😂👍

It’s tricky. Did you know that technically bananas are berries?
Berries are a subcategory of fruits, the sweet, fleshy, seed-holding structures of a flowering plant.
Bananas develop from a flower with a single ovary and have a soft skin, fleshy middle and small seeds.
As such, they meet all botanical requirements of a berry and can be considered both a fruit and berry.

Tomatoes, grapes, kiwis, avocados, peppers, eggplants and guavas are some other fruits that fulfill the requirements to be considered botanical berries. Yet, like bananas, they’re seldom thought of as such.

There is no officially designated National fruit, nor is one needed, IMO, due to the temperate diversity of our nation.
I believe that each of our states have officially designated a fruit.
In my State of Washington it is the Apple.
In Oregon it is the Pear. In Idaho it is the Huckleberry. California has the Avocado.
Check it out and let us know what yours is.
Who has the most unique? Are there any duplicates?

Fall Chinook Fishing on the Columbia has been amazingly productive this year. Fish have been returning in numbers well above what was projected. And as a bonus, the Coho fishery is just heating up, and they are the supposed large return this fall.
Everyone is catching fish, it doesn’t matter what you use, be it spinners, superbaits, or coon shrimp.
Fished last weekend with one of my sons, one of my grandsons and a family friend from his beautiful new jet sled.
I tried to share a video of the landing of mine but the file is too large. The challenge with a large salmon can be keeping it from hiding under the boat where they can saw you off if your not on top of it. The pic is me, grandson and captain of the boat, and our beautiful Columbia River Gorge.
The Columbia River Gorge is an amazing place to live, work and play. We are truly blessed!

Be sure to check the Fish Washington App for current regulations.
That is Area 12- North of Ayock point and South of the Hood Canal Bridge.
We haven’t been allowed to fish for, retain, or possess bottom fish in Area 12 for several years now.
You will find opportunities to keep Salmon, Steelhead, Crab, and Shrimp, and some catch and release for Sturgeon and Sea Run Cuts but that’s about it other than the abundance of clams and oysters in the area.
Have fun and good luck!

Absolutely agree. However, Flatfish and Quickfish are not all created equal. Some can be “tuned” to a fish catching wiggle that Salmon and Steelhead cannot resist.
Also, color was a huge determining factor as to whether you caught a few fish, or many fish at this location.

My Dad, my mentor, my best friend accompanied me on many epic fishing adventures starting when I was very young.
He developed and mastered a method for fishing for Summer Steelhead at the mouth of a local river that was extremely effective for us.
We had fished most every day in August and were catching a lot of fish, but had to release 80-90% of them because they were unclipped. This was back when the WDFW first implemented the adipose clip requirement for Steelhead. It turns out that most of the hatcheries weren’t geared up for clipping so a very small percentage were marked. We caught hundreds of Steelhead that month but we’re having trouble filling our 20 fish record card.
Toward the end of the month the fishing was extremely hot. On the day that we both got our 20th “keeper” we caught 24 fish in 6 hours of fishing. I personally caught 14 that day, and all 20 of my keepers during the season on the same lure.
The water was crowded with boats and most weren’t doing as well. One boat followed us back to the launch and inquired about our fishing method. We showed them our set up and explained how to use it effectively. They didn’t have any of the lures that we use so we gave them a couple. I had showed them my “hot” lure and told them that it was so beat up because it had literally caught 100 fish. I had changed the hooks and spreader bar several times. He talked me into selling it to him for three times what it cost new. I agreed since I was done for the season.
I still regret parting with it. It would be great to have it as a reminder of an epic season and final day of fishing.
I don’t know if those guys had any luck using our method or not. We did have others try to use it, only to give up after a short time.
I miss you Dad🥰!

Yep, they’re a pain this time of year if you can’t fence them out.
I caught this interaction on my trail cam. Perhaps you can recruit a family of skunks to guard your tomatoes.😂

Wait until a carload of High Schoolers come by just as your leaving the liquor store on Saturday night. Guys hanging out the windows hootin and hollerin your name.
Gotta Love small town USA!

God willing! 👍😀Thanks. Best wishes to you and your loved ones.We will pray for your health and happiness as well.

Thanks for the salute Plumbob. Most of my former colleagues would agree with what you have posted….and we still worked our arse off to meet all of those expectations enthusiastically for our community, families and students that we love.
My wife and I were both educators, and retired together 4 years ago. I was a HS teacher of multiple subjects from math to CAD to welding to PE for 39 years. My wife taught 2nd grade for 30 years and was that one teacher that every parent in our community wanted their child to have.
We are both thankful for the opportunity to serve our community and raise our own family of four children in the same healthy environment where we were born and raised.
God and the Universe have been good to us. We are not rich, but we are comfortable, healthy and happy in retirement.
It is true that teachers often feel unappreciated and overworked. I can say that for us it made no difference. We could see the result of our efforts and have retired with no regrets and few complaints.
We both loved being educators!

A few native winter fish pushed up last week. A couple of rafters did OK. No reports of catching this weekend or yesterday. A couple of reports of fish hooked and lost.
I had one takedown on Sunday but I suspect that it may have been a smolt.
Gear restrictions are in effect until June, so check the regulations and the Fish Washington App.

Congratulations! I hope that you have many years of good health and happiness during this wonderful time of your life. Welcome to the club!
May God bless you and your family today and always.

Best wishes for tight lines, jumps, head shakes and screaming runs.
Steelhead are just the best, IMO.

That’s cool. Send pics when you get him this Spring.