Fishing--Is that all there is? You betcha!

My husband and me on Pueblo Resevoir!

Just a note: In case you are wondering where my O2 hoses are, I never allow pictures to be taken of me with it on my face if I can help it. I'm not vain, but those air hoses are not me. They are a fact of my life but they are only nessesary tools of my days. I want my family/friends/and grandkids to remember the real me underneath those hoses and other tubing that may hang on me each day.
Yes, I know, lately I have lots to talk about when it comes to fishing. But that's because it's summer and it's definitely warm enough (if you call 98-101 degrees warm enough). We have gone fishing the last 3 weekends and we are planning on going out again. I am so pumped about getting out while I am feeling so energetic cause I never know when I'll have to sit it out again. As it is, I mostly sit while fishing and Rick (my husband) does all the carrying of gear and chairs and coolers, etc. I carry my O2 bottle, my fishing pole and my catch all bag. Then I just have a ball the rest of the time.

My husband knows how to take a break from the heat!
This last weekend, we took my father-in-law with us and my husbands co-worker out to the Pueblo Resevoir without the boat. We wisely left poor Myrtle home to bask in the air conditioned house as we sat out in the 101 degree sun and baked all day. Thank goodness for sunscreen and hats. Next time, though, I'm taking my huge beach unbrella and setting it up over my chair. I've done it before and it works wonderfully and lower's the temp by at least 5 degrees or more.

We saw a deer grazing along the river below the dam and she didn't mind us at all watching her. We watched and took pictures for several minutes before moving along and she just looked at us before getting back to her brunch.

Peaceful deer munching in the shade near a swimming hole below the resevoir dam!

My father-in-law is 79 and doing well. He loves to fish and we all have a grand time when he joins us. He and my husband really do enjoy spending time together which I think is so beneficial to both of them. The heat was pretty intense so he and I took refuge in the vehicle a few times to turn on the AC and get our core temps down just a mite before heading out into the Pueblo sun-bake oven again.

Mac showing us how it's done in Colorado!

My husband got a prize fish :>) when he caught a handsized bluegill. We just had to take a picture to show we didn't get skunked, just incase that was to be the only one. He did end up catching a couple more small ones and his co-worker beat us all with a 12 inch trout.

Blue Gill!

This last month or so my Dad has apparently been feeling extra fatigued but not nessesarily sick. He didn't mention it to anybody cause he couldn't quite place his finger on what he was feeling or why. Then after the family reunion camping trip over July 4th weekend, he just got over taken with fatigue and could hardly get out of bed in the morning. He slept for 24 hours straight, besides numerous naps each day. His appetite was totally gone and he couldn't even stand to drink water because it hit in his stomach like a rock. He had almost nothing to eat or drink for 5 days.

Finally he went to the ER after calling the doctor and was so weak he could hardly stand up. They filled him with IV fluids and took lots of blood tests and sent him home for the weekend. By last Monday, he was worse but he went to his doctors appointment anyway with his wife driving. It was a mystery to the doctor as well as the blood tests all came back negative. She took more blood tests the next day anyway after asking endless questions about his activities, etc.

She started him on an antibiotic, just in case, and told him to drink electrolyte fluids and energy drinks and keep nibbling on food. He kept throwing up everything he tried to keep down but his wife kept trying to get food and water down him and he eventually did keep some of it down.

Anyway, on last Friday, the mystery was solved. My dad has lime (lyme) disease from a tick bite he must have gotten in early June when he cleaned out a deceased neighbors shed for his family. That's not good, except at least now we know what the problem is. We were so worried and didn't know how much worse it would get. The doctor was just about to admit him to the hospital, but now after getting the results she let him stay home. He is already on the right medication and will hopefully have a full recovery. It will take some time though since he is almost 76 years old and was so weakened by this.

The doctor get's alot of credit for thinking of it because lime disease is usually not even thought of or tested for until alot of time has past, even a year or two, which makes the effects very much more serious and much more difficult to treat.

I guess that is a great positive note to leave this on today. Thank goodness for those insightful and caring doctors that keep on digging and checking in on their patients like she did. She called him at night to check on him because she cared. Her patients don't leave her mind just because she goes home at night. His condition worried her just like it would have if he had been her family. I really like that!