Spring Hope

March is upon us.  The first day of Spring in less than three weeks away.  Here in Central Oregon this doesn't mean much as far as weather is concerned.  We could still see a lot of winter in the next few months.  You just never know.  Yet I feel hopeful.  While my winter steelhead season ended before it even began, I still have my sights set on some fisheries closer to home:  The Metolius, for instance, a river in which I haven't wet a line for months and months.  And the lower Deschutes trout season at the end of April.  My annual trip to the upper Deschutes at the end of May.

Mott Bridge, North Umpqua River

Oregon is known, at least in the fishing world, for having an endless season.  One could essentially catch a steelhead somewhere in this state in every month of the year.  Winter used to be "my" season.  Now I just look forward to it being over.  I guess as the years go by, standing in 30-something degree water in leaky waders loses its appeal.  As if it really ever had any.  The appeal, perhaps, was having the river to myself.  There aren't that many more knuckleheads out there - or not enough to crowd a river in a driving cold rain.   And if you're camping - UGH!  Not only are you thinking about the skunking you're likely to suffer, but your mind keeps going back to camp and hoping that there isn't two inches of water sitting in your tent.  Or if the firewood stayed dry.  Just because it's covered doesn't mean much.

Oh, but Spring ... The days getting longer.  A little more sun on the water, well, if it's not still raining!  Beer tastes better, and isn't so freaking cold in your hand anymore.  Overall, there just seems to be more hope.  Is there?  Depends on where you are and what you're after.  Spring has a light at the end of its tunnel.  There's the actual possibility of it being warm out.  Sure, you felt "hardcore" during those harsh days of winter.  But "stupid" probably explains it more closely.

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It's also time to start thinking about the garden.  My veggie garden didn't do so well last year.  One tomato plant survived a late-June frost and actually produced some great fruit.  It left me impressed with the Oregon Spring Bush variety, which are great for shorter growing seasons.  With some better planning and preparation this coming season, I'm hoping for a huge yield.  While you're not going to enjoy the fruits of your Spring labor for quite some time, the thoughts of a big vat of fresh tomato sauce or fresh garden salad give you a lot to look forward to.

Lessons learned from last year:  Keep an eye on the weather report and no matter how hopped up you are on vicodin, you MUST get out and cover the garden when the overnight low is going to be 28º;  you probably don't need 40 leeks;  you probably don't need 40 onions;  keep the dog and cat out of the thing;  cover the garden when it's gonna be 28º!


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One thing we started to do last spring/summer before we found out my wife was pregnant, was make more trips to the Oregon coast so she can get some surfing in.  Part of the beauty of this idea is to hit wine country on the way.  This year if we decide to try this again, I'm definitely going to do more crabbing.  I always say I could eat dungeness crab only for the rest of my life and be very happy (who wouldn't!).  Pair this with some nice Oregon Pinot Noir and I'm in heaven.  This is why I love Oregon -- a trip to the coast in a weekend can bring fishing, wine tasting, surfing, crabbing, camping ... and well yes, rain.

Yep, Spring is in the air and Summer is just around the bend - even if there's still a foot of snow on the ground.  Technically, it is one of the four seasons.  But it really feels like a fight between Winter and Summer.  I'm rooting hard for Summer to win in the early rounds.