:::cold boat ride:::

Henry and I took a cold, afternoon boat ride... he really loves to watch birds, so we spent most of our time chasing birds around...

:::aiden @ arietta:::

a sunday afternoon run to auburndale produced aidens first bass of 2007... florida in january at dusk = short sleeves...

:::henry's dog day:::

uncle lee, henry and jack... henry loves dogs, and pretty much anything that shows a propensity toward destruction of person and property that is like his own...

:::aiden sings:::

for christmas aiden and gran-mommy recorded several songs for monica as a christmas present...

twinkle twinkle
she sailed away
a is for alice
ignatias

:::lyle's first red:::

lyle's first redfish came at a high cost: we beached hard on the way into the ramp at cockroach bay, the game warden gave us a strict going over regarding the fish, and my man lyle, un-used to the pre-historic vehicles that required you to turn off the lights, assisted us to a dead battery that required something of a wait for a jump... but it was a good day all the same and... i caught a ton of baitfish for the first time...

:::b'day @ the park:::

june was the happiest birthday girl i've seen... she seemed like she thought she had woken into somebody else's life, and wanted to ask "can this be happening to me?"...

:::happy birthday june:::

June: on her 3rd birthday.

I want to go to “ehmmy” and “buppa’s” house
And play with my “deedo” there,
But not before I put my “lollas” on
“June’s lips urt” everywhere.

Today is the day that I turn “dree”
I still can be scared of the “da-a-a-rk”
And I won’t go out with less than three
“durses” on my arm for the park.

I accessorize, I snuggle, I jump,
I draw, and I play, and I cry.
I love it when I get to stay up late
I'll tell Aiden and "Eddie" goodbye.

:::shady contours:::

this is for all you shady lake aficionados who have always been wondering why no one ever did a bathymetric (unscientific) chart of shady lake... well, last year i had the boat in there for an afternoon, and took some notes...

:::early bass '85 - '89:::

some bass from another era... as you can see, growing up on a florida phosphate pit has its benefits in terms of producing some large fish, i do wish that i had kept a camera to document all of them...

from 12 to 14: 8lber in lake areitta, on a silver/black auger-tail worm, sadly not released; a 7lber on a gold bang-a-lure; a 7lber on a grape worm, notice the wet pants, i jumped in to land this one when the line snapped and got soaked before school. the vertical striped pants i grabbed in a rush didnt go well with the plaid, nor did the wet underwear i forgot to change...

at 15 yrs old: 11lber on a green and silver rattletrap bumping on the rockbed; and a 9lber on who knows what...

at 16 yrs old: apparently my memory is less clear at 16 because i have no idea what these were caught on, but its a good bet it was dragging a worm...

:::'06 toads:::

a few of the larger bass i caught in '06 (all released alive)...

one from shady lake pushing 10lbs, and one from eagle in the 9lbs range...

a midnight shady lake 7lber, and a 6lber from kissimmee...

:::asleep at the wheel:::

all i want is a little nap in the afternoon, unmolested... is that to much to ask? apparently june and aiden think so...

:::strawberry fields?:::

am i the only one that can see the silver lining here?... henry already has the overalls...

:::introductions:::

georgiana lynne strawbridge... born december 5th, 2006... weighing in at 7lbs 3oz's

georgiana is cute, cuddly, and cranky... but her big sisters are a big help (one more than the other)... we have seen a smile un-bowel-related, so she's "getting bigger" (as aiden would say)...

:::the vince and mon family:::

what have we done?

there you have them in all their glory, aiden the dancer, june the, uhm, well... june, henry the boy, and 'giana the baby...

:::aiden firsts:::

a few pictures of aiden "getting bigger"...

age 3 - a "purple gill" down on "buppa's" dock...

age 4 - a 4lbs bass caught during spawn (and released) at hillsbourough river state park on a camping trip with the tuckers... i cast the pole for her, and she said, "i got one daddy." i said, "no you don't." she kept reeling, and sure enough...

age 5 - a first redfish... quite a ways below the slot, but all by herself all the same... we were camping at mosquito lagoon on the east coast with cannon kirby and his daughter fern...

:::first '07 tadpoles:::

on a trip with "hig" over on lake toho... the first is just under 6lbs, and the second is just over 6lbs... they were staging - caught over the grass on a "baby bass" crankbait...