I really like the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" with Robert Redford and Will Geer. Geer's character is the wizened old trapper and he addresses Redford (Johnson) as "tenderfoot", meaning rookie essentially. That's where my blog name comes from. I highly recommend the movie. I identify with the idea of being a tenderfoot in the outdoors. But in my case actually tender of foot. I constantly find myself in awe of something in the sky, something I see, some off the wall experience that just happens... I can't figure out how to change the name anyway!
   When I first started out in this land, we would go to a hot spring quite often and soak. We had to hike an easy trail a couple miles by starlight, mostly. As you walked, guided by the light from the Milky Way, you could see a slough, wetland type of area down below. One night I looked down on a pond and saw the reflection of the Big Dipper. It was something A) I had never even thought of before and B) is certainly never seen it before.  Just the other night I was heading up to Brooks Lake Lodge via snowmobile. It was late, maybe midnight and as I started my 6 mile journey, I was pretty freaked out. It's scary out there at night, and everything is so still.Anyway, a little ways up, I see something in the road--yikes! Turned out to be a juvenile moose running down the middle of the road like a cow would do.It was silly because it wasn't like I had high beams on; I had a flashlight taped to the handlebars! After running behind this poor thing for probably a mile, I finally rode up beside it and slapped it on the shoulder and yelled, "GIT!!".It jumped off the road!
 Just a day in the life is what I'm saying.                  . The river is coming back to life, the rocks receive a much needed scouring..Bugs hitting windshields is a ways off but as the Spring Solstice draws near, aquatic bugs are emerging, animals are moving, fish are thinking; thinking about the journey