Summer Time

Well summer time is moving on and we have been busier than ever.  Last weekend I went and camped at Jon's hunting land and canoed a portion of the Cloquet River with Noah.  Fishing was really good and I hope to add a picture or two when I have time.  
Sue has been busy getting ready for her trip to Peru.  She has been training quite a bit walking hills and steps to get ready for the portion of her hike.  She also has been putting together items that she will be bring with to donate.
Only a few more months of Summer to go so we are planning on making the most of it.

Back to Work

Yesterday we flew from Tobago to Atlanta and then to Minneapolis putting an end to our restfull vacation.  It was a very nice and peaceful trip.  We ended up spending most of time on the beach or the pool.  The days were warm and the water of the ocean was great. 
So today it is back to work and a regular schedule.  I will try to post a few pictures from the tirp for everybody to see.

Tobago

Our trip to Tobago began on Saturday evening.  We arrived at the airport in the evening, picked up our luggage and walked outside into the warm salty air.  Our travel arrangements included a transfer from the airport, which after a little confusion we were on our way to the Bacolet Beach Club near Scarbourough. 
On Sunday morning we slept in and then spent the day by the pool and on the private beach.  It was a beautiful day with temps in the upper 80's and lots of sun.

On Monday we rented a little 4X4 and drove to Pigeon Point.  We got there in the middle of the morning and there was plenty of space on the beach.  We rented some beach chairs and spent the day lounging, swimming in the warm blue water and scouting the area.  We hope to come back to Pigeon Point later in the week maybe for some fishing and for the Jazz festival that begins this coming Thursday.

It has been a great relaxing trip!  We will try to keep posting.

New Job

Well, it has been over two weeks now on the new job and so far everything is going pretty good.  I am working for EDI as a construction inspector.  I am working on an EPA project that is the site is located in south Minneapolis. 
EDI is a subcontractor for CH2M Hill who is the contractor conducting the cleanup efforts for the EPA.  The work acutally consists of removing impacted soil from residents yards and then replacing and restore to original conditions.  The days have been very long and will contiue to be through out summer.  It has been a nice couple weeks to be outdoors and it should be a fun project to work on.

Signs of Spring

An obvious sign of spring is the warmer weather we have been having of recent.  The last few days have also been foggy with rain on and off all day.  The snow in my yard has dwindled and good section of the grass is now showing.  There still is quite a bit too go but it is definately melting.

On Tuesday March 9th I saw my first robin.  It was walking in the bare grass strip along the driveway.  There was not as much bare grass then, so it must have know the weather forcast was calling for a good melt.  I also noticed a few pairs of geese walking along a road ditch looking for a nesting spot.  They showed up fast, probably some that never left.

It was a good winter, but it is now time to move on.  This Sunday is day light savings time so everyone remember to spring ahead.

New Star Tribune Post

It has been a while since I last posted anything on the Star Tribune Club Outdoors blog.  So I thought I would write about one of my favorite fishing days.  It was March 2, 2002 and I have recorded that it was 11F with a wind chill of -10F.  I have copied the blog here for  you to enjoy with out having to click to go anywhere else.

Winter Trout

When cabin fever has set in and you are looking to do something outside that is not winter related, go hit the trout streams.

About this time of year everybody is beginning to wonder when and if spring will ever arrive. I really do love winter and everything you can do on frozen water or snow, but as a fly fisherman I really like moving water. A good thing about living where we do is that many of the spring fed streams and rivers are actually open in the winter for fishing.

Every year I try to get out at least once sometime in from January to March and fish with ice freezing to the guides and frozen fingers. For me it is a passage into spring knowing that things will get better. Although, that is not to say that fishing is bad in the winter it is really just a lot colder and more work.

I remember back to one trip on the opening weekend in March of the Wisconsin catch and release season a number of years ago. According to my fishing journal it was a very cold day the temp was close to zero with a wind chill well below zero. I headed to my favorite spot on the Rush and was surprised to see two other cars of fisherman in the area. I suited up in layers and headed out walking down the stream.

When I got to the spot I wanted to fish I had to figure out how I was actually going to fish the pool as there was quite a bit of shelf ice. After a few minutes I was able position myself where I could cast and make and drift through the pool. On about my fifth drift through I hooked a nice big brown. Now I had to land it. That meant I had to slide downstream across the ice to open water where I got it in the net, a good hookup, successful landing and release.

During this process I did break off some of the shelf ice, so I figured I would now have to move farther upstream. I also noticed my net was a big block of ice, so I laid it in the water near the bank. I proceeded to cast a few more times and got another good hook up. This one I again played down stream to where I left my net and I was able to land it.

After releasing the second fish I discovered that I had set my reel in the water and it was now frozen solid. At this point I decided that I should probably call it a successful day. I had hooked, landed and released two fish, the first ended up being the biggest brown I caught that year.

Pizza Night

Friday night I was hungry for pizza and after reading an article in Saveur I thought I would try making one from scratch. I checked the fridge and I had most of the ingredients for the toppings but I would need some items for the crust and sauce. So I made the grocery list and headed to Cub for the remaining items.

For the crust I followed the Saveur recipe but I just made a smaller amount I only wanted dough for two 12 inch pizzas.

1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup 115ºF water
3 cups Gold Medal flour
½ Tbsp. Sugar
½ Tbsp. Quick rise active dry yeast
First I combined the olive oil, yeast, sugar, salt, and water and let it sit for about 15 minutes until the mixture had a good foam on it. Then I stirred in the flour and kneaded it for a few minutes until smooth. I cut the dough ball in half and placed on a floured baking sheet, covered in plastic wrap and let it rise above the warmed oven. I let it rise for about 90 minutes until the dough had doubled in size.

Now for the sauce. I liked the idea of a homemade sauce and the one in March 2010 issue looked good.

1 14.5 ounce can peeled tomatoes
2 minced garlic cloves
½ grated onion
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
To make the sauce I placed the ingredients into a food processor and pureed to a nice smooth sauce. This made a nice bright red, flavorful sauce, but yet it was still light.

To make the pizza I shaped the dough on a floured counter top and tossed until it was thin. I placed the crust on parchment paper to make for ease of oven removal. I chose to top the first pizza with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, pepperoni, salami, onions, mushrooms and fresh basil. The second pizza I topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, anchovies, onions, mushrooms, black olives and fresh basil. I discovered that our oven went up to 550º F, so it only took about 7 minutes to cook to a nice golden brown crust.

Both pizzas ended up great. The crust was crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. One change for the next time would be a little less sugar as the crust was maybe just a hair too sweet. This actually was pretty easy and I will definitely make again.