nature

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Quill Gordon

Pandion haliaetus

Maybe the resolution ain’t so great, due to cropping and zooming, and maybe the white balance is off a bit, but I don’t think there’s a whole lot really wrong with that picture. It’s an osprey against a clear blue sky on a lovely late summer day and most people wouldn’t find anything wrong with that.

Most people.

“Now, wait just a darn minute, Quill,” some people are shouting right about now. “That’s an osprey! It’s going to eat all the fish! Someone should do something!”

Perhaps those people would find this picture more to their liking:

“Jack and the osprey” 1948 (Found Photo)

Continue reading →

Categories: nature, Vermont | Tags: death in the woods, fish in a barrel pond, nature, osprey, outdoors, quill gordon, Vermont | 3 Comments

Fall Color and a Few Things That Fell

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Quill Gordon

The foliage this fall was lovely enough that some of the locals commented on it and a few of my photos even came out. Impatient people may scroll down to the slide show of pretty pictures any time they wish, but there is some important documentation to get out of the way first.

With a long, rich angling history, the shallows of Fish in a Barrel Pond were certain to reveal treasures as the level was drawn down this summer and I made sure to document them as they appeared. I’m afraid there was no bonanza of dropped reels or rods that had been thrown in frustration like 9-irons; nothing of much worth turned up in the muck, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value.

When someone hands me a drink and asks what the heck has to be done in order to catch a fish around here, I raise my glass and tell them I’m pretty sure that this ain’t it. As I have mentioned before, the situation is a little more complicated when that person is in their underwear, but my answer remains the same. Unless, of course, that person is fishing at the time. Continue reading →

Categories: +The Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society, Humor, nature, Vermont | Tags: fall, fall foliage, fish in a barrel pond, Fly Fishing, Humor, nature, outdoors, photography, quill gordon, Vermont | 2 Comments

Repeat as Necessary

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Quill Gordon

Winter Scene (In Color), Fish in a Barrel Pond

This ain’t my first trip around the sun and we’re passing through a very familiar stretch of orbit right now. Shrouded in snow, littered with snapped utility poles and downed trees, it is winter and we cope with the cold, brace against the wind and prepare for the occasional shredding of the network of power and communication lines that serve this neck of the woods. No one needs to be told to go home and hunker down until the storm is over, allowing plows, emergency workers and utility crews to do their jobs, and no one emerges from their shelter pissed off that they took cover from something short of Doomsday itself.

It is winter. Embrace it, endure it, or leave. Continue reading →

Categories: +The Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society, Humor, nature, Rural Life, Vermont, Winter | Tags: fish in a barrel pond, Humor, ice, nature, outdoors, quill gordon, Rural Life, snow, Vermont, winter | 7 Comments

Closing Up

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Quill Gordon

Everyone is anxious in spring, wondering when the ice will be gone, but I don’t field many inquires as to the time of its first appearance. The ones I do are often followed by, “But isn’t that early? or, “But isn’t that late?” or some such other nonsense.

Fish in a Barrel Pond, November 18

Continue reading →

Categories: nature, Vermont, Winter | Tags: fish in a barrel pond, ice, nature, photography, quill gordon, Vermont, winter | 1 Comment

How Are Things in Glocca Morra?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Quill Gordon

Every now and then I am struck by something that gives me pause, that makes me stop for a moment and think. It might be the serenity of a fine fall day, or it could be the top fifteen feet of a tree that was deader than it looked and folded back in exactly the opposite direction intended, but two weeks ago I was struck by the news that Larry and Ruth Daley had drowned in a pond, one apparently trying to save the other, while going about their duties as caretakers of a property in Peru, Vermont.

Both still working in their eighties, they were probably doing things they’d done for years, the same way they’d always done them, and no one will ever know for sure what happened. It was a few days before anyone knew anything happened at all.

The View from Fish in a Barrel Pond remains dedicated to those who somehow find a way to get away from it all, but most especially to those who take care of them when they get there — the caretakers, attendants, guides, outfitters, rangers, managers, support staff and others who not only make sure everyone has plenty of toilet paper and gets back home intact, but also do everything they can to be sure the places we love are still there when we come back.

Just About Wore Out

The skinny jeans of spring are now the fat pants of fall, held up by suspenders until I’m back to my winter weight, which doesn’t take nearly as long as it used to.

Another season has come and gone at Fish in a Barrel Pond, six full months of Life Among the Anglers, a fly fishing dream. They’re all back in what they call the “real world” but their presence is still felt, if only in stark contrast to their absence.

I Don’t Care if it Rains or Freezes …

Oak leaves skitter and crab across the dooryard, maple and birch molder in the woods, and now when it rains no one complains. The wind is not cursed and the sun and the clouds are not judged. The trout take their proper place in the overall scheme of things and Nature goes on, doing the things it does whether the anglers are here or not. So do I, but with a lot less wiping of whiskers and sweeping up toenails now that the camps are closed down. Continue reading →

Categories: Fly Fishing, Humor, nature, Vermont | Tags: brook trout, fish in a barrel pond, Fly Fishing, Humor, nature, outdoors, quill gordon, trout, Vermont | 3 Comments

Struck Dumb

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Quill Gordon

Having spent countless hours watching others fly fish, I can say I’ve learned a thing or two from the anglers of Fish in a Barrel Pond. More than the same old tips, tricks and “wisdom” that most of us have heard a hundred times before, a lot of what I pick up is subtle and nuanced, yet profound, and a few of these gems go so far as to challenge some of my most cherished and long-held fly fishing assumptions.

For example, in my previous post, “Halfway Through the Season,” I stood firm in my belief that when a man hands me a highball glass and asks me what the heck a guy has to do to catch fish around here, the proper response is to declare myself no expert but suggest that it probably doesn’t involve highball glasses.

My position wavered not, even when the situation was complicated by the fact that the man in question was also in his underwear, but my stance has since softened. Sooner or later, one is bound to see it all and, thanks to a kindly proctologist from the Cape, I now know that a man drinking Scotch in his underwear is just as likely as the next guy to catch a fish, as long as there’s a rod in his hand and he’s got a fly on the water.

The anglers of Fish in a Barrel Pond are not the only things that leave me speechless. Here are this year’s Obligatory Vermont Fall Foliage Photos (click one to enlarge or view as a slide show):

Categories: Fly Fishing, Humor, nature, Vermont | Tags: fall, fall foliage, fish in a barrel pond, Fly Fishing, Humor, nature, photography, quill gordon, Vermont | 14 Comments

Here We Go Again

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Quill Gordon

Fish in a Barrel Pond, April 20, 2014

An entire winter’s worth of snow slowly condensed into a thick layer of ice, sitting on lake ice that formed in December. With less than a week before Opening Day, there was nothing to be done about the ice but hope it would go out in time. Meanwhile, there were camps to prepare, repair, and otherwise make ready for the upcoming season.

Fish in a Barrel Pond, April 21, 2014

Woodland creatures were evicted, floors were swept, and beds were made, as if there were no ice at all (other than in the usual low spots in water lines) and, while anxious anglers left messages asking about the lake, cussing and banging gave way to sighs of relief at the sound of trickling faucets. Continue reading →

Categories: +The Neverwas Nonesuch Angling Society, Fly Fishing, nature, Vermont | Tags: fish in a barrel pond, fishing, Fly Fishing, ice out, Loons, nature, opening day, quill gordon, spring, Vermont | 8 Comments

Recently Seen (Photo Gallery)

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Quill Gordon

It is a photo-rich environment around here, which explains why there is nearly always a camera in the truck or slung over my shoulder. No need for sneaking around or hiding and waiting to see interesting things; I can stop along the road through the swamp or look just offshore, on the ice, and see something worth photographing.

Winter is over and spring is gaining ground.

(Click a photo to enlarge and/or open a slide show.)

: Cracks Become Holes …

: Standing Water on the Ice

: Standing Geese on Ice

: Taking Flight

: Over the Ice

: Otter Hole with Crayfish Pieces

: Otter, Hunting Crayfish

: Getting a Better Look

: Otter, Guarding Crayfish

: Mist Rising in the Swamp

: Winter Gives up the Ghost

: Spooky

: Geese in the Mist

: Laying Claim to the first Open Water

: Hooded Mergansers

: Bad Hair Day?

: Nervous Birds

: Runoff Pouring Down the Hillside

Categories: nature, Vermont | Tags: geese, ice, lake, merganser, nature, otter, photography, quill gordon, Rural Life, spring, Vermont | 3 Comments

Cold Water, Colder Air

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Quill Gordon

Instead of glancing off at low angles, the sun shines more directly on surfaces these days and, in spite of the unseasonably cool temperatures we’ve had, eaves drip and the sound of running water is heard in the stream beds.

Dark surfaces become warmer than the air that surrounds them, and even a light coating of dust is enough to tip the balance and allow ice to become water, if only for a minute. Melt water on the road flows to the shade of the cedar tree by the drive and hardens to a smooth, slippery finish and opaque ice builds beneath the eaves like stalagmites in a cave.

Slowly but surely, this year’s snowfall makes its way to the ocean, advancing as far as it can during the day before the angle of the sun changes and the chill of night sets in. Each day brings another few minutes of sunlight that is increasing in intensity, and each day the snow, the ice, and even the woods themselves react.

Water flows year-round from springs in the valley, and streams run throughout the winter here. Some of that constant flow makes a short stop on its way to the Atlantic, coating everything it splashes as it drops from the outlet of Fish in a Barrel Pond. Cold water meets colder air and fantastic forms arise.

Continue reading →

Categories: nature, Rural Life, Vermont, Winter | Tags: fish in a barrel pond, ice, outdoors, photography, Rural Life, spring, Vermont, winter | 3 Comments

Mad Marchness

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Quill Gordon

When the lion of winter lashes out like it’s wounded, roaring with cold, and the lamb of spring kicks up wet showers, those who live where the two meet get pelted with ice balls. Back and forth it goes every March, and we know spring will eventually prevail, but so far this year, March belongs to winter.

The Road to Fish in a Barrel Pond

When snow is followed by rain and the rain is followed by sub-zero cold, an icy crust develops. When that cold is followed by more snow and more rain, the best term to describe conditions is “glaciated”. We are encased in ice. Continue reading →

Categories: Maple Syrup, nature, Rural Life, Vermont, Winter | Tags: fish in a barrel pond, ice, maple syrup, nature, photography, quill gordon, Rural Life, snow, spring, Vermont, winter | 13 Comments

nature

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

Fall Color and a Few Things That Fell

Repeat as Necessary

Closing Up

How Are Things in Glocca Morra?

Struck Dumb

Here We Go Again

Recently Seen (Photo Gallery)

Cold Water, Colder Air

Mad Marchness

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