Summer's end

As summer draws to an end, we headed out fishing and gathering. One Chinook (king) salmon was caught, and the first king bolete (mushroom) of the season was gathered, as well as more than 2 pounds of chanterelles.

Sunset in progress

Living on the Pacific coast, we have the great fortune to witness a variety of colorful sunsets. On clear days we see the green flash. Today wasn't quite clear enough for a green flash, but the progression of colors was quite striking. I tried to capture the colors just before the sun popped out from behind the clouds (top), as it was setting behind the horizon (middle), and a short while after it had set (bottom).

A tale of two fishing trips

A little over a week ago, we headed south to fish at the mouth of the Umpqua River. The weather was mild, and lots of common murres were present, with parents feeding their chicks. The fishing was pretty slow, but after several hours, Bori caught a really nice Chinook salmon that was at least 25-pounds. It fought, but he brought it to the boat.

From there, things went downhill. I attempted to net the fish, and knocked it off the hook. Let's just say that a few discouraging words were heard. But in my defense, I have a broken wrist, and limited mobility. It would have been a good time to have an "undo" button.

Speed forward to this weekend, Bori went fishing in our home inlet, about 2 miles from our house (top photo), by himself.

As you can see from his happy expression (bottom photo), he caught a very nice Chinook. Just in case you think it was easy, he had another odd experience when he brought the fish to the boat. This time, his reel became disconnected from his rod, so he had to grab the leader with one bare hand while netting the fish with the other.