William's Blog...with a smile!

The weather this winter in Minnesota has been very mild .  Below zero temps are not uncommon and this year we have only had a couple so far.

The warm weather does bring some of it's own challenges.  One of the big ones is fog.

Now fog as we know makes driving a bit more hazardous and with the ground frozen it also makes the roads slippery.

But, if we look past the bad and look towards the beauty the rising sun gives us the hope of a brand new day.

Use it wisely.

Most all of us haves goals.  Some it is business, some play and some overall life and retirement.

But do you sometimes think that you are just inches from attaining what you set out to do.   If you could stretch just a bit farther you you could at least touch it.

My Dad often said that his goal was once he had the two ends touching it was to get them tied together.

But, we should not be discouraged.  All we can do is our best and that will still be better than if we had not tried!

So what do we do with the extra time.  I WAS sitting on the sofa with my with staring at the TV making small talk that only interrupted the TV show she was watching.

A commercial came on and I said..."We should plan that vacation we were saying we should take."

It does not matter what the activity is, if you have not planned ahead you may not go.  You may run into NO vacancy when you want to go.

Those who wish to take a chance and wait, you may get a better deal...or you may end up being SOL!

At any rate...if you don't know what to talk about...planning a get away or a night with friends or thinking of Buying the Home In North Branch, MN., fills the time nicely!  ( Don't forget to call me!!!!)

I got a call late last night...

The Crappies are biting...the house is set up, wanna go???

"Yea!" 

We left at 7 and drove to the small local lake.  When we got to the public access, I saw no cars.  Great, no problem parking and i can see the house about a 1/4 mile onto the lake.

As we pulled into the lot, I am waiting for my buddy to pull into a spot and stop and then...

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!"    I know I was screaming and exactly what I said was a bit more extreme.  This fool I used to call my buddy was driving onto the lake.  The same lake where someone fell through  aweek ago with jsut a 4 wheeler.

My panic is that I don't swim in cold water.  HELL...I don't even swim in warm water!

I gently SCREAMED at my former buddy to park farther away from the at house at least.

"I don't know what you are getting worked up about it has been cold for a few days."

A FEW DAYS!?  I would like to live a few more days than just today!

WE caught a few fish and when we headed home...I WALKED to the shore before I would get in the truck. 

When I got home my wife informed me that I was looking a bit more grey these days.  HMMM, I wonder why!

This 30 inch northern I caught a couple of years ago was 2 inches bigger than the one I caught this morning.  (No Camera today)

I love the snow and cold.  Well, at least for a short time.

I have had a lot of errands piling up that I have not been able to get to.   When I take time to do one, I have hoards of people in my way and i have to wait and wait...and wait!

The last couple of days, most of the population thought it was cold outside and stayed in their homes.  Myself...I got out and breezed through my errands in record time.  No waiting at all.

Want to get some of you errands done fast...Wait for inclimate weather, brave the elements and get your errands done fast!

For years when the computer came out the terms used made absolutely NO sense.

Living on the farm I Northern Minnesota...the terms I was hearing gave me all kinds of visuals that did not make sense.

My Brother just sent me a list of what we felt the meanings of these terms were when we first heard them.

Some of my rural friends will have to agree that this will bring back a few visuals from years past.

I hope this helps people understand my lack of computer savvy.

WE have a great group of people here.  Most of who can laugh at themselves which I feel is an important trait in not taking ones self to seriously.

So, I will take aim at my lady friends and I know that there will be some re-buttle posts in the very near future. 

COME ON LADIES...make me laugh at myself!

I awoke this morning and headed out to the lake...

It was a beautiful sunrise.

I boated over to my favorite spot, dropped in the trolling motor and started to cast.  After a few casts the first fish fell to my bait.

  It was a nice 4 pound Bass.  I unhooked him and slid him back into the water to live another day.

I started casting and all HELL broke loose.   The phone rang and my wife was yelling at me to grab it.....Then...I woke up to 24 degrees and a sciff of snow on the ground.

It was back to the grindstone once again!

Many of us have said that one priority for this year is spending more time with friends and family.

So, My wife and I sat down and made a list of the people that we want to connect with this year.  We too our calender and marked out the bad scheduled days and then started calling friends and making dates that we can plan on. 

The idea was well received by our friends and family and we have many dates planned that should fit our schedule and not push our limits of time.

Try it.  We are going to continue this week for the summer fishing weekends.   We are looking for a great summer and a great year!

We are planning a lot of fun in the sun this year!

We have a mild cold spell here in Minnesota right now, but it is to warm soon.

But, next week another cold snap is coming forward.  Below temps are expected and there are alot of concerns.

Pets

Septics

Water lines

Some plants.

If you have to prepare for the worst...now is the time to get on it.  After the cold is gone will be to late.