A reminder when handling fish, particularly bigger fish: always wet your hands prior to  handling the fish…handle the fish as little as possible when removing the barbless hook…whether immediately releasing or posing for a pic, keep the fish low to the  water so if, as above, the fish propels itself out of yo

HOLLYHOCK FOUND IN IRAQ NEANDERTHAL CAVE….SHANIDAR I can recall, as a child, my parents always had certain flowering plants in the yard (roses, fuchsia, foxgloves, azaleas and hollyhocks). I took a sample of seeds from my parents hollyhocks right before the property was sold off and put them into our garden. Now they

Traditional dry fly patterns tend toward the lighter shades of brown, green and black into tan, olive, yellow or grey. Of course, those pattern colors work wonders but consider the darker color…black too. On bright skied days try darker silhouettes to get a rise. Filed under: fly pattern, flyfishing, Photography Tagge

 Recently, I was honored by Elsa Elskerarvid when she nominated me in her blog for the Most Influential Blogger Award. Takk Elsa for din type nominasjon av bloggen min. Jeg liker dine vakre ord veldig mye! As you may no doubt know, there are usually a series of questions that reveal some aspect of the […]

Yesterday, my wife and I were muscling an old, heavy mattress and box spring out of the Hoarding House. First the mattress into a corner. The whole while, Harley was underfoot. Then the box spring was carried out with the frequent “careful Harley’s right behind you”. The box spring went into space and away

Oh you just know I love Portland’s repurposing efforts!!! Such benevolence! Yes, I have touched upon this before, but as I drive to work each day, I am struck by the worthy practice of dumping your stuff at the curb to best benefit your fellow man/woman. Such is the continued feel good, misdirected, self indulgent pr

Filed under: Fishing, fly tying, Photography Tagged: dressing, emerger, fly pattern, fly tying, Image, macro, midge, Photography, sparse, SwittersB

There are a couple givens re Western Oregon weather: November’s end will see relentless downpours causing the rivers to rise over their banks…and, the end of May into June will once again beg downpours. Then that window of weather bliss will ensue through October. Filed under: Nature, Photography, Weather Tagged

Pattern/Recipe: Size 16 nymph hook, Size 8/0 olive thread, 3/32 brass bead, olive rabbit dubbing for abdomen and thorax tapered, pheasant tail barb tips for antenna, 1-2 turns of Starling hackle for wing and small amount of dubbing around thread wrap area behind bead head. Filed under: fly pattern, fly tying, Photography Ta

Filed under: Nature, Outdoors, Photography Tagged: back lit, lattice work, mountains, Nature, photo, Photography, silhouette, SwittersB, tree

“Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state

Over dressing a fly pattern abdomen, thorax and wing is easy to do. The temptation is to do this because visibility of the fly is increased…life like appearances might be enhanced…the shape may be more realistic. Tying sparser (much like tying on smaller hooks) is a leap of faith for many. Here is a nice […

Filed under: Outdoors, Photography Tagged: blooms, cemetery, crypt, dogwood tree, images, low light, Photography, sage brush, sunrise, SwittersB

Filed under: Outdoors, Photography Tagged: blooms, cemetery, crypt, dogwood tree, images, low light, Photography, sage brush, sunrise, SwittersB

Filed under: Life, Photography, Travel Tagged: Christmas Island, graffiti, Marilyn Monroe, old saw, Photography, sunken bath, SwittersB, Travel

Filed under: Life, Photography, Travel Tagged: Christmas Island, graffiti, Marilyn Monroe, old saw, Photography, sunken bath, SwittersB, Travel

Oh a few days of high 70′s and low 80′s and people were half naked in Portland. The False Spring was, once again, upon us. The definition of False Spring does not do justice to the phrase. “False spring is a term used in botany (and related fields) rather than in meteorology. It refers to […]

Oh a few days of high 70′s and low 80′s and people were half naked in Portland. The False Spring was, once again, upon us. The definition of False Spring does not do justice to the phrase. “False spring is a term used in botany (and related fields) rather than in meteorology. It refers to […]

Here is some good, basic reminders for all fly fishers while presenting the dry fly…Stream Side Adventures: Dry Fly Presentation.  Filed under: Fishing, Fly fishing techniques, Presentation Tagged: advice, casting, dry fly, Fishing, fly fishing, how to, Outdoors, presentation, SwittersB

Here is some good, basic reminders for all fly fishers while presenting the dry fly…Stream Side Adventures: Dry Fly Presentation.  Filed under: Fishing, Fly fishing techniques, Presentation Tagged: advice, casting, dry fly, Fishing, fly fishing, how to, Outdoors, presentation, SwittersB

Filed under: Life, Nature, Photography Tagged: blooms, camera, death, fence line, fly fishing, images, Life, observe, Photography, photos, Spey Fly, SwittersB

Filed under: Life, Nature, Photography Tagged: blooms, camera, death, fence line, fly fishing, images, Life, observe, Photography, photos, Spey Fly, SwittersB

A short blurb to highlight another side of our lives (my wife and I…well actually a good part of our extended family and friends) over at Hoarding Woes and photographs my wife captured yesterday amidst the layers of reclamation…….. Filed under: Life, Photography Tagged: Bucky, compulsive hoarding, hoarding

A short blurb to highlight another side of our lives (my wife and I…well actually a good part of our extended family and friends) over at Hoarding Woes and photographs my wife captured yesterday amidst the layers of reclamation…….. Filed under: Life, Photography Tagged: Bucky, compulsive hoarding, hoarding

Tim Barker over at PlanetTrout has spent the Winter tying up a storm. He offers up a great selection of Midge Pupa patterns with nice photographs and the pattern/recipe too.  There is a ton of helpful inspiration at Planet Trout. If you fly fish or tie flies, you find a great deal of information here. […]

Tim Barker over at PlanetTrout has spent the Winter tying up a storm. He offers up a great selection of Midge Pupa patterns with nice photographs and the pattern/recipe too.  There is a ton of helpful inspiration at Planet Trout. If you fly fish or tie flies, you find a great deal of information here. […]

A few photographs of flowers in the back yard this morning. Symbolic of the mothers closest to me, who all have a love of flowers and the pleasure they derived from tending, caring for and preserving during their lives. Much like their children, they endure to care for their children with so much love and […]

A few photographs of flowers in the back yard this morning. Symbolic of the mothers closest to me, who all have a love of flowers and the pleasure they derived from tending, caring for and preserving during their lives. Much like their children, they endure to care for their children with so much love and […]

Filed under: Humor, Photography Tagged: cemetery, dead end, death, Humor, Life, Photograph, road sign, SwittersB

Filed under: Humor, Photography Tagged: cemetery, dead end, death, Humor, Life, Photograph, road sign, SwittersB