, but I know I wasn't awake all that long.)
We like to say we live in the sweet spot. In the past four years, many storms have blown through, but they all seem to miss hitting us directly. :fingers crossed:
This morning, I scrolled back through the local news' FB posts. Appears like our county was never 'storm warned' or 'tornado warned' or anything. Of course, they care very little for us down here away from the more heavily populated counties, so there could've been a warning or two and we didn't make it to the FB feed. :shrug:
I woke to a message on FB this morning from my oldest brother warning me that the storm was on the way like quarter inch hail. Didn't get that either.
Hubs said it sounded like we got rain. We needed that. He'll check the rain gauge once it gets light out. Then we'll both give the property a cursory once-over to make sure we didn't get any damage anywhere. (Not out in the woods, though. It's warm enough for ticks and snakes, so the trees out there are on their own.) I do wonder if the big limb that's been hanging by a vine out in the canopy has finally fallen. Usually we watch it swing in the wind, but it hasn't fallen in three years, so I'm giving it a 50/50 shot.
Anyway, it's all good here. We didn't even lose power. Yay. And now I can finish editing Natural Causes because after last night's push, I'm like this close. Or maybe I'll go fishing. Cuz that's how I roll.
What about you? Storms last night? Are you getting them today? Hang in there and stay safe if you are. :hugs:
Of course, we were sleeping when the big one arrived. The wind woke Hubs up around 11:30. The thunder woke me up around 12:30. Then we both went back to sleep. (Not sure if he was awake from 11:30 to 12:30, but I know I wasn't awake all that long.)
We like to say we live in the sweet spot. In the past four years, many storms have blown through, but they all seem to miss hitting us directly. :fingers crossed:
This morning, I scrolled back through the local news' FB posts. Appears like our county was never 'storm warned' or 'tornado warned' or anything. Of course, they care very little for us down here away from the more heavily populated counties, so there could've been a warning or two and we didn't make it to the FB feed. :shrug:
I woke to a message on FB this morning from my oldest brother warning me that the storm was on the way like quarter inch hail. Didn't get that either.
Hubs said it sounded like we got rain. We needed that. He'll check the rain gauge once it gets light out. Then we'll both give the property a cursory once-over to make sure we didn't get any damage anywhere. (Not out in the woods, though. It's warm enough for ticks and snakes, so the trees out there are on their own.) I do wonder if the big limb that's been hanging by a vine out in the canopy has finally fallen. Usually we watch it swing in the wind, but it hasn't fallen in three years, so I'm giving it a 50/50 shot.
Anyway, it's all good here. We didn't even lose power. Yay. And now I can finish editing Natural Causes because after last night's push, I'm like this close. Or maybe I'll go fishing. Cuz that's how I roll.
What about you? Storms last night? Are you getting them today? Hang in there and stay safe if you are. :hugs:
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Sunday Update - Week 9
Back around again to the Sunday Update.
First, I screwed up and did not post every day last week. In fact, I totally missed Monday and Tuesday, thereby breaking my resolution to post every day in 2017. Derp. And then I posted twice on Wednesday, which was another derp moment. In my defense... never mind, I have no defense.
Okay, so here's the dealie-bob on Week 8...
I got my edits back for Natural Causes on the 1st. I finished that day as my last day off and then got to work on the 2nd. As of last night, I'm 122 pages in on the 238 page total in the line by line edits, and I have a couple pages worth of edits notes I'll have to apply after I get the line by line thing done. (I learned to do the line by line thing first, otherwise I make changes and can't find the lines she thought needed edits.)
I also did the very first things I needed to do to start editing Wish Hits the Fan - I emailed it to my Kindle and set myself up in the living room with a big notebook and a red pen. I will start on that sometime today.
In reading, I didn't really do jack. I'm slogging my way through a non-fic hardcover. But that'll be put on hold until I get a handle on my double book editing thing.
I did go fishing. Caught one keeper and we ate it.
Spent some time trying to maintain my sanity when it seems like the whole damn world has gone crazypants. And that's no small feat, lemme tell ya. Acronym of the week? FFS (for f*ck's sake). As in, 'Oh, FFS.'
Got my shot, so that'll help keep my sanity on an even keel for the next twelve weeks. You do not want to be around me when the hormones run out. Of course, it wasn't a smooth experience this time. First, there was a paperwork snafu at the office wherein they thought I hadn't gotten my last shot and I had to prove it to them (thank goodness for billing). Then my regular nurse was on vacation, so I got a temp nurse who was 'in training'. Yeah, I cringed, too. Then the PA tried to convince me that no, I didn't want the shot in my arm like I always get. I'm like 'I have to have it there because I can't have it in my hip because...' I really hate having to explain all that when it should already be in my chart which they should've already read before I got there. :endrant: Suffice it to say, my nurse should never be allowed to go on vacation again when I'm scheduled for an appt. ;o)
Other than that, we had the first thunderstorm of 2017. That was interesting. The rest of the week was lovely, though.
How was your week?
First, I screwed up and did not post every day last week. In fact, I totally missed Monday and Tuesday, thereby breaking my resolution to post every day in 2017. Derp. And then I posted twice on Wednesday, which was another derp moment. In my defense... never mind, I have no defense.
Okay, so here's the dealie-bob on Week 8...
I got my edits back for Natural Causes on the 1st. I finished that day as my last day off and then got to work on the 2nd. As of last night, I'm 122 pages in on the 238 page total in the line by line edits, and I have a couple pages worth of edits notes I'll have to apply after I get the line by line thing done. (I learned to do the line by line thing first, otherwise I make changes and can't find the lines she thought needed edits.)
I also did the very first things I needed to do to start editing Wish Hits the Fan - I emailed it to my Kindle and set myself up in the living room with a big notebook and a red pen. I will start on that sometime today.
In reading, I didn't really do jack. I'm slogging my way through a non-fic hardcover. But that'll be put on hold until I get a handle on my double book editing thing.
I did go fishing. Caught one keeper and we ate it.
Spent some time trying to maintain my sanity when it seems like the whole damn world has gone crazypants. And that's no small feat, lemme tell ya. Acronym of the week? FFS (for f*ck's sake). As in, 'Oh, FFS.'
Got my shot, so that'll help keep my sanity on an even keel for the next twelve weeks. You do not want to be around me when the hormones run out. Of course, it wasn't a smooth experience this time. First, there was a paperwork snafu at the office wherein they thought I hadn't gotten my last shot and I had to prove it to them (thank goodness for billing). Then my regular nurse was on vacation, so I got a temp nurse who was 'in training'. Yeah, I cringed, too. Then the PA tried to convince me that no, I didn't want the shot in my arm like I always get. I'm like 'I have to have it there because I can't have it in my hip because...' I really hate having to explain all that when it should already be in my chart which they should've already read before I got there. :endrant: Suffice it to say, my nurse should never be allowed to go on vacation again when I'm scheduled for an appt. ;o)
Other than that, we had the first thunderstorm of 2017. That was interesting. The rest of the week was lovely, though.
How was your week?
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Saturday Fishing Update - 3/4/17
Hey all, and welcome to the fishing report for less than competent anglers... Let's jump right into it, shall we?
Sunday 3/5 - It was overcast and cool when I started fishing about 2:30pm. The bank thermometer said 47F. No wind here at the house, but a pretty good breeze going out at the river. Hit the go-to spot again, because, hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Sure enough, the bass were biting. I was on the river proper for about 10 minutes with no bites, so I moved to the feeder creek where it enters the river. Wham! 12" spotted bass. Then nothing so I moved to the river just off where the creek enters it. Got some bites. Then I got hung up and my feet were beginning to hurt from standing, so I rigged back up and went to my favorite spot where there's a good sittin' rock. Nothing farther out, but up close wham! 12.5" spotted bass. Put it back and threw out again. Nibbles and a 6" bluegill. Threw out farther and wham! 13.5" spotted bass. Then nothing. Went back to the creek a little ways in from where it enters the river and there's a bit of a sandbar. Wham! 14" spotted bass. Nothing for a little while, so I threw out into the creek away from the sandbar as far as I could cast. It drifted about 5-10' closer and wham! 15.25" spotted. Kept her. Since each successive catch was bigger than the last (excepting the bluegill) I kept fishing, but they stopped biting. About 5:30pm I went home. Cleaned that fish and discovered it was a girl. Full of eggs. Crap. So, that's the last keeper I'll be keeping until after the spawn. Gotta make sure we have loads of babies for future years of fishing, doncha know. Kinda sucks, cuz I do love me some panfried spotted bass. Yummers.
Monday - went to the same place with Hubs. Got there about 3:30pm, fished until 5:30. It was a little warmer and a little windier, but otherwise same same. Not a ding dang bite.
Tuesday - ate Sunday's fish. It was awesome.
Thursday - out in the afternoon to the same place. It was in the low 60s with a stiff wind, blowing in the opposite direction as Monday. This made for some really awesome long casts and I got some major bites. Something out there was nailing my bait. I suspect walleye. Anyway, whatever it was, I didn't catch it. But I didn't get skunked. I landed one 5-6" bluegill. Go me. As I was leaving at 5pm, a man arrived with his kids, a little boy and a little girl. They had their little rods. It was so cute. I told him things were starting to bite and he asked what I was fishing for. I told him anything I could get, then I mentioned that I'd caught a bluegill. Upon hearing this, the little boy lit up. "BLUEGILLS? I LOVE BLUEGILLS!" then he took off running toward where I'd been fishing with his sister behind him. So cute.
If you've got kids, take them fishing. I wish I'd done that with the Kid. Looking back, it makes me sad I didn't.
Sunday 3/5 - It was overcast and cool when I started fishing about 2:30pm. The bank thermometer said 47F. No wind here at the house, but a pretty good breeze going out at the river. Hit the go-to spot again, because, hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Sure enough, the bass were biting. I was on the river proper for about 10 minutes with no bites, so I moved to the feeder creek where it enters the river. Wham! 12" spotted bass. Then nothing so I moved to the river just off where the creek enters it. Got some bites. Then I got hung up and my feet were beginning to hurt from standing, so I rigged back up and went to my favorite spot where there's a good sittin' rock. Nothing farther out, but up close wham! 12.5" spotted bass. Put it back and threw out again. Nibbles and a 6" bluegill. Threw out farther and wham! 13.5" spotted bass. Then nothing. Went back to the creek a little ways in from where it enters the river and there's a bit of a sandbar. Wham! 14" spotted bass. Nothing for a little while, so I threw out into the creek away from the sandbar as far as I could cast. It drifted about 5-10' closer and wham! 15.25" spotted. Kept her. Since each successive catch was bigger than the last (excepting the bluegill) I kept fishing, but they stopped biting. About 5:30pm I went home. Cleaned that fish and discovered it was a girl. Full of eggs. Crap. So, that's the last keeper I'll be keeping until after the spawn. Gotta make sure we have loads of babies for future years of fishing, doncha know. Kinda sucks, cuz I do love me some panfried spotted bass. Yummers.
Monday - went to the same place with Hubs. Got there about 3:30pm, fished until 5:30. It was a little warmer and a little windier, but otherwise same same. Not a ding dang bite.
Tuesday - ate Sunday's fish. It was awesome.
Thursday - out in the afternoon to the same place. It was in the low 60s with a stiff wind, blowing in the opposite direction as Monday. This made for some really awesome long casts and I got some major bites. Something out there was nailing my bait. I suspect walleye. Anyway, whatever it was, I didn't catch it. But I didn't get skunked. I landed one 5-6" bluegill. Go me. As I was leaving at 5pm, a man arrived with his kids, a little boy and a little girl. They had their little rods. It was so cute. I told him things were starting to bite and he asked what I was fishing for. I told him anything I could get, then I mentioned that I'd caught a bluegill. Upon hearing this, the little boy lit up. "BLUEGILLS? I LOVE BLUEGILLS!" then he took off running toward where I'd been fishing with his sister behind him. So cute.
If you've got kids, take them fishing. I wish I'd done that with the Kid. Looking back, it makes me sad I didn't.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Thursday This n That
We have hard water here. Since the build up is white, I'm going with excess calcium. Maybe magnesium. Not a big thing, since I prefer the taste of hard water over soft water, but it does mean I have to spend time cleaning the coffee maker. I run vinegar through it whenever it gets really slow and chugs/sputters. It makes the whole house smell like pickles, but we're willing to put up with that to get our coffee faster.
Vinegar is one hell of a cleaning tool, btw.
Since I can't take anything I read in the news at face value anymore, I'm spending a lot of time cross-checking. And a lot of time ignoring shit.
Speaking of ignoring shit, I decided to stop watching Jeopardy until they stop with the slanted answers. Facts, people. Not opinions. Also, I think they really need to stop having kids on the show. The maturity level just isn't there for them to compete. First the thing last year with the little girl who was crying because she didn't make Final Jeopardy. Then this latest thing with the college student who flipped the bird at Alex on camera, and then later said it was a political statement. Personally, I think he was just being an asshole and then thought he could get away with his disrespectful behavior by saying it was a statement, because as we're all learning, certain people can say anything and do anything if they spin it as a political statement.
Barf.
Anyhoo, I got my edits back last night. I wasn't ready for them. I mean, I am ready to get back to work, but I wasn't ready to see how imperfect Natural Causes would be. On the bright side, the notes aren't that bad. I'm setting a target date for publishing this at April 15th. Could be sooner, but I don't want it to be later. Keep your fingers crossed.
One of the things my editor pointed out is that Accidental Death has chapter titles and the draft of Natural Causes didn't. Truth? I forgot. I mean, I did think about it. I meant to add them in. And then I forgot. Derp.
I ordered plants. Michigan Bulb Co. is having a sale - buy one, get one for .99. I got 2 butterfly bushes, 6 lavender plants, and a freebie mixed bag of sun-loving bulbs. I'm also planning on picking up some hollyhocks at the Wallyworld. Maybe some daisies. I want daylilies, but I think the deer will eat those, so we'll see.
Well, that's it for me again this week. Howz 'bout you?
Vinegar is one hell of a cleaning tool, btw.
Since I can't take anything I read in the news at face value anymore, I'm spending a lot of time cross-checking. And a lot of time ignoring shit.
Speaking of ignoring shit, I decided to stop watching Jeopardy until they stop with the slanted answers. Facts, people. Not opinions. Also, I think they really need to stop having kids on the show. The maturity level just isn't there for them to compete. First the thing last year with the little girl who was crying because she didn't make Final Jeopardy. Then this latest thing with the college student who flipped the bird at Alex on camera, and then later said it was a political statement. Personally, I think he was just being an asshole and then thought he could get away with his disrespectful behavior by saying it was a statement, because as we're all learning, certain people can say anything and do anything if they spin it as a political statement.
Barf.
Anyhoo, I got my edits back last night. I wasn't ready for them. I mean, I am ready to get back to work, but I wasn't ready to see how imperfect Natural Causes would be. On the bright side, the notes aren't that bad. I'm setting a target date for publishing this at April 15th. Could be sooner, but I don't want it to be later. Keep your fingers crossed.
One of the things my editor pointed out is that Accidental Death has chapter titles and the draft of Natural Causes didn't. Truth? I forgot. I mean, I did think about it. I meant to add them in. And then I forgot. Derp.
I ordered plants. Michigan Bulb Co. is having a sale - buy one, get one for .99. I got 2 butterfly bushes, 6 lavender plants, and a freebie mixed bag of sun-loving bulbs. I'm also planning on picking up some hollyhocks at the Wallyworld. Maybe some daisies. I want daylilies, but I think the deer will eat those, so we'll see.
Well, that's it for me again this week. Howz 'bout you?
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
The Process
Every writer has their own process. Correction, every writer has a process and adjusts it as needed. Or maybe the adjusting is just me. Anyway, here's how the process is working out for me...
Step One: First draft - write as many words as I can every day so that it takes me about a month to get the first draft done.
Step Two: Set the first draft aside and work on something else for a week or two.
Step Three: Read the first draft all the way through on the Kindle, taking notes as I go in a big 5-subject notebook of anything I see that needs fixing. This can be as small as a comma or as big as noting that I need to rewrite an entire chapter.
Step Four: Second draft - Input notes all the way through.
Step Five: Read through the second draft, taking notes as I go and inputting them when I take breaks. If I did my job in step three, this should be small to medium things.
Step Six: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until I know I can't make it any better on my own.
Step Seven: Send to my editor. Wait a month. Work on something else while I'm waiting.
Step Eight: Receive edit notes back from editor and input those. Takes a week or two depending on how bad it was and how driven I am.
Step Nine: Send the manuscript back to the editor. Wait 2-3 weeks. Finalize cover and blurb while I'm waiting and find something else to work on.
Step Ten: Receive final edit notes from the editor. Input those. Also takes a week or two depending.
Step Eleven: Read through the book on the Kindle again, checking for mistakes I made or missed.
Step Twelve: Format book for publication.
Step Thirteen: Publish
There are probably things I missed, but that's the gist. And it seems to be working for me.
I started this particular process back in November, I think, with Natural Causes. Step 1 was the month of November, then I jumped into Step 2 almost immediately. Went through Steps 2-6 from the end of November until February 1st, when it was due at the editor. Then I spent February doing Step 1 for Wish Hits the Fan. Step 8 for Natural Causes begins this week. After I send NC back to the editor again, I'll be hitting 2-6 for WHTF and hope to have it ready to send to the editor by May 1st, which will be after the launch of NC in April. :fingers crossed: While she has WHTF, I'll be working on finishing the first draft of Early Grave.
Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise.
Now, you may notice I don't have early readers anywhere in there. Yeah, I don't have any of those. I have a couple people I could send to if things got really bad and I needed an ear, but those people are also really busy themselves, so they're for emergencies only. Anyway, I'll talk more about that Friday, I think. (If I remember.)
Any questions? Thoughts? What's your process like?
Step One: First draft - write as many words as I can every day so that it takes me about a month to get the first draft done.
Step Two: Set the first draft aside and work on something else for a week or two.
Step Three: Read the first draft all the way through on the Kindle, taking notes as I go in a big 5-subject notebook of anything I see that needs fixing. This can be as small as a comma or as big as noting that I need to rewrite an entire chapter.
Step Four: Second draft - Input notes all the way through.
Step Five: Read through the second draft, taking notes as I go and inputting them when I take breaks. If I did my job in step three, this should be small to medium things.
Step Six: Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until I know I can't make it any better on my own.
Step Seven: Send to my editor. Wait a month. Work on something else while I'm waiting.
Step Eight: Receive edit notes back from editor and input those. Takes a week or two depending on how bad it was and how driven I am.
Step Nine: Send the manuscript back to the editor. Wait 2-3 weeks. Finalize cover and blurb while I'm waiting and find something else to work on.
Step Ten: Receive final edit notes from the editor. Input those. Also takes a week or two depending.
Step Eleven: Read through the book on the Kindle again, checking for mistakes I made or missed.
Step Twelve: Format book for publication.
Step Thirteen: Publish
There are probably things I missed, but that's the gist. And it seems to be working for me.
I started this particular process back in November, I think, with Natural Causes. Step 1 was the month of November, then I jumped into Step 2 almost immediately. Went through Steps 2-6 from the end of November until February 1st, when it was due at the editor. Then I spent February doing Step 1 for Wish Hits the Fan. Step 8 for Natural Causes begins this week. After I send NC back to the editor again, I'll be hitting 2-6 for WHTF and hope to have it ready to send to the editor by May 1st, which will be after the launch of NC in April. :fingers crossed: While she has WHTF, I'll be working on finishing the first draft of Early Grave.
Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise.
Now, you may notice I don't have early readers anywhere in there. Yeah, I don't have any of those. I have a couple people I could send to if things got really bad and I needed an ear, but those people are also really busy themselves, so they're for emergencies only. Anyway, I'll talk more about that Friday, I think. (If I remember.)
Any questions? Thoughts? What's your process like?
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