Magnet Fishing Friday!

 Right now I am keeping to my promise to reward our son with magnet fishing when his remote learning is complete for the week (including passing all quizzes and exams during the curriculum.)  Magnet fishing is done by throwing a rope with a small (2.5" to 3.5" diameter) magnet on a about a 30-40 foot rope into the water.  The magnets are quite powerful.  The one I use is rated for 888 pounds!  I doubt if I could pull 888 pounds out of the water or at all, but if we find something I can pull, it definitely catches hold of it.

The Ohio weather yesterday and today was 72-75 degrees!  It was a beautiful fall day.  Glad we got all of our work done so that we could take advantage of these gorgeous days!

When we arrived at Deer Creek Reservoir yesterday we had the place to ourselves!  What fun! 

We "fish" for metal things like lures and hooks and such...and he LOVES to find anything metal!  Rebar, a sign, a prop, fishing rods and reels, flashlights are quite popular and so are tools.

I love the fact that our son Googles different places to go.  He actually does the work.  Sometimes he picks boat docks in different states, but then we fix it and pick one nearby.  I let him program it into the GPS on my phone.  Often times we pick one with a bike path and take our bikes.  I love it when I can get him to ride his bike the distance that we are going and then magnet fish on the way back to the truck.  We end up getting over an hour or two of exercise and don't even notice it!

Our magnet/rope combo runs $25 to $40 depending on the size.  It was a nice day.  The water was very clear.  I knew the bottom here was more rocky vs. mucky.  My magnet got stuck and I decided to go in after it.  After all, I had a change of clothes and a place to change nearby.  I had to go in chest deep.  My magnet was wedged between pieces of broken-up concrete with conduit attached.  I was not able to retrieve it.  This is the first magnet we lost since we got them in March.  That's not that bad.  

Besides the initial cost of our magnets and the gas it takes us to get from place to place, it's a very reasonable hobby.  We are able to be socially distant from others.  The memories we make and the time we are spending together as mother/son AND as a family are priceless.

The above photo was magnet fishing today at Petros Park.  It is another one of our Stark Parks.  It is next to The Timken Company where steel is made.  You can see large dump trucks and equipment being run as a bonus.  There was only one other person fishing this large lake besides us.  He even "gave" us his good spot after he left.  We found a few fun lures and jigs and a spinner where he told us to fish (in the spot below).

Owen couldn't wait to get home to show his dad all the cool stuff we found today.  We're getting smarter and keep our small finds in a peanut jar inside our bucket with our magnets.  The magnets do not stick to our finds every time we pick up and move from place to place.

We finished the day with an awesome visit from Aunt Jo.  It's always fun around Aunt Jo.  Everyone should be so lucky to have a special aunt like her.  I was lucky that I did when I was a kid.  She's our biggest cheerleader and supports whatever we do with a smile.  We are so blessed!

Twins!  Similar hair, glasses, and the both wore their Shearer shirts without knowing.  LOVE!

After seeing Vicki's post at Vicki's Crafts & Quilting, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with a charm pack that has been sitting in my desk drawer near my sewing area for a couple of years now.

She directed us to the Building Blocks Baby Quilt on the Moda site.  This is a FREE pattern designed by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs!  It uses one charm pack and a little yardage.