No Outdoor Adventures and LYME DISEASE!

Once again, I failed to spend any time in the outdoors this weekend. Stuff just keeps coming up in my schedule and I can't find any time to go fishing or anything else outdoors related. I cut a bunch of grass this weekend and did some other odds and ends, but that was as close to outside as I got.
In the past week I took and passed a polygraph, was contacted for another job interview which is tomorrow morning, found out my Mom has Lyme Disease, and then found out that my girlfriend has Lyme Disease. There were some other things that have happened that were frustrating and time consuming, but they are hardly outdoors related or relevant at this time. Overall it was just a long week with an equally tiring weekend.
The only outdoors related stuff that happened was finding out that my Mom and girlfriend both have Lyme Disease. They must have been bitten by Deer ticks, which are a horrible problem here in Northern Virginia. Both of them got giant red and white bulls eye rashes on there bodies and got mild fevers and horrible headaches. They also had pain that moved around their bodies. They both seem to be feeling a little better after starting 3 week long antibiotic treatments. My cousin Matt has written about Lyme Disease over at his blog and has had the disease multiple times. I need to find out if he has any secret remedies for the illness because if he doesn't I am afraid my Mom and Sarah are just going to have to tough it out for a few more weeks....
If ticks are in the outdoors areas that you frequent make sure you stay vigilant by covering your body with pants, long sleeve shirts, and bug spray. Don't forget to thoroughly check your body after coming in from outside and if you find a tick on you and start to feel ill a few days later or get a weird rash, GO TO THE DOCTOR.
I hope some of you are getting to spend more time outdoors than I am, and I hope to have something good to write about soon.

A Small Fishing Trip

I finally got to take my kayak out for a few hours of fishing tonight. At about 7 p.m. I launched the 'yak at Lake Frederick. I planned on fishing top water for bass until dark and then catfishing for a few hours. I had a blast out on the lake and stayed until about 10 o'clock when it got black dark. I would have stayed later, but the mosquitoes ran me off the lake.
While catching sunfish to use as catfish bait, I found a nice spot where I am pretty sure I can catch a nice batch of crappie this summer. I pulled one out, and was able to see about a dozen others about 10 feet under the water. I had a few bass hit the Zoom Fluke that I was using, but I never managed to set the hook. I have found that it is a lot harder to set the hook on a bass when you are sitting practically in the water than when you are standing in a boat or on the bank. I did see a couple of bass in the 3 to 4 pound range cruising the edge of the weed beds I was fishing.
Lake Frederick is a great place to fish and I hope to get a lot more familiar with it this summer. I need to plan a little bit better next time so that I'll have a better shot at catching some of the monster catfish that inhabit the lake.
I am really trying to increase my blogging, but I have been so busy I haven't really had the time. I am hoping that things will start to settle down this week after I take my polygraph exam on Tuesday afternoon. Hopefully I'll have something else to write about this week!

Where Has All My Blogging Time Gone???

I guess this is semi-real life. The last few weeks have been crazy! With all of my commitments, working, and applying for jobs, I haven't had time to write anything. The only outdoors related stuff I have done is spreading fertilizer and spraying weeds. I'm not complaining, it is just that I need to find time to give myself a quality day in the outdoors, probably fishing.
I actually got to fish for about an hour the other evening. My girlfriend managed to haul in about a dozen sunfish and I caught a two pound largemouth bass and then had about a four pound one at the bank before it threw the hook. The water was really muddy, so the fishing wasn't all that great. At least I got to catch my first fish of the year though!
I am working the next two days and then am going back to Blacksburg to turn over the keys to my apartment and completely close the door on my college life. As long as the weather cooperates, I am going to try and spend a full day fishing over the weekend when I get back.
I apologize for my lack of posting and I really hope to increase my blogging in the near future. Thanks to those of you who have continued to stop by!