Author: Andy

I did not get video of the mink trying to steal the fish, but I did get some video of it in one of the boats scrounging for food. We had pulled up the boats and were waiting for the float plane when the little bugger hopped from the dock into one of the boats. The mic on my camera was not equipped to register the hissing noise. It’s really quite frightening.

My dad and I joined 12 other Stuehrenberg men (most of whom, like my dad, married into the family) on a fishing trip to Birch Lake, Ontario. We spent a week off the grid in a cabin that had some solar powered lights and gas appliances, but otherwise was primative. We fished like kings, lived like kings and dined like kings. Fried walleye is hard to beat. As is grilled walleye. And curried walleye.

For those of you who don’t want to read about a fishing trip, but are marginally curious what one looks like, you can skip to the photos.

Flying in to Mineapolis-St. Paul was great. We say hundreds of square miles of lucious green trees and neighborhoods much like those here in North Portland. We also caught a glimpse of the collapsed inerstate bridge, which despite the horror of it, was really cool to see. The river is much more narrow than you’d expect, and it just looks surreal sitting next to a series of functioning bridges.

From there, we caught a puddle-jumper via Hibbing to International Falls, crashed for the night, then rallied with all the uncles and cousins. We crossed the border like it was 1999 and took two float planes 200 miles north to Birch Lake. It was my first float plane ride, and my first viewing of lake country. It was beautiful to see so much empty, boreal forested land rife with lakes. It was also cool to see some of the Canadian Shield, and even bring some home. How many people have a 1+ billion year old door stop? Some of my family are Bible literalists, so I didn’t make much of a to do about the age of the rock.

The day we arrived was quite windy, so we took our time getting settled in, geared up, and worked up. Finally, with the sun out and rather big waves, we couldn’t take it anymore and ventured out for calm waters. No one caught fish in the big wind, but just as the sun was setting, people started catching walleye right in our own bay.

Subsequent days varied in weather, but we continued to catch fish like crazy. The morning of the second day I headed out with my dad, one of his high-school buddies and we hit the fish. We were jigging, something than I’d never done before, and seemed rather boring at first, but there’s something mildly therapeutic about bouncing a weighted hook with a minnow on it off the bottom of a lake. Knowing which color of jig head to use seemed to be key in our success, so at lunch we’d share our location and tactics with others, and of course, share fish stories.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a fish story, but the trip was full of them. Partly because the fishing was amazing, and partly because this group of guys are hilarious, the stories were great. For example:

• After Steve caught a fish, it vomited up a 6″ long, partially digested fish along with the minnow it had been caught with
• Phil, after tying a fish to his stringer, took off in the boat to head to another hole. The stringer was too long, so the prop decapitated the fish. But the head still stayed on the stringer
• While cleaning fish and helping people on the dock, I came back to find a mink pulling a stringer of fish away. He was difficult to dissuade, and didn’t seem to mind the stomping.
• Dustin caught a fishing pole and reel.
• I caught a walleye on a leftover sausage, but the jighead came untied at the edge of the boat.
• Nate caught a huge walleye that fought like crazy, and I snagged it’s tail.
• Gerry stabbed himself in the arm with a fillet knife while cleaning – the only injury

There are of course, many, many more. But not being there would make them boring. Our activities were somewhat limited because the forest is so dense you can’t walk, and so we fished, ate, played cards, and slept. It was the perfect escape. Add to that constant loon-song, eagles fighting for fish remains, an otter, the mink, and the sheer beauty of the northern woods, and you’ve got an escape. Sadly, we had to return.

Tigger is no longer with us. The cantankerous tabby has been Michelle’s companion for 18 years. The old man has been in renal failure for quite some time, occasionally dipping in and out of poor health. Finally, after a week long decline, we took him to the vet to put him to sleep. We’ve struggled with the decision for months now, though the quality of his life has not been that great, and his grooming and mood have suffered lately. The old man moved with stiffness, wobbled when standing, talked to no one, and drank like a fish.

As a memorial, we placed him at the foot of Ella’s tree so he could share his watchfulness, hardiness and pith with its developing roots. We had joked about getting a cactus to extend his legacy, but they do not fair as well in this climate. Maybe we’ll put one indoors so we can drop it in our laps when we miss him, snag new clothing on it shortly after a first wear, and risk a blood-drawing nip if we pet it too long. The only problem with the plan is that cactus don’t make any noise. Tigger’s secret was that he was part Siamese. Tigger vocalized unlike any other cat I’ve met, and though it was usually a nuisance at 1am, 2am, and then 4am, occasionally it was funny to listen to his vocal contortions. House guests may disagree.

Michelle has had Tigger since she was 10 years old, so he’s done his share of moving. Starting during college (and the flea incident), Tigger has moved 5 times in the last several years. Each time (since the flea incident) he has rebounded quickly. He’s an indoor/outdoor cat, so as long as there was a cat door, he pretty much moved on his own schedule. That’s a double entendre. Oddly enough, each additional move seemed to improve his mood some, though I think he favored the Alberta area most. Cats love Thai food. He was part Siamese after all.

Tigger and I didn’t always get along. Something about me taking his bed and attention soured him to me. Still, it didn’t sour him enough from constantly wanting my attention, or puking on stuff. Still, we had a healthy pseudo-nemesis relationship that I’ll now have to fill with something else. He will be missed, but not as much at night.

A photo tribute

Last Thursday I won the technical services pie eating contest. It was a single fruit-pie, no hands, winter takes all. My approach of eating in a clean progression put me behind at first, but the technique paid off once the other contestants tried to work with the crushed pulp of their fruit pies. The prize? Besides the title, I won $25 worth of go-kart tickets. I ended up sharing them though because the go-karts at Oaks Bottom are slow, and run by disgruntled power-tripping teenagers. 5 minutes of karting with 4 stops was enough.

Michelle, Ella, my parents, sister and I all rode (and stood) in the Bridge Pedal this year. It was Ella’s first real ride in the buggy and we put on a total of about 22 miles. Ella is really not so certain about the helmet, so we all had to show her that we too had helmets on, and that she was ok. Things went fine until the line up, when we had to take her out for a while and let her see mom. Then, the ride was on, and she was relatively happy while in motion.

Sadly, there were long swaths of time where we were not in motion. The confusion at the Hawethorn Bridge wasn’t bad, but the 1+ hour of standing and waddling to the Ross Island bridge was lame. Ella was very distraught, and cried for a bit when we prematurely put her back in the trailer thinking we were going to start again. I tried to explain to her that we would be moving soon, but she was vocalizing what everyone else was thinking. Waiting sucks.

We pit-stopped in the bushes to eat then crossed the Ross Island slowly and enjoyed movement for the remainder of the ride. Michelle got ahead of us on the Marquham, but thought she was behind us, so she finished in a hurry, trying to catch up. We of course waited at each bridge for her before figuring that she’d ventured on.

I have a secret though – I didn’t actually finish the event. A mere 5 blocks from the finish, I met up with Michelle and we hastened back up Interstate to get home before our company had to leave. Ella and I had a top speed of 29 MPH getting on to 405 to then climb on to the Marquham. She slept through it all – whee!

Yesterday was the first time in a decade that I’ve been able to answer “No” to the question “Have you been outside the US or Canada in the last 3 years?” while donating blood. Made me kind of sad.

Michelle and I celebrated our 6th anniversary today by tiling a counter and priming the walls in our bathroom, installing some gutters, and ogling the city from way up big pink at City Grill. Tiling was a surprising amount of fun, and we’re hoping after the grouting tomorrow that we’ll still feel that way. We still have the floor to do. One bonus? The tile was free. We pulled it out of a dumpster near my sisters. A tile place was emptying their warehouse and had lots of small batches available. Score.

The gutters are in dire need of repairs and I’ve been slowly working on them for the last 2 weeks. The biggest challenge has been getting the new downspouts to fit into the old smaller drainpipe. Today I finally figured out the proper technique. I was briefly thwarted by some wasps who seem to have made a home between some trim and old shakes. My pesticide-free way of getting rid of them? Zip-tie a small propane torch to a long pole and alternate between spraying the entrance to the nest with water and bumping it with a pole, then trying to burn the defensive wasps before the wised up or bit me. After half an hour, I finally gave up and decided to work on another part of the house. The wasp-torch-pole is patent pending.

Finally, we cleaned up and Michelle tricked me in to dressing up for dinner at City Grill, 30 floors up in the Bankcorp tower. We had window seating on the east side of the building, and Michelle was kind enough to let me face south. The view was spectacular, and only interrupted by good service and food. For a guy whose family would pay to climb church towers in Germany for a good view, this was an excellent surprise.

Now, with a baby who is getting ready to walk, we head in to year 7.