Storm Chasing 28Nov22-29Nov22

I headed to Summit Co to ski some late fall storms with friends. At 11Kft elevation in the southwest we have some decent snow, even during the fall. Bro Brown, RHubbs and I kicked off the effort with a dusting skied at Keystone on Monday. We love weekdays when fewer folks have access. As we rolled through the tunnel we observed the mob heading home from TGiving - so I was thankful I was running opposite AND I got to see MLC and Lex on a pie drop through Denver on the way. MLC's TV and monitor rig are amazing and Alexa's succulent cabinet is completely stellar.

It was a very fine 15Kft day ~ but only 12% of the resort is open so we certainly had repeat runs. And it became windy. Nonetheless... we loved it... and I was with the bumblebee boyz.

I fought off some crud and enjoyed Richard's French beef stew that night; I might've binged a few scifi shows to stabilize me for the next day. We expected Vail would score the snow lottery... and it did. As I joined the team for breakfast we had 5+" on the ground but clearly chose to jump the pass into Eagle county for the deep. Vail was awesome this day. We skied all over the front side wide ~ we even took 3 gondolas, who does that? ~ Richard wanted to dine in Eagle Bahn. The tastiest snow was the 9-12" newfallen off of #4 & #11 - Mtn Top & Northwoods.

I hit the VBC while Steve & Richard finished in the wind. Nice US win in the World Cup. Then we discovered malicious damage to Brown's 4Runner. We changed the tire in Vail for the spare and then debugged what went wrong back at the Nest. "Someone" had ripped a panel off of Steve's outer passenger mirror and put a tiny stone in a tire valve (giving us a flat). We changed to the spare then figured out the issue back at the Nest. Sheesh. Really rude if you ask me ~ how can anyone be "mad" as Brown.

All fixed now.

Another Outing To The Arkansas @ Nature Center 23Nov22

It was another nice 55° day in Pueblo, but the wind was up and chilled the hands, delayed the mayfly hatch and sometimes fouled the casts. The lot at Nature Center was completely full and the river was mobbed ~ I guess the Wed pre-TGiving 4 day was evident. Nonetheless, I caught a number of fish with some real slabs in the mix. I didn't get to fish every spot but enough for a decent day. Flows were down even a smidge more to ~70cfs; the viz is still stained from lake turnover. Again as on Monday, lots of smaller fish with a handful of larger ones but every holdover was fairly thick and strong. The best cutbow was just over 18" and I did score a smallish brown; strangely I caught a lot more females today than typical. I chose the Rodfather T5 again as a wind-cutter. During the mayfly hatch the grey RS2 scored the most and larger fish but Destiny's Child worked too... later the Pop Top scored a few but the Rainbow Warrior worked, as did the Mercury Midge. I nymphed all day and a guy (in the pic) just above the 2nd big weir threw dries all day in the same spot... hmmm.

Birthday Fish-Day 21Nov22

It was a very nice 55° day in Pueblo... made nicer by my birthday and by a strong day fishing on the Arkansas River out of the Nature Center. Flows are down to winter levels of ~75cfs so the fish are a bit more concentrated; the fishing is more technical, despite the still cloudy waters. I took out the Rodfather True 5 and was glad I did on some of the larger fish... they are very thick and strong right now with perfect water temperatures for them. I caught a passel of fish including a half dozen or more more colorful holdover cutbows 16"-19+" like those shown. There was a strong fall "baetis" mayfly hatch during which Destiny's Child fooled plenty. Yet, the winner on the day was Coffin's Pop Top midge which took the majority of my larger fish after the mayflies became spinners. Mercury midge worked some too. I'd have to say that the PT is turning on again and while one will attract many smaller fish too, the bigger ones are accessible.

Tying The Pop Top Winter Emerger Midge 16Nov22

I improved my Pop Top midge for ruggedness and cleanliness and I'll share the complete tying instructions here. It's a killer tailwater midge in winter & early spring in CO. I dreamed of it clearly as reported HERE. 1st the recipe/ingredients:

• Hook: #22 TMC 2488H
• Thread: 1 white + 1 black 70 UTC UltraThread spooled together (or red + black)
  
• Body: thread body coated with Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails
  
• Thorax: Adams Grey superfine (or Trico, dark brown-maroon, superfine)
  
• Wing: emerging wing of lavender ice dub

First, spin onto an old thread spool 1 white and 1 black 70 UTC thread simultaneously.

Then secure a #22 TMC 2488H hook in the vise and bind on the threads half-way down the hook bend with just 2 overlapping turns and wrap the thread body forward taking care to lay the threads side-by-side and not twist them.

Trim the rear thread tag close and burn it with a lighter to ensure no thread fuzz is back there. Then, paint the entire thread body with coating ensuring to cover the back end.

Dub a small noodle of Adams Grey superfine onto the threads (it won't behave exactly as expected given the pair of threads but it will ultimately bind well).

Wrap the thorax on from the eye to the thread base.

Dub a tiny bit of lavender ice dub onto the thread and lift the thread above the hook.

Squish the dubbing down to the hook and thorax with fingernail; take care not to bump the thread body as it is likely still drying.

Pull the thread straight over the thorax and eye and bind onto the hook with a wrap right behind the eye. Whip finish. Fluff the ice dubbing a smidge with a pick and trim it to be a wing no higher than 1/2 hook gap. The Pop Top slays 'em.

I also tie this with a red + black thread body where the thorax is trico-colored (dark brown-maroon) superfine. All else is the same.

This is a killer Colorado tailwater midge in winter and early spring. I've not had to go to the #24 in this tie, but it'd be fine down there. It is absolutely a "guide tie" as it is very simple and fast to tie, and with the Hard As Nails coating it's gotten much more rugged. There is no intellectual property protection in fly tying but this one is unique ~ if you tie it, and please do, just call it Coffin's Pop Top.

November Music Appreciation 16Nov22

It's time for some recent YouTube links of favored artists performing favored songs live in favored venues. I stuck fairly close to the knitting but I do want to highlight the 1st entry from Fruition, an awesome Portland acoustic/folk/bluegrass band with keen vocals and writing, and especially fine instrument sound. The link offered is a stripped down set from Paste but the trio of Jay Cobb Anderson (vocals, lead guitar, harmonica), Kellen Asebroek (vocals, rhythm guitar, piano), and Mimi Naja (vocals, mandolin, electric & acoustic guitar) are often completed with the beat provided by Jeff Leonard (bass) & Tyler Thompson (drums, banjo). Simply, they are awesome. A 2nd link features the full band with a recent "hit;" a 3rd link provides an early formative capture.

Fruition...

1. Fruition @ Rebels & Renegades Paste 16Oct22 
2. Fruition "Wild As The Night" @ Paste NYC 05Feb20 
3. Fruition "Never Again" @ Hardly Strictly Bluegrass  05Oct10

Other Recent Drops Appreciation...

• Jenny Lewis @ eXponential 18Sep22 ~ a little late of mention but what's not to like about Jenny
  
• Scary Pockets ft Lizzy McAlpine Stayin’ Alive/BeeGees Cover 31Oct22 ~ I'm always for Lizzy & Scary Pockets
  
• LSD @ Jann’s Nashville 24Oct22 ~ just some covers in Nashville
  
• LSD Halloween “Handle With Care” Traveling Willburys Cover 31Oct22 ~ really good; these guys love Halloween and always drop a cover in costume on each Halloween
  
  
• King Princess @ Tiny Desk / NPR 02Nov22 ~ KP, congrats on getting a Tiny Desk show; some keen versions of her songs with strong accompaniment
  
  
• Heavy Weighs The King Trouble Official Audio 28Oct22 ~ song from 2nd studio album of this fine band formally known as iNine
  
• Josh Turner feat. Reina del Cid, Toni Lindgren, Carson McKee “Black Water Doobie Bro Cover” 04Nov22 ~ as usual, well done and direct to us from a tiny space; Reina del Cid on banjo!
  
• Lizzy McAlpine ft Tiny Habits @ Tiny Desk / NPR 08Nov22 ~ Lizzy kills it and the backing vocals are very sweet
  
  
  

Visiting Norsworthys In NCarolina 11Nov22-15Nov22

Kala has been visiting her sister and brother-in-law in NC for a bit and I joined them all for Kala's birthday and more. We had a great visit but are now back in COS for a bit. Beyond great Burial brews and gifts for my birthday, which we celebrated on day 1 here are some other keen events. On Saturday we watched lots of CFB and attended the Randy Rainbow "concert" @ DPAC in Durham and enjoyed a good Latin meal @ Luna. RR was a mixed media event (huge screen of his YouTube vids behind a live band) with lots of left-leaning political references, queer rights cut ups, and song parodies. It was pretty funny.

Sunday we were able to visit nephew Kyle at his new place in Chapel Hill. He is super-excited to have been able to move back to the triangle and score a teaching gig as a Spanish teacher with the school system there. This especially after having spent his early years in much smaller towns in the mountains of the mid-Atlantic. He's a hoot and doing very well at the new school; it was great to spend some time with him. We hit a fine Cantonese dim sum place for brunch, and were joined by Sandy & Joseph (who's from Macau!) for some leadership through the dishes. Of course additionally we watched the NFL and parsed a tense fantasy football matchup pitting Karla against Kevin.

Monday was a cooler but still gorgeous day. After a nice Karla breakfast, she chose a hike in the woods named sycamore loop in Umstead Pk. It was a very nice tramp (that's the New Zealand word for hike) ~ most of the foliage is down already but there was a smattering of remaining colors. We stopped at a "log art" installation along the way.

Afterward we headed to Wake Forest for a stop at a brewery where Kevin was able to grab a six of a favored Red Oak amber. Mondays are pretty dead in restaurants and bars in NC but we had fun. We were home in plenty of time for the important fantasy final for the week; I mean MNF, where the Eagles suffered their 1st loss and Karla secured the win despite the initial odds against the FF master.

Huricane In NCarolina 11Nov22

Kala & I escaped some CO shoulder chills to NC to visit K&K (&K) there during Nicole's wide ranging landfall. I endured a rugged ascent during 80mph shear winds on the flight outta DEN and a hurricane on landing in Raleigh. We then received on-and-off rain along the outer spin bands of Nicole but had a lovely day, for the most part, in Raleigh. My 68th is pending and Kala's 69th is imminent; K&K provided exceptional Burial IPAs along with keen NZ-worthy travel items for gifts, as well as an Indian lunch, and a trip to the Van Gogh Experience for my celebration... thank you so much.

OK, so easily, on reprise, this is one of the best breweries in the country; and these are some of the best hazies in the country... delish. Burial cans are adorned by keen illustrations drawn by David Paul Seymour and each carries a bizarre name. My hand selected set include: Savages of a Ruminating Mind, Inside the Phase, and How Very Wonderful To Reconnect When We Have Become Different People. Here too are some some of the other keen NC gifts...