#Rain, rain, go away...

This is already getting too much. Last weekend was rained out. We got so much rain, there were small lakes on our property and the ditch was full of water. Tuesday and Wednesday we got a small break, but today it rained off and on all day again. In fact, in the evening it poured. It is just so typical. You ask for a little shower for the grass and the garden and what do you get? Buckets full of water pouring from the clouds, drowning the plants and washing out the soil. Actually, this rain should not be a great surprise. The Red River Ex is on and it rains during that time every year. It’s already tradition.

We put some new soil over dry areas in our yard and seeded them. Then we covered the patches with burlap. I guess the rain is good for that. The seeds I broadcast in the ditch are obviously washed out now and I have to reseed the ditch.

Everything is growing well in my garden, all the vegetables, including the weeds. They are popping up everywhere and it will be fun getting rid of them. As soon as this rain is finished I’ll be on my hands and knees and pulling weeds. The dill is also growing nicely. I will pull the young plants when I weed. There will still be plenty of dill growing after that. I will save the pulled plants. We wash the dill and freeze it. Then we use it as it is needed. The young dill plants are best right now. Later on, when the plants are growing tall, the dill is not as lush and green anymore. I use dill with my Borscht. It looks like we’ll have plenty of red beets again this year. They are growing good. My tomato plants are all looking healthy. The peppers still need a bit of time to become strong and thick.

I went fishing with my friend Rudi Tuesday. We went to the Big Whiteshell lake for Walleye and Northern Pike. We expected high waves after the rain, but the water was actually quite calm. Even though, I chewed on a Gravol pill just to make sure I wasn’t going to be seasick again. My stomach is that sensitive.

We didn’t have much luck until about noon. Suddenly the wind picked up and we had some waves. Not large but enough to agitate the fish. We started catching them. We use pieces of Nightcrawlers. They work quite well. I did use a plastic baitfish with a rattle inside and I caught my first Walleye immediately on the first try. A nice 43 cm one. A keeper. Anything over 45 cm has to be released again according to the rules. Rudi caught one 50 cm long. We took a picture and put the fish gently back into the water. The big fish are the ones that spawn.

It turned out to be a beautiful day

A lonely loon kept us company

When we finally stopped fishing we had our limit of 4 Walleye each. Rudi also had 4 Northern pike and I had 5 nice Perch. (Rudi didn’t want any). Not bad for one day of fishing. We caught many more fish but we released them back into the water. Some were too small to keep. I could have brought home a few Pike also, but I don’t keep them because they are bony. Maybe next time (We’ll be going out again on Monday) I’ll keep a couple of Pike and we’ll make fish patties. Tomorrow we’ll fry up some Walleye fillets. They are just so good when they are fresh. Walleye are a Manitoba fish. They taste great just rolled in flower and fried in butter. Hmmm...

Today I took down the Weathercock I have on our Birdhouse. It was all crooked and needed a fresh coat of paint. I fixed everything and now it is ready to be put back. I just have to make sure I point the N-letter (for North) in the right direction. Tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain too much I’ll do it.

I built this weathercock a few years ago, but it was in need of a new paint job