Fishing Thoughts At 12:38 AM

I was just about to turn out the last light in the house when I took a look outside the kitchen window. A few stars were shinning brightly above the rooftops of Mulberry Grove and I could see the steam from the furnace flues as it made its way across the night sky. The snow cover below had a glistening sheen to it, now that the frozen winter chill had begun to settle in.

Our furnace kicked on again, my toes quickly warmed from the heat coming up from the register. I made a cup of hot tea and stood and watched in wonder at the cold winters night. Our resident bunny was making his way through the back yard, looking for a little food and maybe a warmer spot to seek shelter from the frigid night air. A cough from upstairs, from my wife Shirley, reminded me as to why I had been inside all day. My cold which started on Thanksgiving is still lingering on and Shirley's is just a few days behind me.

The blower on the furnace shut off again, and and a peaceful quiet was once again in the house. Shirley fell back asleep and I sat down at my laptop to check my email, facebook, and share a few more thoughts with you. On and off the furnace went and I thought it must be really cold out there. I checked the thermometer and it read only 7 degrees. That explains why the heat keeps coming on.

New thoughts raced through my head. A week of this weather and we will have nice ice conditions for next weekend in Northern Illinois. Ice fishing before Christmas is very rare for me as I tend to be on the safe side and wait for a few more inches of ice than the die hard winter angler. What a special week it will be if I can get out on the Chain-O-Lakes on Friday or Saturday and catch a few bluegills and a crappie or two.

The furnace shut off again and a chill began to nip at my toes under the kitchen table. A few last warm drops of my tea and off to bed I go. Winter has indeed arrived in Illinois. It's 1:50 AM. It's 7 degrees outside, and I can't wait to go ice fishing!