Accessible Trout Pond

Some of my fav summer times ...

The sun is starting to shine, the phone isn’t ringing yet, and the only sound I can hear from my pond-side dock is the chorus of songbirds serenading and the gentle hum of the aerator in the background.

 It’s a beautiful morning and a perfect setting to enjoy my coffee with the dogs. I lift the handle on my custom feeder, and a handful of fish-food-pellets drop into the pond. They start spreading out and slowly make their way across the water using the breeze and the current as propulsion. 

I sip my coffee while the dogs hang over the edge of the dock, peering into the water, waiting for the action to begin. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, I’m rewarded by an explosion in the pond. A 6-pound rainbow trout jumps high out of the water, attacking the food. The splash echoes across the pond, signaling other trout to join the frenzy. 

Soon the surface of the water is alive with jumping fish. I feel so lucky to be able to start the day like this.

I’m able to do so because about 30 years ago my friends and I had a vision and the follow-through to bring it to life. 

From pondering to a pond 

I’ve loved fly-fishing since I was a kid. My family took yearly excursions to the mountains where we spent a couple of weeks fly-fishing for trout. I looked forward to these trips all year. After school I often set up my fly-rod and practiced casting. With ice cream pails on the lawn as targets, I’d try to land a small split-shot weight into them. Soon I could drop my fly any place I wanted — a valuable skill for landing wary fish. 

After my car accident, I returned home to my parents’ farm and tried to adjust to life as a quadriplegic. A friend rigged a rod and reel, and I got back to practicing casting on the lawn. I quickly convinced myself casting a fly-rod was possible. There was only one problem: there were no lakes nearby that were accessible from a power wheelchair. 

The solution to this problem started like so many other brilliant ideas — as beer talk among friends. If there were no accessible lakes nearby, we’d just make one. Problem solved. There were a few minor obstacles. We had no equipment, no water, and lacked knowledge on raising fish. On the plus side, we had enthusiasm and lots of room. 

We borrowed a university aquaculture book, took a course on building trout ponds, and scrounged together what money we could; my grandparents and parents chipped in, I had a little stash that got thrown in, and we found a Government grant, . All tolled we figured about $5,000 should do it. 

We learned all about what it would take to build a pond where the fish could thrive. The water would need to be at least 15 feet deep for trout to stay within their temperature range. Steep banks would allow fishing all around and prevent overgrowth of weeds. While aeration would keep oxygen levels high throughout the year to ensure their survival. A local friend, Gordon Blonke, had a bulldozer and scraper. He surveyed the yard and laid out a plan to dig a large pond and landscape the yard at the same time. He understood that wheelchair accessibility was the primary goal. We shared what we knew about pond design and he started right away. The pond was finished in a month or so, now we had a 1-acre 25-foot-deep hole. We put a water well in to fill it, and pumped about 3 months to fill it over the winter. 

The next spring some friends brought a wheel-chair accessible dock that was once used in their marina. Initially we had only Rainbow Trout, and I enjoyed many a fight with a large Rainbow on the fly. Our pond is now full of minnows which must’ve been introduced by birds. The rainbow trout don’t appear to eat many of them, so we stocked some Brook Trout and now a new Trout has been made available, Tiger Trout. 

Tiger Trout are a cross between a Brown Trout and a Brook Trout. Apparently, they are very aggressive, love to eat minnows, grow fast, and are easy to catch. We have some that should be quite large now, but we've yet to catch one and they seem to prefer minnows over trout food, and rarely come to the feeder. Trout will grow to 20 pounds or more if there is lots of food, and apparently there is. To ensure massive growth, we supplement their diet with trout food, but it seems only the rainbows go for it. The food is high energy pellets that make them grow real fast, and — as a bonus— make the fish taste good.  

Aside from the entertaining sight of a quadriplegic aimlessly spraying teeny-pellets everywhere but in the pond, throwing out pellets with my quad hands didn’t work so well. The dog was gaining weight much faster than the fish — a new program was in order. Fortunately, my friend Garnet, who can build anything, devised a one-off fish-feeder I could operate. It consists of a 5-gallon plastic pail with a spring-loaded ski-pole down the middle. It is attached with strapping to the side of the dock so the pellets drop in the water. When the handle is lifted, the pole is pushed down and a hole in the bottom of the pail opens to drop some pellets into the pond. 

Even 30 years later, spending my morning on the dock has become one of my favorite pastimes. I’ll wheel down, drop some food into the water and enjoy a coffee while watching the trout rise. I love to grow them big, and watch them cruise by the dock in search of a meal. I fly-fish occasionally when the fish are big, but watching them is fun too. 

I’m currently in the rebuilding process. A few years ago all my fish died after an inadequate aerator failed. With a new upgraded aerator system and the fish are growing quickly. They're currently hitting 10lb , and this time they’ll be safe from low oxygen levels. 

My parents and grandparents are long gone now, but every time I see a trout jump, I’m taken back to my childhood. I’m suddenly a kid, fly-fishing with his family in the mountains, with not a care in the world beyond getting a trout to bite. 

A Great Message

 

A few years ago I got a call from a friend, Ben Wilson, asking if if I wanted to be part of a video project. Ben produces videos, and is an amazing, kind, talented fellow. He likes my positivity, and persistence to keep going through some tough situations. He asked about faith. I thought about it, and replied that I don't consider myself very religious. I really do dislike the religious attitude that I run across occasionally, you know the old "mine is better than yours" attitude, and it has me turned off of religion. Incredibly people are willing to kill over religion, I think if your religion tells you to kill people of other beliefs, you need a new religion. 

I do believe that we are a part of something much bigger. I have many times experienced what is to me overwhelming evidence that there is a God/Universe/Great Spirit etc. that we are all part of.  I've found that most wishes/prayers/intentions are answered in some way. I guess he probably thought I was kind of religious lol. Anyhow we chatted for a long time, filmed a little, and had a great visit.

When the video came out, I was so pleased about how inclusive it was. I watched it recently and still love the messages in it.

Coincidences or More?

 Well it's about time I resurrected the old blog. I've been writing for other magazines for a while and neglected this place. There was something cool lately that will open my world, and I'm thrilled.

I used to have a 4x4 wheelchair, and lost it in our house fire. The mobility of an off road chair has been missed, but was put on the back burner for now. Being 61yrs old, I'm aware that time is ticking, so if there's anything I want to do, let's do it!

On a recent trip to Arizona, Super Dave and I were at a flea market looking at multitudes of landfiller, but didn't see any fleas. Suddenly a chair zooms by, a 4 wheel drive electric atv-type unit, and I immediately recognize it as a Terrain Hopper.

Terrain Hopper makes a 4wd unit powered by lipo batteries that looks like a cross between an atv and a wheelchair. I've been secretly drooling over these and wanting to see one close-up for years, but they are rare and expensive.  

I look around, it was nowhere in sight. I believe that the universe gives and makes things line up, so I made an intentional thought. "Universe, bring that unit back for me to see."

A few seconds later, as if on cue, the Terrain Hopper zooms up, stops right beside me, and the rider starts chatting with somebody else. I smile, look skyward, silently give thanks, and inspect the unit. It looks incredible. It's sporty, rugged, and quite fast. I wait my turn and chat with the owner. It turns out he is a corn farmer, escaping the snow. He loves his Hopper far more than his power wheelchair, and can get around the farm anywhere in it. He had driven it to the flea market 3-4 miles that day and says it is much  more fun than a vehicle to drive. I was sold on it, and knew my life would be drastically changed by owning one, but couldn't afford one.

The idea of owning one rolled around in my coconut on once again for a few weeks, as it has been a recurring idea for years. Terry and I have talked about building a nature trail around the quarter section for years with bird feeders, deer feeders, and benches. Building a wheelchair accessible trail is very expensive, but a Hopper-friendly trail would be easy! Universe, if it's a good idea for me to get one, line it up. And I left it like that.

Last week, things unexpectedly started to happen. A used Hopper popped up on Facebook Marketplace. I've never seen one there before. I started dealing on it right away and thought it might actually come together. It was the right unit, color was ok, low hours, price was less than new by a fair bit, but no joystick control. After investigating it appears the joystick upgrade is 3g or so, and has to be done in Arizona, so that was the end of that.

I once again threw the project in the air. I then decided to contact the owner of the company, who I have chatted with a few times many years ago, just to see what the price of a new one is. What was his name? Searching my emails, there was nothing. I looked in Messenger, nada. Then tried my text messages, came up dry. I couldn't find his contact anywhere. I clicked on my Facebook window and heard a 'ding', a notification received. I open the notifications and its the Birthday of one Todd Lemay, now who is that I wondered? Checking his profile I see ... he is the Terrain Hopper CEO that I was searching for! I smile, look up, and give thanks once again. I text and chat, and Todd sends me a quote. After is see what they're worth, I tell him that I'll need to find funding. Todd gave me a link to hoppersforheroes.org, a non-profit organization that gives grants towards the purchase of these units. I didn't think there was a snowball's chance of success, as most US organizations don't fund Canadians, but I tried.

I told them in an email that I'm a quad, a Canadian and love the outdoors. I mentioned that I've written a few articles and could write about my adventures with the Terrain Hopper. They asked for links to my stories and I thought ... hey ... wow ... they didn't reject me yet! I sent them some links, they read my stories, and a few days later I was approved for 5G's!!! I smiled, looked up and gave thanks ... again.

I still wasn't sure about it, I went online comparing off road wheelchairs. Terrain Hopper looked the best of the bunch to me, but I couldn't pull the trigger and commit. Then a friend that I haven't spoke with for a year or so sends a message about an all-terrain wheelchair that I was just looking at! The universe just keeps presenting the idea. I look up and smile, give thanks, and proceed to order a new Terrain Hopper. Summer's going to be a blast! Sometimes things just line up!

Our Covid Experience From A Quadriplegic's View

Our Covid experience and a physician’s view of how it happens. 

As a quadriplegic with weak lung power, the thought of getting Covid is very scary. Even though we’ve been very careful, when the vaccines became available my wife and I got it as soon as possible. After the second vaccine I felt much safer, and wasn’t thinking about the pandemic so much anymore. Then a few weeks ago my wife contracted Covid while visiting her dad in hospice. For the first day we thought it was just a cold so I was exposed to sneezing and coughing, even while being in confined areas such as vehicles. Terry tested positive for Covid, I tested negative. The first few days were stressful, not knowing how far her sickness would progress. Luckily it peaked after a couple of days. We stayed to ourselves, not wanting to spread it to others. Over the next 10 days we quarantined, and weren’t particularly careful between us. We ate together, slept together, and Terry did personal care for me. She experienced a moderate cold for a few days, lost her sense of smell and taste for a few days, and was tired for about a week. After quarantine I still tested negative, she tested positive (we were told she would for up to 90 days). I was very much relieved that her symptoms had gone away, and that I had not contracted Covid. We wondered how the virus never got me, even though we had the same vaccination and I was certainly exposed to the virus. 

A friend, Dr Kumar, wrote a piece on a concept called virus load, which made sense of it all. This friend is somebody I have trusted my life to many times as he’s a flight instructor which I have been fortunate enough to experience several sailplane winch-launches, an amazing zoom from 0 to 1000ft in seconds. His regular job is a physician in Lethbridge Alberta Canada, and he has an undergraduate degree involving the study of virology and immunology. I consider him qualified to speak on the subject and trust his opinion. Here is his piece on the subject of virus load: 

 

"If people who are vaccinated can still get COVID and can still spread it, letting only vaccinated people attend things is supposed to stop the spread how?" 

I feel there's a need to shed a bit of light on this... maybe others have this thought as well.  

It seems most people know by now that the vaccine reduces the severity of the illness you might get. So for that person, getting COVID won't be as severe or lead to needing ICU or ventilator care or death.  Agreed?  Here’s why.   

I am a Canadian physician, MD, specialized in Anesthesiology – an expert in airway and ventilation.  

My background prior to medical school was a science degree that included study of immunology and virology.  I also worked in a lab that created vaccines as the product was used to prime your immune system to fight something you hadn’t seen in the wild yet. 

There is a concept of "viral load", which refers to both how many total virus particles there are circulating inside that person, and also how many virus particles as passed via droplets when that person talks or coughs, etc. You could say that generally the severity of illness is proportional to this "viral load" inside a person.  Someone is sicker when they are suffering from a higher viral load to fight off.  Generally, this also means each droplet they produce while talking, coughing or sneezing will carry more virus particles.  A single cough or sneeze from this person with higher viral load, or even talking at close range will carry a lot more virus particles onto another person than someone with lower viral load!  Compare this to someone who has the vaccine - their immune system is primed and better at inhibiting the virus from multiplying from the start so if they do catch COVID, they will have much less total virus in their body at any given time, less viral load that is, and thus less severity of the illness.  When such a person coughs or sneezes or talks they spread much less virus per droplet.  These droplets have less viral load and they pass on a lower viral load to other people around them if they are unmasked. On the recipient side, think of the vaccine as wearing a water-resistant plastic shirt. If a few droplets of water hit you they will shed off more than a regular cotton shirt. But, if someone comes along with a bucket of water to throw on you....(a high viral load) then you might get a bit wet inside (infected).  

So while YES the vaccinated CAN get the virus, and YES they CAN pass it on, it takes a higher viral load to infect them, and they carry much lower viral load and thus shed much lower viral load as well. They are not the same as unvaccinated at all. This is a dramatically effective layer of protection to reduce spread. I hope this explains why transmission is EXPONENTIALLY less between two vaccinated folk and might shed some light on why it is less worrisome for everyone when venues only allow vaccinated people inside. 

Pavan – let’s care about each other out there. "
 

 

  
So now I understand why I never caught covid-19. My wife probably encountered a high viral load while visiting hospice that overpowered her vaccine protection, but didn’t get sick enough to transmit to me a high enough viral load to overpower mine. I feel if either one of us were unvaccinated, the outcome would have probably been much more severe. I’m not here to debate or fight about vaccines, masks, rights or whatever, I’m just relaying our experience and the info from a trusted friend.  

I’m now once again very careful. There are viral loads out there that can get past the vaccines, especially when encountering the unvaccinated.  

Flotsam Me

 

“Ok, a little deeper, let’s see if I float”, I say.

“You should be getting there,” says Joe.

“I think it’ll work on my back,” I say. The cold water creeps up to my ears.

“How’s the water?” laughs Joe, no hint of sympathy in his voice.

“Friggin cold thank you very much” I say.

 

We had rented a vacation house that had a pool and hot tub in the back yard. Way back in my first life I loved being in or on the water. I used to enjoy canoeing, water skiing, fishing, scuba diving, boating and swimming etc. My friend David and I used to camp at a local lake and swim to a nearby island for exercise, about 500yds away. Since becoming a quadriplegic in 1986 I had always wondered if I would float or sink, and could I swim? The thought of resuming one of my favorite sports was enticing. A quadriplegic friend had let me know that she swims regularly, so it seemed like a great thing to try.

Terry puts our aluminum wheelchair ramp from the edge of the pool to the shallow end. She walks up and down it to test it, safety first! It looks like it should work great to get me in. Thoughts of swimming great distances, for long periods of time flood my mind. Imagine leisurely paddling around, effortlessly gliding around in the nice warm water, enjoying the hot sun. Heck I would even be safe knowing that I could always swim from a sinking boat, this is one of those life-skills that we all should have. It is going to be so much fun!

 

“This should work! We’ll use your manual chair and guide you in,” says Terry.

“One push and we’ll stand back, no need for a ramp, we’ll get you in there quick,” teases Joe.

“Ok, I want a life-jacket!” I say, remembering a failed kayak attempt. (a funny story in hindsight, a scary adventure at the time).

Earlier we had started the pool’s propane water-heater, totally unaware of just how much propane it takes to heat an outdoor pool. About $100 worth later, the pool is at 60 degrees F or so, yay.

“Good enough, let’s try!” I say, imagining $20 bills going up in smoke.

They put a lifejacket on me, snickering at the possibilities for the near future, do they know something? Terry and Joe slowly wheel me down into the water. My feet touch the water, I feel a bit of a tingling sensation up the back of my neck, hmmm. Tingling feelings are usually reserved for pain-indication, but not nice warm water, right? I go down farther, this’ll be awesome!

“How’s the water?” says Joe.

“Seems ok, let’s do it”, I reply.

“Too cold?” asks Terry.

“No,” bearing in mind I have no feeling below the chest.

The water now reaches my chest.

“Holy bleep!” I say, “This is cold!!” The water sucks my breath away. My body reacts, and any unessentials are retracted to warmer climes.  

There’s no turning back now! Ok pride and ego, gonna need you’re A-game to get me through this! Us quads are notoriously cold almost all the time, even without Arctic waters! I start floating and get rolled onto my back. The lifejacket does its job, face-up is much preferable to face-down when in water it seems. It feels kind of creepy at first, lying on my back with my head half under. The cold is numbing, and I see the smirks being exchanged, but I’m not complaining and releasing the dreaded “I-told-you-so’s”. After a few minutes the situation seemed stable, which is more than can be said for a few of the participants. Sometimes I think they just like to see me screw up.

Next to try swimming. I get my bearings. I sure don’t want to zoom across and hit the other side of the pool. I try to move my arms out to the side, slowly and cautiously. In the weightlessness of water it is hard to straighten my arms. I try to throw them out to the side over and over. It doesn’t appear to be having the desired effect. I try harder, now I’m whipping up a pretty good froth on the pool, and looking around I see that there’s been no progress. Something must be impeding my progress. I check to see if my helpers are holding me back, nope. More thrashing ensues, and I do manage to do a pretty fair wounded-fish imitation. I’m grateful that there are no great white sharks in the pool. I’m pretty sure that I’m moving now, and look over the side to see.  Out of the corner of my eye I see a dead bug floating by, pushed by a breeze, what a show-off. Well not to be out-swam by a dead bug, I pick up the pace. Evidently it must’ve been a water-bug as I was far out-classed, and it kept zooming on. I thrashed and flailed. Apparently producing equal amounts of forward and rearward thrust is counter-productive. I wouldn’t be surprised if rescuers from Greenpeace show up.

About 15 minutes of movement-free floating later, I’m seizing up from the cold. It’s time to call it quits.

“I’m done, getting cold” I say.

“Ok, let’s get you out,”

They drag me by the lifejacket over to the wheelchair, now this is moving! I’m pulled up the ramp, into the welcoming sun. My body starts to warm and un-seize. I’m disappointed by the results, but now know where I stand when it comes to swimming, so to speak (equally bad at both).

Life is all about learning. I learned that I can float with a lifejacket. I learned that I don’t swim like I used to. I learned that 60f water is way too cold for me!

I can now rest assured that if a I’m on a cruise ship that sinks 6 inches from shore, with the right wind I will be safe.

 

 

Lake Havasu Ultralight Fun!

 

Havasu Ultralight Fun!

 

Joe hits the throttle; the engine roars and the sound of rushing air envelops us. We quickly accelerate down the short-paved runway. Joe pushes forward on the controls, tilting the kite-shaped wing above us skyward. Soon our wheels lift off the ground and we smoothly climb as he pulls the lever to raise the landing gear.

 “Where do you want to go?” he asks.

“I’d like to go north up into the canyon, we went there with a pontoon boat and it was so beautiful. I’d like to see it from the air!” I say.

“Sounds good, as long as the wind is low it will be fine in the mountains!” Joe replies.

We head north from the airport, gaining altitude and soon there are mountains creeping by on both sides! You can see the Colorado River off to our left snaking through a rock canyon. The water is crystal clear to the bottom, amazing! Below us is rugged rock with very little soil or vegetation.

We are flying amongst the peaks in an open-cockpit weight-shift ultralight! I’m sitting in the rear seat, securely strapped in, while Joe flies from the front seat. We wear helmets equipped with microphones so that we are in constant communication.

"Can I try flying?" I ask.

“Sure can, grab the controls!” he says.

I reach out into the wind and grab (as good as a quad can) the bars.

“Ok, I have it, it’s hard to reach far enough forward, you guys tied me in well!” I say.

“You’re flying!” says Joe, letting go of the controls.

I gently shift our weight left, and we bank left. I shift our weight right and we turn right. This unit is very easy to fly, I think it would be a great aircraft for people with limited arm movement or strength. To climb you simply add power, to descend you reduce power. For me, controlling it comfortably would require sitting closer to the controls or having extensions to reach them easier. I soon get tired of stretching for the bar.

“I’m having to reach a bit far; my arms are tiring out. You have control.” I say.

“I have it,” says Joe taking over.

I resume my sight-seeing. It is amazing to see the world from above, the mountains and valleys looked beautiful from a boat but now to see them from the sky is surreal. There is nothing between us and the ground but a few thousand feet of air. At first it is a little unnerving to not be inside a cockpit, but soon the beauty of seeing the world from above takes over and it is no longer scary.

“Let’s go down over the river”, says Joe.

“Sounds good, it is so awesome to see it from up here!” I reply.

We come down low over the river in the valley, I can see the beach where we parked the boat to have lunch, and where others hiked in search of a geocache. It’s like zooming in with Google Earth!

“Now let’s go low over the lake!” Says Joe, I know he wants to show me some touch-and-go manoeuvres.

“Okay, sounds great to me!” I say.

Joe lowers the power, and you can feel us going down. We are on the California side of the Lake, lined up on the smooth-as-glass water. As we get down close, Joe adds a little power to reduce our descent. The floats gently kiss the lake, this is the first time I have ever experienced a touch-and-go on water! Joe adds power and we speed up again, and gently lift back into the air! What a blast! Next, he turns the camera rearward and gets some footage of the spray as we skim the water again.

We stay low over the lake, maybe 20 feet high or so, and hug the shoreline. We bank to the right and go into an inlet, then bank left and turn around, heading back to the lake I notice some power poles on the hilltops.

“I assume you know where all the power lines and obstacles are!” I say.

“Oh yes, been flying this area for years!” Joe replies. “There’s no lines on those poles.”

“Can we fly by Lizard’s Peak?” I say.

“You bet!”

A week earlier the rest of our group had made a several-hour hike to the top of a mountain. I stayed behind and took pictures of them, met people, and was entertained by radio-controlled aircraft doing aerobatics nearby. I wanted to see their trail and the peak.

We soon are approaching Lizard’s Peak. Looking down and right I can see a trail zig-zagging up the front of the mountain, and the picnic table at the top. There were about twenty hikers at the peak waving at us! We wave back, Joe cuts the power and circles back, and as we zoom by closer we wave once again. Then we follow the more gradual trail down the backside, leading us to the lake. Banking right we head towards the airport, flying over the London Bridge, yes you heard it right, the London Bridge! What a fantastic day!

1 Where are you flying? We are flying over and around Lake Havasu Arizona.

2 What kind of aircraft are you in? We are in a weight shift ultralight that is equipped with amphibious floats so that it can land on water or a runway.

3 How did you get into the seat of the ultra light? We have a portable Hoyer lift. It worked out perfect so that it could be pushed right up to where I could be dropped into the seat. The legs of the Hoyer fit under the floats.

4 Who’s airplane? Joe from Hanging Over Havasu owns it. He gives instruction and rides. You can take lessons, and he is very open to training people with disabilities. Joe is very conscientious, I felt totally safe with him. You can find him at https://www.hanginoverhavasu.com .

 

Buggy Fun!!!

"Should we try high gear?" says I. It's not like us to push things.

"Let's giver!" says Paul. I'm thinking he probably just wants to witness a first-class screw-up.

He reaches over and clicks me into high range. I give him a couple of seconds to mount his four-wheeler (he is getting old). I pull the throttle down, and off we go! So much for "I'll just putt around in low, I don't need to go fast." New motto ... "Go big or go home!"

This thing is a hoot!! It is very stable, takes bumps well, and with the racing seats and belts I can corner without getting thrown around! A friend (Landon Catt) and his buddies adapted this thing, a 250cc dune buggy, for himself (by coincidence a quadriplegic with my nearly-identical injury level). Later he offered me a deal on it, as they were building a bigger-better-faster one!

After a little particularizing to help me steer better (us gimps are always tweaking stuff, "If it ain't  broke ... fix till it is!"), we are out test-burning around the field. Low range went well, climbs hills like crazy, but the top speed ... yawn ... is about 25mph. Now high range ... hoo-hoo (like Tim the Toolman) is 50-60mph, plenty to get me into trouble without taking much effort.

"Holy (censored) you can go now! You even drifted a few times!" Says Paul after a 2.5 mile lap. His vocabulary needs regular censorship, but it is a colorful addition to your day. It was nice to see dirt in his eyes and teeth. He was right, I was zooming around much faster, and taking corners at high speed. Landon and his friends have this thing dialed in, it is much easier to drive than my van that cost many many thousands more!

This buggy has opened up a whole new world! I hadn't seriously considered driving an atv until I met Landon, thanks so much!