Hold on to your old Silver coins folks...

Silver is on the move my friends. I've mentioned it on my blogs before but this timely piece is put together by a webmaster who really knows what he's talk'n about in the Silver & Gold market place. If you haven't been pay'n attention to the steady climb of both of these precious metals, then read this now, if you read nothing else about Silver this year. :-)

Silver Prices Skyrocket!

I'm thrilled to know that the few Washington quarters I have in my hand are going for like, $5.25...

I'm also very impressed that the 15-20 nice old Mercury dimes resting on my Mini-treasure shelf, are up over the $2 mark too! :-) Sheesh, and that's just melt value friend! Who knows how much this neat old stuff is worth to the Numismatics, what with real Silver being quite rare in these fast paced, disposable times?? There weren't all that many Merc's and War nickles made in the first place, back in the day you know.

Anywho, read this fine piece and consider yourself WELL informed. ;-)

P.S. This whole Survival blog, by the way, is one of the very best I've ever been on and well worth some of your reading time. There are topics for every kind of #Outdoorsy person you may be.

Enjoy your Sunday friends and followers, all the very best to y'all this special time of year! :-)

Fall is in the air...

Fall Fly Fishing a current seam - By Bourgeois

Now, off the river and into the streets...

So to-day, well, yesterday now eh, this ol' bushguy took himself a fly'n leap and jumped right smack dab into the middle of society (the opposite of bush, hehe)by way of Ottawa, our Nation's Capital! Whooo Wheee! Yup, one of our ol' "Here I are folks, in the flesh, real and ready" zingers, hit me from the past and developed by one of my best friends way back then, Carl Amyotte. He was one powerful yet awesomely lovable ladies high-class shoe salesman work'n on Ottawa's world famous Sparks Street.

Whooof. I'll tell ya right here and now my friends, once I got it go'n again, revved up from my own real past experiences, sucker almost went into auto-pilot and damn near took me over. I had to take a real firm grip on the five speed gearbox/Tach that dwells in my little cranium. Hehehe! Yes Sirri Bob, first the smile came out...then broadened and stayed as the day just flew on and more things clicked...

I kind of became, well, what was happen'n, if you will and I suddenly allowed myself to laugh a little. An out loud laugh that allowed anyone within ten feet of me to hear. Fear them not, he say's. Chuckles and laughs can and do go a loooong way to help spread the good tidings which we enjoy and they keep that semi-lost upside down frown, alive. :-} And it was so...

A large number of folks who I came into contact with picked up on all of this and responded in an almost predictable way. That is to say, in a nut shell, send out good vibes, then be prepared to have a few of 'em mirrored right back at you. :-)

Best day I've had, deal'n with society stuff, in months. Amen. :-)

So all this time uptown, by the way, the weather was really re-fresh'n to say the least. I took advantage of that too and breathed deeply and steadily into the wind-tunnel'n moisture laden teeth of it all. My lungs cleared while the H2O flooded my being and charged me with vigor. It's kind of for me anyway, like stopping and smelling the roses, on 50X steroids! Har! Don't forget now folks, above all else, I Am, a LOVER of all of the Great Outdoors. That undying Love is really what has got me this far, so far in life and I was just a giv'n 'er to-day just like the little dot in the yin and yang of me and society...

Well there's a lot more to this wee story but my semi-old eyes R get'n heavy and I'm go'n 2 shut 'er down for now my friends. Tomorrow's go'n 2 B another busy one, shake'n & rock'n out there right in the vortex of it all again. I hope 2 come out of it in even better shape than 2 day, see'n as my inner & outer chi force, is just about back in the groove again where I'm more or less, in control of what happens to me again. Definitely got my second wind. Who'd like to dance with me next now, I'll B think'n. I still have a little room on my dance card. Hehehe.

Does this fall weather make you feel spunky too? Drop me a note here if it does. Oh ya, and smile more tomorrow. You don't really even need a reason and it's real easy stuff, once you get it go'n on. :-)

Old relics...

With the water levels so low in the Ottawa River this year, I got to explore more newly exposed river bottom than anyone has seen in over a century. By walk'n along real slow like and keep'n yer eyes peeled, stuff that has been sitting in 2 or three feet of water for long periods of time suddenly exposes itself. None of this stuff would interest the average person of course but I've always had the fascination of a kid. I get excited over little things in life and discovering something which has been hidden for years, turns my crank. I've drawn the odd comment on Twitter with some of this stuff before so a few peeps at least see the merit of taking a picture of said objects. That's incentive enough for me so I thought I'd put together a little group of river salvaged treasures (junk) on here so I'd have a place to store these pics.

Sooo, here's a few more for ya...




Dangerous?

This oldie dandy was spotted last Saturday and as I hunkered down to record it with my little Pentax, memories floated back in my mind's eye of when I had last uncovered a similar discovery but it was from a grassy spot...



It was about 25 years ago while metal detecting and I had just pulled the 14th one of these nature toned beauties out of the ground around the old shooting range at Shirley's Bay on the Ottawa River. As I added it to the little pile in my trunk, I was surrounded my a bunch of army guys and one of them with a lot of bling on his outfit, informed me how dangerous this all was, for at least two minutes. Then, he ordered me out of the area, for my own safety and he took all of my dangerous "live" shells and probably headed for the bomb disposal squad with them right after I left.

Never know what kind of stuff's going to happen when you look for treasure eh.

Just another day in the life and times of this ol' bushguy. Hehehe

Track'n bass...

I got an opportunity to fish White Lake on Sunday with my old friend Tim and his best buddy Dave. They wanted to know what I thought of their new Bass Tracker. I was impressed. Here's Tim at the Pickeral Bay launch ramp.

It was great to get out on the water again. I hadn't been on White Lake in over 20 years. Dave got the Tracker up on plane and we spun up the lake towards a wildish look'n shoreline. Logs, overhanging trees, Lily pad beds and clumps of Cabbage Weed greeted us as Davey swung up to the bow seat to man the electric kicker and slip us in a little closer, within casting distance of the shore. As the boys dug their rods out of the holders, I snapped on a small floater/diver with my little custom hook'n system and flicked a cast near the edge of some pads. While I slowly reeled and paused this little crank Tim mentioned that we were going to get rained on. The sky had thickened with dark and fast moving clouds and a good breeze had started up.

On my second cast, a fish thumped the little crank half way back to the boat and I set the hook into a high jump'n Largemouth. After a few more jumps and a decent deep run, I turned him towards us and slipped my thumb in his mouth and brought him in to meet his admirers.

The action got going pretty good then and that ol' custom crank, battle scarred as it is, just kept on call'n fish to itself. :-) Tim started work'n his Rapala topwater with fairly aggressive pops and after about a half dozen casts another decent black bass pounded that thing like there was no tomorrow. More Whoop'n. After a nice splashy battle Tim had him up and out for a quick picture session then released to fight another day.

Dave up to this point had been try'n out lots of other different stuff and mentioned he didn't have hardly any plugs so he didn't use cranks that much. I suggested he give one of mine a try so he agreed and tossed it around about a dozen times or so then handed it back to me. As he did I peered into his tackle box then and spotted a cool look'n little purpley colored diving plug (the only plug) with a neat feathered tail hook that he had substituted for the original bare treble the week before. "You've gotta toss this puppy out there, I tell him, it looks like a real killer to me". Lo and behold Dave goes for it. I just get back to my own casting and hear a grunt behind me. Turning quickly, I manage to see a nice bass swapping heads for tails out there about a foot high over the surface then crashing back down as Dave gives out his bassers whoop. "Just started retrieving it", he blurts out between surges of black bass power pulls. "Damn, these cranks do work eh Larry", I hear him say with a broad smile across his face as he puts the thumb to the spunky LM. Sho nuff buddy, just ask KVD. hehehe.

Well to shorten this post a little, we all caught a decent pile of fish including Large Mouths, Northerns, big Yellow Perch and a really fat Rock Bass and we all had a really good time. Plenty of laughs and bits and pieces of fish'n tricks were exchanged through our day. When the rain got heavier and heavier in the early part of the afternoon we finally ended up cutt'n our losses and head'n in against a stiff north wind pushing 3 foot rollers and pelting rain. She was a bit of a cool ride back but we made it safe and sound and not too frozen.:-)

All in all. It was a great day outdoors and I want to thank Tim and Dave again for having me aboard their amazing little Fish'n Machine. It was a real pleasure. I hope they invite me out again sometime and I know we'll catch even more fish next time. If the weather permits, we can even have a shore lunch...

and we try to carry on...

Some close personal thoughts...

I don't really even know how to start this piece.:-(

Oh, you may even want to leave now,if you're someone that's perhaps a little afraid to get teary eyed over the loss of a family member of really close personal friend...

My foundations have been brutally tremor'd. My heart has been squeezed roughly and my poor ol' brain seems to have developed a few short circuits way down in it's deeply rooted recesses. It's a fact that life can change for any of us, in an instant. At any time. Could be a good change, bad change or anything in between. We are Not the master of when or how that change comes to us as the following thoughts may perhaps illustrate...

I was SO saddened and heart broken to hear recently somehow through the internet, that my long time best friend had suddenly left this jumbled up old earthly world. Wait! Hey! That's not supposed to happen, that can't be right, I remember thinking. My buddy Marce is simply way too healthy for any of that stuff to be right. Dis-belief and anger at the thought, flashed through my mind over and over as I read of how his last day with us, at least, was up at his beloved bush camp on Donnagana Lake.

Here's what I stumbled on and read that day...
Marcel Edmond Lalonde


LALONDE, Marcel Edmond - The Lalonde family announces with sorrow, Marcel's death at his camp on Donnagana Lake, Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at the age of 60 years. Son of the late Edmond and of the late Nilca (née Otis) Lalonde. Beloved husband of Jacqueline Lalonde (née Rochette) of Chelmsford. Loving father of Andy Lalonde (fiancée Chantelle Pelletier) and Michelle Johnston (Kevin) both of Chelmsford. Dear brother of Colette Picard (Hervé) of Dowling. Predeceased by his sister Lise Siblock (late Vic). Sadly missed by his grandchildren Haven and Dawson. Lovingly remembered by many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He enjoyed fishing and hunting and was a former member of the Chelmsford Fish & Game Association. Marcel was a retired miner after 32 years of service with Falconbridge Mines. The family will receive relatives and friends at the CO- OPERATIVE FUNERAL HOME, 4691, R R 15, CHELMSFORD, Sunday evening from 7-9:30 p.m. Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday, November 9, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in St-Joseph Church, Chelmsford. 11727532

Well,that was most likely the place Marce would have picked to go, if given the choice. So that, was sort of cool I thought maybe. You see, I too have entertained similar thoughts over the years of spending some of my last days up on Crooked Lake, where I spent my wonderful early days surrounded in nature because of my most gracious and adopted Aunt Siiri,so that at least sort of made some kind of sense to me. I guess.

You see friend, Marcel Lalonde, I am very proud to say, at one time was my very best friend and actual real life hero as well. I so looked up to this guy. Marce, as I used to mostly call him, was a really personable kind of guy from the get go, that could best me in almost every way and yet he would never let his finely honed ego get in our way. Marce would always get a kick out of smiling while thanking me for being there with him and revealing the budding talents that I was developing while he was right there to share in my accomplishments. He was indeed, perhaps even without knowing it, my Real World Sensei helping me, right there, to prepare for my future as it turned out. I most certainly learned much about respect for another person and also how they should also earn it just as we should all strive to practice the same. I also absorbed much and confirmed a lot about really powerful things like just how deep true feelings and love for the Great Outdoors can go, through this remarkable man.

Marcel has helped me in so many ways, to mold me as it turns out, into who I am to this day. We shared a very powerful Outdoorsy bond we did,like blood brothers. We never seemed to disagree on anything. Almost like one mind, sometimes. One of our first trips together, I still remember to this very day, riding with a 25 pound pack on my back,on the back of Marcel's awesome little 100cc Twin-Jet Yamaha motorcycle. We fairly flew up ol' highway #144 heading north for Sandcherry Creek to fish for those beautiful Speckled Trout. Turns out we caught a passle of them that day with Marcel catching a real hog over three pounds. He just loved Specks and fishing for them. We cooked some over the coals of our little stream side fire there in the early evening and totally agreed that this was all we both ever really wanted to do in life. Oh the desires of youth eh. Then again, I still feel that way to-day. So it's good to know even now that Marcel and I were both on the right track back then...Amen brother Marce!

I can still hardly believe Marcel has really left us. He was always So healthy, mentally & physically as well as spiritually. Besides his tremendous love for all the outdoors Marcel was also a very accomplished, gymnast, wrestler and a well rep'd street fighter in those early years of our lives together. This amazing man only 16 and 17 at the time, could totally mesmerize and inspire people with completely impromptu handsprings, cartwheels, back flips and his classic running, full tilt at and right up, a wall and flipping over to land on his feet again. All the while, he'd be smiling & laughing with the sheer enjoyment of performing his flawless flying feats. He would do this whenever it pleased him, always in full command of his senses and abilities. Marcel just loved seeing people happy and he gained pleasure from sharing in the enjoyment of others. Being so big hearted he ensured that he was a well loved man from the Sudbury valley.

Many of the deep underground miners from Falconbridge worked with my friend Marce over a long career and all I can say to any and all of them is, You guys were real lucky and very fortunate to have spent so much time, even at work, with this truly remarkable fellow worker of yours. I know Marcel rubbed off on y'all and influenced you too like he did me. Keep him in your hearts too now, ok boys!

Oh Marcel, I so miss you. Thank you with all my heart for being in my life when you were ol' friend. You will always be in my heart, until my last breath. I do believe for sure, that we will indeed meet again somewhere in the great heavenly bush by the side of a Spec stream my man, I just know it.

Your friend forever,

LarryB

Marcel has left the lake...

Gassed up...

So like I haven't been on this particular blog since before Christmas due to many complicated issues and general life problems. However, to-day when I dropped in, there were a few comments posted which I hadn't seen. After reading them, I felt like I had just kicked it into another gear.

It's amazing what a little friendship and good will can do for a man. After a pretty solid week of givin' er, to find friends on your blog, sharing a little love, makes much bad poop go away. At the risk of sounding girlish, a tear rolled down my wind tanned cheeks as their heartfelt words soaked into my ol' grey matter. :-| Someone out there feels some of my pain and offers soothing and gentle words. Praise the Lord! I feel darned near re-born because of these generous and thoughtful folks I've met from the internet. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for your encouragement.

I'm going to be skippin' double time, for the next little while now because of y'all. I can feel myself coming back towards the light, of hope and love and solutions. I'm workin' on a new multi plan right now that just may get me into a better situation in the near future.

So, Thank You goes out to Mungo and Tami and Dennis for helpin' this outdoorsy Canadian get the flicker back in his eyes. You people Rock! :-)

Have a Fantastic evening!

Maybe the last time...

Is this my last post? :-(

I'd like to extend a very heart felt Thank You, to any and all of You readers out there who have ever come to any of my blogs and shared some of your time with this little ol' outdoorsy dude! I've been totally thrilled to have been able to entertain you! Your various valued comments have got me through many rough society days in the past! Peace to all of You. I will miss Y'all! :-(
...Where to now?