Fish, and Birds!

 First,  I should mention the bird.   Because even though I missed putting him into the blog last week, he is still attacking the Kitchen Door every day!   He is kind of getting annoying.   In addition to making a mess on the window... he is also making a mess on the porch!   (Literally!) I'm not sure why he just sits in our chairs or on our tables until he decided to attack the window;   but you can tell exactly where he waits... by the Puddle of Poo that he leaves. We will have to dust off the power washer to clean it up when the weather gets warmer. 

At first I thought he was trying to build a nest on the porch lamp.   Then I thought he was trying to get inside for some reason.  (Possibly to build a nest inside?)   But now I believe he is seeing his reflection in the window and attacking himself.   Mostly because he is attacking the same area even after I covered almost the entire window! 

Well,  Robins are pretty dumb this time of year.   I saw that there were several dead ones in the road.   They get in such a focus when they fight each other, that they often fly into cars!  I know!   Because I have  hit several fighting robins  in one a single week....  Going only 35 MPH!   (Hey!  I can't help it if they fly into the Subie.)

Dave went fishing today.   And they were very successful!   For three people, they caught 13 salmon!  (Almost limited out!)  Dave brought 4 home and we cleaned them up and ate one on the grill.   It was the first grilled item this year.   And the first fish of the year caught in Wisconsin. (Dave had to buy his license online so he could go this morning.) I will have to buy mine if I have any bluegill or fly fishing plans this summer.  

Wonderful Color on a Fresh Fillet!

 But for now,  I will wait.  The weather is just a tad bit cold for my liking. ( Even though I have fished in colder...  On Lake Michigan!)  The rest of the fish are heading for the smoker tomorrow.  Judging by the color of the fillet, and the taste of the one that we had this evening,  They show great potential!  (Then again,  Salmon out of the smoker is always good... unless it has been sitting in a freezer for months or years.)  

To keep up with the fish theme,   I have been working on another paper mache  fish.    These projects always take a while to do, because they have to be done in stages.   You have to let the paper dry before you can move on the next phase.   And as a result,  I have been working on this one for a few weeks now.  

But Today!   I managed to get the fins on and sculpt up a few of the problem parts.   Namely the head.  

The head was a little too blocky for me.   But today I had enough inspiration to actually make the improvements.    Tomorrow, I will begin work on the fins more and hopefully make the same progress I did today.  I think it is coming along nicely. 

My target species is the Brown Trout.   As they get larger,  they tend to look rather grotesque and disproportionate.  ( Grotesque to anyone but a fisherman, that is.)  The jaws and head on the males in particular grow out of scale with the rest of the body.  

 At least that is what I'm hoping for...   To explain  why my model looks rather odd in comparison to one of those store bought specialty ones.  Ah well...  it is just a project and I doubt anyone will see other other than me.  (And Dave..  since he lives here too.)  Like snowflakes, there are no two life forms alike.  So there should be no reason why I get defensive when it comes to my models.    I mean,  I could just say they are "art" and leave it at that.  

But we love to get as close to nature as possible.   And I still have a long way to go.   In fact, the painting has proven to be one of my biggest headaches.   But we shall cross that bridge when we get there. 

In the mean time, the job search continues.   Uline just sent me a "Thanks, maybe later."  Email.  From what I have heard about Uline, it is a numbers game.    With LOTS of rejection in the initial requests. I may look things over and see if I can tweek my resume to fit the bill better.   Or move on to other places with potential.  

Or perhaps I should start writing that book I have been mentioning.   Like many other things in my life,  It will write it for me and I doubt anyone else will read it.  But then again,  Steven King had the same mindset when he wrote Carrie.  I just have to get off my butt and begin writing.   Just like working on the fish.  It is a long process, but I have to chip away at it little by little.   Because every second counts.