Each year on the day after Thanksgiving Jeanette and I have taken to the woods to do a little tree decorating. We don't use traditional ornaments but in place of those we use many forms of food that treat the local wildlife. The assortment includes apples, crackers, peanuts, popcorn, mixed nuts, dried fruits and dry cereal. The food is scattered about the tree, most of it falls to the ground but that's OK. We have enjoyed this tradition for years. We pick a different tree each year and have enjoyed seeing how big the trees have grown over the years.
We hope to do this for many years to come.
A traditional North Country Fly...The Partridge and Blue. The fly came from Robert Smith's book the "The North Country Fly"...the recipe for the fly is..Blue silk thread for the body, it is then dubbed lightly with natural mole fur. The hackle is a gray partridge feather.
The fly really fishes well and a story about it will follow soon.
Great looking tie on that Partridge and Blue. It made me think about a post by Ed Engle on his blog about blue flies for winter. Looking forward to the story about it!
ReplyDeletehttp://edengleflyfishing.com/lone-angler-journal/2015/1/1/blue-flies-for-winter
Kevin
Ned Zeppelin
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Kevin that's an interesting piece. He also likes small blue flies for winter fishing.
Alan
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to get the wildlife involved in the Xmas season. Thanks for sharing
Bill Trussell
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Bill they love it. A couple of days of sweet bounty.
What a great tradition. In this crap of a year, makes my heart smile. Thanks for taking us along on this very private trip.
ReplyDeleteMark Kautz
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Mark crappy year is an understatement. We can do a small part to make things bright. Hang in there buddy.
Hi Alan,
ReplyDeleteTo me the Partridge and Blue (AKA 'The Gravel Bed Spider') is a fly for late spring and early summer and on a particular stretch of the little River Leven. Here there is a large bar of gravel which bakes in the strengthening sun light which attracts swarms of small insects which get blown onto the water. I must admit I have never thought about trying it out on winter Grayling......
I love the idea of decorating a 'wild' tree, I hope the residents of the Brook Trout Forest enjoy their little feast!
Take care and stay safe.
Alistair
Alistair
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Alistair I have read that the best time to fish this fly is in the spring. But I had the urge to give it a go for a few outings this late in the season. I found some interesting results with it. The critters in brook trout forest were delighted I'm sure.
Wendy said to tell you that she loves your tradition, Alan.
ReplyDeletemike
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Mike it's a wonderful thing to do each year. We had the grand kids do it with us when they were younger.
What a great tradition. I do the same in my own way. Mr. Possum showed up around our yard tonight. Dried fruit that was in our household, not to my liking, was thrown his way. He surely enjoyed it more than I would have.
ReplyDeleteSam
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Sam what we consider throw outs are a real pleasure to the critters outside our homes. Possums are beneficial to us.
Hello Alan, I am very happy for the noble tradition that you have made through so many years ... it is a very good idea, I wish there were more people like you, I congratulate you both and wish you good luck ...
ReplyDeleteArmando Milosevic
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Armando we started this as a way to get out after eating a big Thanksgiving meal..as it turns out nature has benefitted. We hope to keep it going on for some time in the future.