Well, as it turned out, I was right about the weather on Saturday. True to form, it was cold and wind snow was occasionally seen blowing through the air.

When I arose at just before dawn on Saturday and started my coffee pot, I was not prepared for what I was about to see. As I stepped out on the porch to fetch a few sticks of wood for my fire, I was very much surprised to see a thin layer of snow on the porch.

Like all predictions of the future tend to be, it seemed a bit odd as I wrote about wind snow a little over a week ago with the sun shining and the birds chirping and the flowers blooming. But come last Thursday night as I built up the fire before going to bed, I knew my prediction was going to be dead-on.

Saturday morning I waited until about 8 a.m. to leave the house, heading down to a local restaurant to meet my friend for breakfast. We ate a healthy meal of bacon, coffee and non-dairy creamer, eggs, biscuits with imitation butter and jelly with genuine flavorings of simulated berries and FD&C Yellow No. 5.

After that grease-filled extravaganza, I was more than ready for a day outside to try and burn off those nearly countless calories. I was dressed for success in my toboggan, long underwear, T-shirt, insulated bib overalls and insulated parka. Since the temperature was so low, I decided to wear my insulated hiking boots instead of my waders. It was in the 20s when I headed out, so I didn't figure on wading much.

The next stop was to pick up worms. My friend asked me if I had any, to which I replied, "Sure, I got up and dug a few this morning." After we went to a local store, we picked up some night crawlers and red wigglers. The cashier at the store asked incredulously, "Are you going fishing today?"

After giving an affirming nod and a smile, I walked out. Later I thought that I should have said, "No, these worms were really just an impulse buy. You know I was over there picking up this drink and then I saw them-night crawlers! I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to keep a box of those in the car, just in case?'" It might not have sounded all that strange to her, since I already typically keep a box in the refrigerator throughout much of April and May, much to the chagrin of some of the less slimy-things friendly members of the family. I like to try and catch them after a rain, but that's hard to do when the ground is frozen stiff.

I wasn't really concerned about buying worms, but I was concerned about them freezing on the hook. I tried to bend the worms around the hook into a 'J' shape so that I might still catch a fish, even if that happened.

After actually getting started, I noticed within 15 minutes my hands were getting stiff and within 30, my body was starting to tell me that it was ready to go home. However, my mind didn't acquiesce. The fishing hormones were raging, my mind called out that word that seems to voice a man's need insatiable, "FISH!" Yes, my fishing addiction cried out for satisfaction after a long winter trapped inside a perfectly comfortable house with lots of food and electronic entertainment, but my soft, home-loving body cried out for comfort.

The war likely will rage on until a compromise is met sometime later in the season. For me, fishing is a thrill unto itself: an impossible to explain excitement stemming from freezing cold water, cold dying fish, slimy worms and shiny spinners. Perhaps it is the thrill of the hunt, many a man's special affinity for going out into the world of nature and bringing home a stringer full of supper. Or maybe we just like the idea of carrying around seven (or markedly fewer, as the case may be) dead fish.

My friend and I opted instead to stick close to town and try to fish in areas that typically aren't frequented by many fishermen and are sheltered from the wind, since both are sometimes a problem. We did see a few folks out fishing, but it definitely wasn't crowded.

I soon knew why. My hands were nearly frozen after just a few minutes. After catching my first fish, the cold water only exacerbated the problem. The real fun started when the eyelet on the end of the rod started filling up with ice. Once it got full, the line wouldn't go in and out, which meant I had to figure out how to clean out the little hole. I tried using my fingers, but they weren't much warmer than the ice. I finally ended up putting my fishing rod in my mouth to thaw it. Thankfully, no one was taking pictures.

I also managed to drop my carton of worms in the water and somehow let my foot slip off of a rock and plunge into the icy creek at least twice, which gave me a much better understanding of the mechanics of frostbite.

I also went to the Crouse Park Easter egg hunt, so I had a valid excuse to 'wimp out' by noon, only about an hour after I had ran home to fetch my waders and a pair of clean socks after slipping into the water the second time.

After that, I had the pleasure of covering an Easter egg hunt at Crouse Park-complete with a few thin patches of snow on the ground. After my second freezing experience of the day, I took my family to a child's birthday party before heading home to huddle up next to the stove for a few hours. The time by the fire helped prepare me for the following day's sunrise service at the church.

Luckily, I had already frozen my hands and wind burned my face the day prior, so little preparation was necessary. After playing only a couple of songs on the guitar, I had lost most of the feeling in my fingers. By the time it was over, I wasn't sure if I still had fingers. Luckily, there were a few nice warm fires there to enjoy and lots of company. Even though it was cold, it was worthwhile. Even though I was shivering violently, I didn't even have to worry about spilling the communion, since it had a thin layer of ice frozen on top. After church, the sun finally came out and the temperature climbed to some sort of decent level, just in time for me to spend most of the rest of the day outside hiding Easter eggs repeatedly for the children.

In the end, I spent the better part of Saturday and Sunday outside. After that experience, I now have a newfound respect for nature and the creatures and plants that somehow manage to survive these drastic swings in temperature. I also acquired a patriotic appearance-a red face, white body and blue toes. I'm sure I'll recover when the weather turns warmer and the fish start biting.

Get more tongue in cheek commentary this week's issue of the Alleghany News!

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