The Whirlwind Of 2013
When I look back on 2013, I can’t believe what a whirlwind of a year it was. With my return to school, Darrell and I had expected it to be busy, but neither of us could have guessed just how busy we were.
Returning to school was the biggest thing that happened to me in 2013. Heading to Fleming College for Ecosystem Management was one of the best choices I have ever made. For the first time in many years, I feel like I am on the right track, and the possibilities of where I go after graduating are so exciting. My courses have been full of interesting things to learn, and I’ve had the privilege to learn from some incredible teachers. Of course, the good stuff always comes at a price – and in our case, it has been a real lack of fishing time.
However, when I look through this blog, I see that we had some awesome moments in 2013.
I was introduced to the activity of geocaching. It’s been fun getting out for a treasure hunt and enjoying things when we only have a bit of free time.
In April this blog went from being The Argosgirl Chronicles to Argosgirl Outdoors. This change was made for many reasons, such as the desire to be self-hosted, and to have a little more creative control. However, I also made the change because Darrell was starting to write some blog posts of his own and I wanted to make this ‘our’ blog.
This year I caught my biggest crappie. And then I caught an even bigger one a few minutes later. It was an amazing night at a little pond we know, when a change of plans had us scrambling for a way to spend our evening after driving some ways from home. The look on my face really says all you need to know about that night.
As you can tell by my expression, I was in disbelief. What a slab! This could very well be my personal best crappie.
Darrell fished his first ever bass tournament…and won! It was a team tournament and he was the co-angler, and afterwards he told me that we really need to buy a bass boat. It was just a sign of our year that he only had the time to enter one tournament in 2013. I hope he’s able to fish many more in 2014.
We both had a great time volunteering this year. Whether it was stocking Alantic salmon, helping Trout Unlimited Canada at Bronte Creek, introducing kids to fishing, or any of the events I participated in as a CVC Caring For The Credit Volunteer Leader, it was awesome to get outside and participate.
Me and Jasper
Outside of school I took a few extra courses, such as a chainsaw safety course, a useful skill for doing conservation work. But it was the electrofishing course that really got me excited and gave me a feeling of accomplishment.
We didn’t get nearly enough time out on the big water this year, but Darrell managed to get out on Lake Awesome (a.k.a. Lake Ontario) with his dad for some bows, and we spent some time in Owen Sound for the Salmon Spectacular.
Darrell’s rainbow trout.
Some of the most fun I had on the water this year was pike fishing in the fall. I have never caught that many pike before, and our spinnerbaits were getting hugely beat up. For a few weeks we couldn’t do anything but chase pike, it was addicting!
I seriously doubt that our whirlwind is going to slow down as I enter my final semester at school. I do not look forward to resuming my 5 hours of driving, but I do look forward to graduating and starting a new career. More than anything though, I look forward to more time on the water and more kiss-and-release fishing.
Happy New Year!
argosgirl
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Congrats, Rebecca, for doing what you needed to be doing this past year, and best wishes for a fine, creative, outdoorsy 2014.
Thanks Walt! Have a wonderful 2014!