Most people take vacations to relax. They lay on a beach, or golf, or drink at the cruise ship bar.
My 9-day vacation this spring did involve some relaxing. I spent part of the week fishing the streams of the Driftless Area for trout. I did not catch as many trout as last year, but I caught bigger trout than ever before. I attribute part of my success to the weather. Opening weekend saw temperatures near 90 degrees - not ideal for cold water fish. I assume anglers out for the weekend had little luck in the heat, which allowed me to swoop in on a cold, drizzly Monday morning and catch big fish as they recovered and fed. That first day I was catching Brook Trout measuring over 12 inches. In past years I would be excited to see one at 10 inches. All were safely released for someone else to enjoy. I also visited one new stream, which is a new part of my annual fishing goals.
I also spent some time hiking our woods looking for morel mushrooms. It was too early for grey morels, but I found nine yellow morels in good condition. In past years we have often found them past their prime. This past weekend aside, our spring has been cold and dry, which seems to have delayed their development. Two afternoons of walking, but again, fairly relaxing.
This is the first year we are working in our expanded garden, so I spent at least a part of each day working on garden projects. Maybe not quite as relaxing as a day at the beach. As noted in a previous article, we planted our small orchard over the weekend. I also planted 40 crowns of asparagus in a raised bed we built and filled last fall. We planted four varieties purchased from Home Grown Industries in Michigan - Purple, Jersey Giant, Millennium, and Jersey Supreme. The local Do It Center runs a 20 percent off promotion on Tuesday rentals, so I rented a tiller for a couple of hours to till the new garden beds. We planted two kinds of raspberries (Royalty and Nova) and two varieties of Honeyberries. We later added a Caroline Red Raspberries, an everbearing variety, from nearby Oak Shade Nursery. I built a fifth raised bed. We are out of composted manure to fill this bed, so Maggie will try her hand at raising potatoes using the Ruth Stout method. I also continued staining and sealing stair treads for our staircase project.
I finally got to stop at Gary's Rock Shop in Viroqua. After buying bolts for the raised bed at Nelson's Hardware, I swung up to Westby to visit a couple of antique shops. I like unique enamelware pieces and found a small vintage enamelware photographic development tray for a really good price, to hold loose change on my desk. I made a couple of trips to the Amish bulk store to get M&Ms. I spent a little time on actual work for my employer, as it is impossible to get completely away in this connected world. I spent some time on the porch with the dog each evening for as long as I could stand the chilly temperatures. Maggie and I walked a little each day. We grilled steaks from Richland Locker Friday night, with mushrooms, bok choy, and potatoes from Viroqua Co-Op.
It may not have been the beach, but it was a nice week.
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