February 8

How come when one is on a holiday it is just busy, busy, busy?
I have noticed that for some reason my daily introduction gets tagged on the end periodically. I'll try to remember to check for that after I post - it can be corrected.

Yesterday I mentioned if you are interested in adventure stories try downloading "From Within" from Barnes and Noble. That was actually the one I meant before when I said First We Survive. Sorry although I like them both. :)

Here is more of the current one:


 but fishy smelling rag was a filleting knife!

Bob decided to keep all the contents of the box, there was nothing else in the boat, but fastened on the back was the remains of an outboard motor clamp.

He climbed back out of the boat and continued his trek down the beach.

The beach continued to curve back and in another hour he arrived at a point that had a reef running outwards into the water. Once around the point the beach changed direction and off in the distance he could see the island and the rocky passage he had found two days earlier. There were fewer logs and the shoreline was easier walking and in a short time he arrived at the spot where he had found his engine cover.

He figured it was mid to late afternoon, so he decided to follow as close to the bush line as possible and see what else the vagaries of the tides and waves had left behind.

When he arrived back at his camp he had a few more plastic bags, and his finds from the old boat. He had found a couple of short two by four boards and a four by four sheet of half inch plywood which he stored together above the high tide line.

The sun had set behind the trees but there were still a few embers in the fire pit which after adding some more fine twigs and pitch particles produced flames and he patiently added fuel until he had a satisfactory fire going.

His first inclination was to work on cleaning up the fishing lures but he knew that he had accumulated enough stuff that he had to devise a method of getting it all to the cabin. It would take too many trips if he carried it all by the armload.

He pondered the problem for a few minutes then jumped to his feet as an idea came to him.

He took the filleting knife from the tackle box then strode to and through the bushes, once through he looked about and in a few moments had spotted two small willowy trees that would serve the purpose. One was an alder the other spindly cedar. He immediately set to work with the knife and in a short while had managed to cut both trees down. He dragged them, limbs and all, back out to the beach and to his camp.

As he tarted to limb them he paused then shrugging slightly he traded the knife for his piece of steel and went down to the water. The tide was half way in so getting  a few oysters was no problem but he could only find three smallish clams.

He took the clams and oysters back to the fire but as he set them down he noticed the paint can he had found the day before.

Bob pried the top off and considered himself lucky that only remnants of paint were still in the can and this was still in a liquid form. He turned the tin upside down into the fire and watched for a few seconds as the paint drained out and caught fire; the flames quickly engulfed the interior of the can. Satisfied he turned back to the chore of limbing the two saplings.

By the time he was finished the paint had been completely burned from the can, but not satisfied he scooped up some of the embers from the fire and kindled a small fire inside the tin.

While the fuel in the tin burned he arranged his poles on the sand in an elongated ‘V’ shape. He turned, found the pant leg he had found before and using the knife cut it into strips, these he used to tie the two trees together at the apex of the ‘V’.

Dusk was deepening, so he decided to leave the rest until morning and get on with cooking his dinner.

Picking up one of the branches from the cedar he slipped it through the handle of the paint tin then carried the tin down to the water, he waded out a few feet then dipped the tin and after a few moments gingerly felt it. The tin was cool enough to touch so he swished it thoroughly then moved little ways away and scooped up water so that the tin as half full. He carried the tin back to the fire and made a spot for it on one side of the flames and set it into the fire. Then remembering the lid, he picked it up and placed it on the fire at another spot.