To Fish: verb; a stinky, squid for bait activity in which one tries to catch a fish for dinner using a rod and reel that only cost $10 five years ago and without getting a hook in anyone or falling off the dock.


At least, that's our definition.


Doc or i take the kids to catch fish as often as they want, mornings and evenings. As is usual in our family, Doc and i prefer mornings and the kids prefer evenings.


There is a bird of the heron variety, not sure exactly what kind, who lives over in the marsh grass by the shore near the docks who comes by every time fishing is in order. He is a very polite guy who bows when we throw him a fish too small for us to eat, but just right for him. The children have named him Turd Bird, and he really deserves a better name for his manners if nothing else.


The first fishing trip netted 3 croakers for a fish fry at the end of the week, all caught by Bryn. The others only got small ones that were put back or fed to Turd Bird. By the time they got back, and everyone got unstinky, it was decided that we didn't have enough flashlights for a ghost crab hunt, so that was put off.


One thing about vacation is that, because we aren't at home, every time we turn around we find something else we need that we forgot to buy. Since the closest store is a 6 mile drive, it's not like running across the highway at home for something at the local mom and pop grocery. Thus there is a stop at the store for something that someone has forgotten every single time we are out. This also makes for a huge load of stuff to come back with us.


Coming up next: Monday's shopping trip, nice excursion or endurance test?




Today is


Accession Day -- Jordan


Aland Island Day / Autonomy Day -- Aland Islands


Day of Remembrance for Sigurd the Volsung -- German Neopaganism


Donald Duck Day -- he made his debut on this day in 1934 in "The Wise Little Hen"


Great American Brass Band Festival -- Centre College Campus, Danville, Kentucky, US (through the 12th)


La Rioja Day -- La Rioja, Spain


Murcia Day -- Murcia, Spain


National Heroes Day -- Uganda


National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day


St. Aidan of Lindisfarne


Saint Columbia of Iona -- Celtic Christian (patron of poets, Ireland)


St. Ephraem's Day (creator of hymns; patron of Syria)


Vestalia -- Ancient Roman Calendar (third day)


Winnipeg International Children's Festival -- The Forks, Winnipeg, MB (through the 12th)




Anniversaries Today:


Nero marries Claudia Octavia, 53




Birthdays Today:


Natalie Portman, 1981
Johnny Depp, 1963
Michael J. Fox, 1961
Dick Vitale, 1940
Jackie Mason, 1928
Les Paul, 1915
Robert Cummings, 1910
Cole Porter, 1891




Today in History:


Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide, 68
Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse, 721
Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Saint Lawrence River, 1534
The Harvard Corporation is established as the first corporation in the Americas, 1650
James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia, 1732
The Congress of Vienna, forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN, ends with much of Europe's borders redrawn and settled, Switzerland's neutrality confirmed, and free navigation guaranteed on many rivers, 1815
Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa and head west for Salt Lake City carrying all their possessions in two-wheeled handcarts, 1856
Alexandra Palace in London burns down after being open for only 16 days, 1873
Alice Huyler Ramsey, a 22-year-old housewife and mother from Hackensack, New Jersey, becomes the first woman to drive across the United States, 1909
King Bhumibol Adulyadej ascends to the throne of Thailand. He is currently the world's longest reigning monarch, 1946
Queen Elizabeth II officially opens London Gatwick Airport, 1958
The USS George Washington, the first submarine to carry ballistic missiles, is launched, 1959
Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria, 1967
Secretariat wins the Triple Crown, 1973
Estonia ratifies the European Constitution, 2006