Fishing, Worms and Ticks, Oh My!

© shoutingforha

Summer vacation is in full swing here at the Ha house. I'm sure that it will come as no surprise that I am enjoying the schedule-free days. My boy has been spending his ample free time playing with friends and swimming.

In addition to all of the usual summer stuff, the boy has made a list of special things he wants to do before school starts mid August. Things like visiting Mammoth Cave and taking a canoe trip down the Harpeth River.
 

© shoutingforha

I told the boy we would have to wait a few more weeks before I would consider floating down the river. The water was filled with sewage, chemicals and other nasty stuff after the big flood. I want to allow a little more time for all of the funky water to flow into another state.

My deepest apologies to the kind people of Kentucky. It's not personal.
 

© shoutingforha

At the very top of the boy's list was, of course, fishing. Lots and lots of fishing. Not that going fishing is particularly special... We do it all the time.

Being the wonderful mother that I am, I took the little man out the other evening to test out a new rod. It has been unseasonably hot and humid around here so we decided to wait for things to cool down. It was a brilliant idea if I do say so myself.
 

© shoutingforha

Since the hour was late, we opted to fish in a little pond just a few minutes from home. The boy caught dozens of tiny sunfish. I caught a tick who was trying to attach itself to my thigh. I was able to remove the little parasite but was left with an itchy welt.

It's the gift that just keeps on giving.
 

© shoutingforha

The highpoint of the evening was the moment I realize that the boy had finally learned to bait his own hook. Did you know what that means? My hands will only be covered in worm guts if I want them to be covered in worm guts. I couldn't have been more excited.

Now if the child can just learn to gut a fish...
 

© shoutingforha

I will post more about our adventures throughout the coming weeks. But for now, I leave you with the official Ha family summer vacation tick count:

the hubby: 0
the boy: 1
the mrs. (me): 3
Sometimes I hate nature.