As mentioned in yesterday’s post, I went camping with some of the guys from church. When Ben (our pastor) suggested a camping trip, I mentioned that our family owns some property in Pennsylvania and it might be a good place to go. While talking about the place, I mentioned something about my niece planning to have her wedding there next year and that there was some work that needed to be done. He thought it would be great to have the guys do a bit of bush whacking. We cleared the brush growing on the inside slope of the dam around the pond as far as the overflow pipe (about half way around).
Bee Fly on Bluet
I didn’t work as hard as some of the younger guys (or as hard as the one guy there who is older than me, for that matter). Mostly I dragged the cut brush down the dam and into the woods. I also took a few breaks to take pictures, both of the guys working and of the flowers growing on the dam. While I was photographing the bluets in the first picture here, a small insect came to visit them. At first I thought it was something related to the sphinx moths but after doing a little searching I believe instead that it is a bee fly (Family Bombyliidae). Anyway, pretty neat.
Your Host
After the work on the dam, cutting brush including trees with trunks up to about three inches in diameter, we did a bit of shooting. We had in our number a former county police officer as well as a few gun enthusiasts. We had a gun safety talk and then we shot the heck out of a few targets. I’m happy to say that no one was hurt, although the ground behind the targets was a bit torn up. The photo I have posted here of yours truly was taken by Joel, one of my fellow campers (thanks, Joel!). Yes, that’s one of the hated (and also much loved) AR-15s you hear so much about. I found it to be quite easily handled, much lighter and less kick than my .35 Remington, which has a significantly larger cartridge. In addition to the rifle, I also fired three handguns, a Glock .40 caliber a Glock 9mm and a Ruger .22 long. I quite enjoyed myself. Our neighbors (about a half mile away) came to see what the fuss was all about, but once they saw it was nothing untoward and it was me, not some local kids, they left us in peace (or whatever, but this clearly isn’t Maryland).
Rib Roast, Cooked on a Spit
While the shooting was going on, there was some serious meat being cooked over the fire. David had brought two boneless rib roasts, which he put on a spit and wrapped with bacon. They cooked for about two hours and where between medium rare and medium when they were taken off. I have to say that while there are not many pieces of meat that I don’t enjoy, a good piece of rib cooked over an open fire is about as good as it gets. This meat was about as close to perfection as you are likely to find.
Ethan’s Fish Story
When the shooting, with its significant noise, was finished and our delicious lunch was consumed, some folks packed up for the day and headed home. It was early enough, though, and Andy and his son wanted to do a little more fishing. So, those who were still there spent a much quieter hour or so pulling bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) out of the pond. I think their chances of catching bass would have been increased with spinners rather than worms but I don’t think it made much difference to Ethan. What he caught was much less important than that he caught something. We weren’t catching breakfast, so the fact that everything was too small to eat didn’t matter. Also, the guns and their noise had made him a little nervous but the time we spent fishing in the quiet, afternoon sun was just the thing to help him relax again. I have to admit that even though I enjoyed the shooting and would do it again, I’m more likely to head out with a rod and reel for some solitude.
All in all, it was a great time. I haven’t known any of these guys for more than about five months and this weekend helped me to get to know them and them me. We need to do this again.