Gone fishing. Since I started fishing I’ve caught 2 bass, 4 bluegill, 1 crappie. It’s been interesting and I get so excited when I catch something. Today I caught 2 bass and 2 bluegill in the couple hours I was out at the local park. Catching the bass was something else. They are fighters and they pose a challenge. I was so excited when I caught this. I can’t believe I did it!

Bluegill are easy to catch and reel in but they are feisty and have spiney fins so got to be careful.

I like catching the crappie. Somewhere between a bass and bluegill. More fight than bluegill but less than bass. I honestly would prefer to catch more crappie.

I’m learning so much!

Nothing against Mastodon. Just taking a bit of a social media break. Starting a new hobby/activity and lots of springtime yard work.

I’ve always liked going for walks or hikes but during Covid time limitations when things were closed we (me and partner) we would go on hikes - travel to all the parks with in a couple hours of us. So now I’ve gotten more into it.

Anyway, now I’m learning how to fish. I’ve only gone out once and I’m just focusing on learning about it. It’s just another way to spend time outside and learn more about wildlife. Oh and spend money. The thing is there are soooo many types of baits and lures and it can range to maybe $1 for some and more expensive for others. Plus I guess I could dig for worms 😂.

Power company came out at 4 am and got our power line out of the tree/garage wreckage. So I’m happy. We can start cleaning up this mess now.

Now got to get Comcast out here to restore our cable/internet so we can watch the STL City MLS match vs Charlotte in STL. Our first home game. Or else I need to figure out how to AirPlay to my tv without WiFi or just watch on my phone.

I’m happy to be a homeowner but we got our first real taste of what it means to be a homeowner and the responsibilities of it.

We had a bit of a winter storm blow in and one of our neighbors trees snapped and dropped into our detached garage. Needless to say it’s a mess and we got some damage/holes in the roof now. Plus it pulled down but didn’t snap out power line (we still got power). CWLP (our city’s power co) still hasn’t responded to us. We also lost our cable/internet. We called our insurance. Called Comcast. Neighbor doesn’t seem to be home. Took a bunch of pictures too. This is just the start. We’ll have to clean this up and get repairs done once the insurance is settled.

Also nothing really valuable in the garage. No vehicle or other expensive items in there.

I’m grateful that it didn’t fall on the house or on one of our cars that we usually park right in front of the garage. Also no one was hurt. All in all just an inconvenience.

With my art I’ve been making it a point to try new things. This year I’ve been taking on color pencils. I find they are slow and tedious to work with but a bit meditative? Im warming up to them. I did a few small things but I’ve jumped up to working larger.

Loosely based on a building in a seemingly abandoned town along the Illinois River called Valley City. I think it’s technically the smallest town in Illinois. Was around there looking for a park - ended up off off roading up the bluffs and hiking through some soybean fields looking for a trail we never found. It was an adventure.

Anyway i want it to look wobbly or wonky. Precariously standing. I started it as a blind contour type drawing and then just been piecing it together and coloring in areas. #art #drawing