Michelle Mahood Photography (Insects and more)

I rediscovered a past nugget of visual clarity for fly tying via always interesting Planet Trout. I saw PT showed the link as Real Bugs. It was the photography of Michelle Mahood . For me, I gain so much more with quality visuals. It is one reason I have striven to improve my posted images of tied flies. Great shots of the real insects is even more informative and helpful with our tying.

October Caddis~Bottom Up (Michelle Mahood)

I don’t know if Ms. Mahood flyfishes or ties, but her photography is visual blessing to those that do. Thank you, Michelle (and, Planet Trout)   

Buster’s Book Review Made Me Think (Thunder Over the Ochoco by Gale Ontko)

 

Shoshone Summer Grounds~Big Summit Prairie (Photo by Suzy Fishn)

Suzy Fishn Photo’s of Oregon (and beyond, beautiful wildflower work) 

Buster’s review of the Warm Springs’ Native American’s recollections reminded me of the series of books that I read a few years ago that I personally rate as one to the best historical perspectives of settlers and Indians in the NW..particularly in Central Oregon. Gale Ontko did an extraordinary job of researching the Shoshone nation and the other tribes and their relationships. If you know where Prineville, Mitchell, Canyon City, The Dalles are then get your maps out, buy the set of books and study away. You will be astounded and Paulina, Maupin, Big Summit Prairie and Battle Mountain will have new meanings. Seriously, if you love NW history get these books.  Ontko did not attribute victim status to the Native Americans. He honored their dignity and their savageness and their wisdom. You come to understand the hierarchical structure of the tribes from the Shoshone, the Blackfoot to the dare I say lowly Paiute. Excellent and well researched. Follow the Shoshone from their greatness at Mt. Pisgah to their sad downfall, living in teepees near Prineville and broken. NW Native American history was more than the Nez Perce and Chief Joseph.

national cleavage day celebrates boobs! (Wonder Bra of South Africa leading the way to degradation of women)

“According to Samantha Paterson, the brand manager for Wonderbra, the National Cleavage Day is started according to a design to solemnize women’s independence and power in all facets of life, from their careers to their relationships to their own destiny.^[1] Anita Meiring, public relations consultant for Wonderbra, explained the event, “It is a day for women to realise that their cleavage is something unique and that they should be proud of it”.^[4] Paterson explained “It gives women a chance to be beautiful and glow in the furtive, yet appreciative, glances their cleavage evokes from men”.^[1] She also explained “It gives men a legitimate reason to stare at boobs”.

“Dr Nombulelo Siqwana-Ndulo, provincial gender commissioner in Eastern Cape, condemned the celebrations, warning women not to be involved in the National Cleavage Day. Siqwana-Ndulo said “This is a pure marketing tool using people’s bodies”. She added, “The commission is against any person or advertising company which uses people’s bodies for marketing purposes be it advertising a car or anything of that sort”.”

Damn, I think it was last week and we missed it…!

Bird’s of a Feather Tattoo (Update)

Birds of a Feather by Sheishere at DeviantArt

“Artist’s Comments

My newest tattoo.

Thanks for all the favorites and comments!

Side note: I did not draw this. I found it randomly online. Someone commented on the fact that it was from threadless.com, so credit goes to them for the idea!”    (Sheishere comment)

Ashley’s Memorial Tattoo

SWITTERSB’s NEW TATTOO

BUCKY’S PEACOCK BIRD TATTOO…COOL

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Shorty wrote to explain his decision to display the Feather tattoo on his body (left bicep): Shorty has “diabetes type 1 .. and under the feather it writes “life is a waving feather” .. 21 bird are the 21 years that pased in my life .. and this tat should mean I’ve decided to grow and be a better man “

Shorty's Feather tatoo

"life is a waving feather"

Yes another version of this cool tattoo:

http://fuckyeahtattoos.tumblr.com/post/250113214/corywest-lizcourts-peetypassion-feather-n

You?

 

Rainbow Trout (right in front of us, but did you know……….?)

Rainbow Trout

The rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America as well as much of the central, western, eastern, and especially the northern portions of the United States. The ocean going (anadromous) form (including those returning for spawning) are known as steelhead, or ocean trout (Australia). The species has been introduced for food or sport to at least 45 countries, and every continent except Antarctica. In some of these locations, such as Southern Europe, Australia and South America, they have had very serious negative impacts on upland native fish species, either by eating them, outcompeting them, transmitting contagious diseases, or hybridization with closely related species and subspecies that are native to western North America.^[1][2]

The species was originally named by Johann Julius Walbaum in 1792 based on type specimens from Kamchatka. Richardson named a specimen of this species Salmo gairdneri in 1836, and in 1855, W. P. Gibbons found a population and named it Salmo iridia, later corrected to Salmo irideus, however these names became deprecated once it was determined that Walbaum’s type description was conspecific and therefore had precedence (see e.g. Behnke, 1966).^[3] More recently, DNA studies showed rainbow trout are genetically closer to Pacific salmon (Onchorhynchus species) than to brown trout (Salmo trutta) or Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), so the genus was changed.

Unlike the species’ former name’s epithet iridia (Latin: “rainbow”), the specific epithet mykiss derives from the local Kamchatkan name ‘mykizha’; all of Walbaum’s species names were based on Kamchatkan local names.

A Shadow of Your former self & the reality of morning sex

She was standing in the kitchen preparing to boil eggs for breakfast, wearing only the ‘T’ shirt that she normally slept in.

As I walked in almost awake, she turned and said softly, ‘You’ve got to make love to me this very moment.’

My eyes lit up and I thought, ‘I am either still dreaming or this is going to be my lucky day.’

Not wanting to lose the moment, I embraced her and then gave it my all; right there on the kitchen table.

Afterwards she said, ‘Thanks’ and returned to the stove, her ‘T’ shirt still up around her neck.

A little puzzled, I asked, ‘What was that all about?’

She explained, ‘The egg timer’s broken.’

April Vokey (so much explained, for women with a passion for the sport)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks Are Deceiving

 April Vokey has a blog via flygal.ca. I imagine April ‘Ape’ Vokey is a busy gal because she hasn’t posted much, but her last post is most revealing and a reminder that there is more to her than a pretty face, as with women in general that delve into this sport…welcome them, the commonalities are reassuring. Ms. Vokey is ‘au naturel’ for sure. She is representative of so many women advocating for the sport and the environment.  

 

 

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Wild Steelhead (Slip, Slip, Slippin………………….away?)

“Why should we care? If you’re a steelheader, the reasons are obvious. If you are not, the depleted state of wild steelhead populations coast wide serves as a powerful example of a valuable resource squandered and a lesson for anglers and fish managers everywhere. On a bigger scale, steelhead are an indicator species, the proverbial canary in the coalmine of population growth and human consumption. In other words, the health of wild steelhead is a direct reflection of the health of both our watersheds and marine environments. Steelhead can clearly survive without us – the question is, can we survive without them?”

Growth, hatcheries, put ‘n take mentality, logging, all government planning,  and I wonder about ocean going trawlers and long lining. We don’t hear about this much anymore and 20 years ago, it was the critical threat to runs. No one mentions it anymore. Wild Steelhead (even hatcher steelhead) have been declining for almost 30 years with floods, siltation, habitat and hatcheries. This article by Tomine gives the breadth of the decline. So, if government and man planned the wrong way before…perhaps the current over planners and over spenders can partially fix the decline without legislating man away from the recreational opportunities..

Pebble Mine (AK to UK) April 15th Meeting with Anglo American

“Alaska Native leaders and other concerned U.S. citizens will take their protest against Anglo American’s proposed Pebble Mine project to London next week. The group plans to appear at the company’s April 15th shareholders meeting after holding a press briefing and attending the U.K. premiere of “Red Gold” at Hub/Kings Cross UK Angler. More details available on the new AK2UK Web site.“