On top of Grand Mesa, the largest flat toped mesa in the world near Grand Junction Colorado, is Mesa Lakes. sitting on land that once held a fantastic summer lodge with horse corrals and riding trails, a series of lakes dot the landscape. Each one has its own personality and its own reputation with our family.
The one that is most obvious from the lodge is Little Beaver lake. Usually there is a beaver colony that works this like, chewing off aspen logs and carrying them over to a water surrounded home. It is not a big lake. It aways has had fish jumping on the surface of the lake. That makes us pretty excited.
In some years the underwater plants get an upper had and the fishery is robbed of its oxygen. Fishing is slow in these years. The scenery is always worth it however.
When I was about 12. Dad got a good fly rod and he casted 40 feet off the embankment on every cast he caught a 12 incher. The embankment was great because you didn't have to worry about the backcast with your flyline. The rest of the fisherman around the lake kept saying.. look he's got another one. Their florescent cheese balls were not producing. We have always fished with flies.
Those days are gone. They do not stock that little lake like they used to. The lodge tries to have some dinner service but in the past few years its been shaky. I think the liability of horses has confined the horses for rent to the ones you bring up yourselves.
It is still a great place to go fishing. It is close to Grand Junction. It is a real cool off spot when the heat gets oppressive in the Grand Valley.
So why do I have the title that I have at the top of this Blog? I am making a big watercolor of Granpa fishing on Crystal Springs Lake (One of the Mesa Lakes0, Mom took the photo that I am working from. It is a photo of the reflections of the trees on the little lake. there is not much blue in it. The trees are mostly yellows and yellow browns with an occasional evergreen reflecting. I have a yellow ochre wash on a full sheet. I have been painting tree reflections all day. I hope that it will be a successful painting.
Bob and Mikie are back in Palidade getting their house ready for the spring. Its still cold and there are huge amounts of snow coving the lakes.
Love
Pat
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