Monday, April 12, 2010
Its tomato time.....
For those that have read this any length of time they know that I like tomatoes, a lot. Since moving to Schooner Creek I have had a running battle with mother nature in growing them. Last year I tried to raise them upside down. The concept was great, they always work on TV. I can honestly say that I did not do so well. Watering was an issue, to much sun was an issue. And squireels were a major factor. My Judy warned me this year that if I put one tomato plant along the main walk, I would need to learn to sleep in the garage. Since I figure that I'm way to old to learn to rest on concrete I decided to builds raised beds for my palnts this year. Wish me luck, read down and see how I did it.
Tomato Time
Pick an area that gets lots of sun. Most gardens like the sun. Measure your placement area then cut your 2x6's accordingly. In my bed because I was using a full 8 foot board I cut a center support to help hold the 8 footers together.
tomato time
It's easy to figure out how much dirt you need, just measure the square footage of the raised bed, then remember that on each bag of dirt there is a scale that tells you how much each bag will cover. In my case, I needed 40 bags of dirt. They weighted 40 pounds each and I had to move them by hand 3 times. Do that math and it will tell you to not let your teenage son get away.
To get square footage just multiply length of the bed by the width. If you are using inches remember to covert it back to feet. If that creates a mind warp, find a fifth grader and get your answers.
To get square footage just multiply length of the bed by the width. If you are using inches remember to covert it back to feet. If that creates a mind warp, find a fifth grader and get your answers.Tomato Time
The finished product looks something ike this, or exactly like this. I can only hope that the pursuit of the tomatoe is a lot more successful than last years run.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
From the Journal of Zeke McNamara #7
Or a wet rat, it was a toss up. She crept into the cave and stopped just out of the drip from the opening.
"Well, can you talk" Zeke asked
She just stood there looking around as if she was making sure there was no one else in the cave, Zeke put away his revolver and stirred the fire. He pulled the coffee pot a little closer to the fire to let it warm a little. She just stood there, she was wearing an old wide brimmed beaver hat with a squared off crown. It had a piece of the brim tore off the front right where she could duck her head and by moving her eyes still see. Her hair was red, not the brassy kind, the almost brown kind and it looked like a bird had been living in it below the crown of the hat. She was a little over five feet tall, she wore a red flannel shirt with bib overalls and miners boots that were three sizes to big. She was dirty, her face was smudged with black and her fingernails were caked with dirt. She was carrying an old cap and ball rifle like Yankees used in the beginning of the war.
"You hungry?" Zeke asked. Again trying to get her to say something. She stood at the cave entrance, watching every move Zeke made. Her eyes darted over her shoulder and she seemed to buzz with energy. Just at the minute lightning flashed and thunder rolled overhead. She jumped inside the cave and immediately crouched and pointed the old rifle out into the darkness. Zeke chuckled and said " Might jumpy are you?" She turned on him, her face strained in anger. her first words were, " You stay out yonder in a nuff o'these storms your chances of getting hit by lightning gets greater and greater. You'd be jumpy to if'n you ever seen a body after lightning hits it. My pa had an old sway back mare that he left tied to a plow, lighting hit that ole mare and took every bit of the hair off'n her. She was as pink as a newborns bottom, dead too." Zeke laughed out loud and ask again if she was hungry. She looked off into the night and said " I can eat if'n you got extry."
Zeke put the fry pan back on the fire, cut off several pieces of bacon into the pan. He reached over and poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She put her old rifle down, leaving it close, and sipped on the coffee. She made a face and swallowed. Zeke smiled again and reached into his pack and tossed her a sack of sugar. She added a heaping hand full to the cup and sat back to drink it.
"You got a name?" Zeke asked?
" My daddy called me Jude most of the time, my momma called me Judy Carol till she died. Snake bit her down in Arkansas, Daddy said it was the biggest cottonmouth moccasin he'd ever kilt, Momma lived two, three days. She told me to watch out for snakes, that was the last thing she said to me."
"Good advise," Zeke commented.
The rain outside increased in volume and the entrance was now behind a thin wall of water, most of it ran off towards the river. One small rivulet came in towards where Judy Carol had sat down, she got up and moved toward Zeke. Lightning flash and thundered rolled then echoed. Each time Zeke noticed that Judy flinched when it flashed. Zeke handed her the fry pan and she took the bacon out. He reached back into his pack again to produce a sack of left over biscuits from breakfast. She placed the bacon in the biscuits . Zeke noticed that she ate with the style folks do that have not had much to eat in a while, slowly enjoying every bite. When she finished the bacon she sopped up the grease with a biscuit and ate that too. Zeke let her eat with out much conversation. When she was finished Zeke asked " You live around here?"
" I live where I want" she answered" got me a good gun and I know how to eat off the land. Momma taught me a lot about what plants you could eat and what ones you could use for medicine. I get by, Pa is gonna find them diamonds then we will move out to California and eat high off'n the hog"
"So your here treasure hunting?" Zeke inquired.
"Never thought of it as that, I reckon we are, Pa he took off last week to get more supplies, he favors his coffee."
"Where did he go?"
Said he was going to Galena, I figure he went down towards Blue-eye, cause the trader down there will take pelts for supplies, fella up in Galena he prefers cash or gold. We ain't got any of that."
Zeke thought back, there had been a stranger reported to have been seen around the trading post. About that time Zeke began to notice a foul smell filling the air. He looked around for its source. It did not take him long to figure out it was the young lady. As she dried out it was easy to tell it had been some time since she had had a bath. The odor was as nauseous as a skunk he sniffed and scrunched his nose. The motion was not lost on Judy Carol.
" Alright Mister, I know your sniffing me and I'm fixin to leave, been a while since I had me a creek bath with soap. Thanks for the meal, I'll be leaving. She got up and took her rifle and started toward the entrance. She took two steps and the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. She ducked her head and stepped out into the rain.
"Well, can you talk" Zeke asked
She just stood there looking around as if she was making sure there was no one else in the cave, Zeke put away his revolver and stirred the fire. He pulled the coffee pot a little closer to the fire to let it warm a little. She just stood there, she was wearing an old wide brimmed beaver hat with a squared off crown. It had a piece of the brim tore off the front right where she could duck her head and by moving her eyes still see. Her hair was red, not the brassy kind, the almost brown kind and it looked like a bird had been living in it below the crown of the hat. She was a little over five feet tall, she wore a red flannel shirt with bib overalls and miners boots that were three sizes to big. She was dirty, her face was smudged with black and her fingernails were caked with dirt. She was carrying an old cap and ball rifle like Yankees used in the beginning of the war.
"You hungry?" Zeke asked. Again trying to get her to say something. She stood at the cave entrance, watching every move Zeke made. Her eyes darted over her shoulder and she seemed to buzz with energy. Just at the minute lightning flashed and thunder rolled overhead. She jumped inside the cave and immediately crouched and pointed the old rifle out into the darkness. Zeke chuckled and said " Might jumpy are you?" She turned on him, her face strained in anger. her first words were, " You stay out yonder in a nuff o'these storms your chances of getting hit by lightning gets greater and greater. You'd be jumpy to if'n you ever seen a body after lightning hits it. My pa had an old sway back mare that he left tied to a plow, lighting hit that ole mare and took every bit of the hair off'n her. She was as pink as a newborns bottom, dead too." Zeke laughed out loud and ask again if she was hungry. She looked off into the night and said " I can eat if'n you got extry."
Zeke put the fry pan back on the fire, cut off several pieces of bacon into the pan. He reached over and poured a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She put her old rifle down, leaving it close, and sipped on the coffee. She made a face and swallowed. Zeke smiled again and reached into his pack and tossed her a sack of sugar. She added a heaping hand full to the cup and sat back to drink it.
"You got a name?" Zeke asked?
" My daddy called me Jude most of the time, my momma called me Judy Carol till she died. Snake bit her down in Arkansas, Daddy said it was the biggest cottonmouth moccasin he'd ever kilt, Momma lived two, three days. She told me to watch out for snakes, that was the last thing she said to me."
"Good advise," Zeke commented.
The rain outside increased in volume and the entrance was now behind a thin wall of water, most of it ran off towards the river. One small rivulet came in towards where Judy Carol had sat down, she got up and moved toward Zeke. Lightning flash and thundered rolled then echoed. Each time Zeke noticed that Judy flinched when it flashed. Zeke handed her the fry pan and she took the bacon out. He reached back into his pack again to produce a sack of left over biscuits from breakfast. She placed the bacon in the biscuits . Zeke noticed that she ate with the style folks do that have not had much to eat in a while, slowly enjoying every bite. When she finished the bacon she sopped up the grease with a biscuit and ate that too. Zeke let her eat with out much conversation. When she was finished Zeke asked " You live around here?"
" I live where I want" she answered" got me a good gun and I know how to eat off the land. Momma taught me a lot about what plants you could eat and what ones you could use for medicine. I get by, Pa is gonna find them diamonds then we will move out to California and eat high off'n the hog"
"So your here treasure hunting?" Zeke inquired.
"Never thought of it as that, I reckon we are, Pa he took off last week to get more supplies, he favors his coffee."
"Where did he go?"
Said he was going to Galena, I figure he went down towards Blue-eye, cause the trader down there will take pelts for supplies, fella up in Galena he prefers cash or gold. We ain't got any of that."
Zeke thought back, there had been a stranger reported to have been seen around the trading post. About that time Zeke began to notice a foul smell filling the air. He looked around for its source. It did not take him long to figure out it was the young lady. As she dried out it was easy to tell it had been some time since she had had a bath. The odor was as nauseous as a skunk he sniffed and scrunched his nose. The motion was not lost on Judy Carol.
" Alright Mister, I know your sniffing me and I'm fixin to leave, been a while since I had me a creek bath with soap. Thanks for the meal, I'll be leaving. She got up and took her rifle and started toward the entrance. She took two steps and the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. She ducked her head and stepped out into the rain.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Schooner Creek under the rainbow
The winter of 2009-2010 has been one of the coldest on record here in south west Missouri. The temperature hit -11 one morning in early January and other than a one day breather we had no January thaw. Its the end of March and the temperature is still having a hard time getting above 60. The James River arm of Tablerock froze over above the White River arm at point 9. Not so hard as you can walk on it, it did support snow and folks up that way said it had not happened since 1963 or 4.
I for one am very glad that by the end of this week the temp's are suppose to be in the low 70's. The grass is turning green and them bushes people put in their front yards are turning yellow. All we need now is to see the Red Buds pop and right behind them come the wild cherry and plum trees then the Bradford pears and the Dogwoods. Hot dog.....when the oak leaves get to the size of squirrels ears and the dogwoods bloom, the crappie are jumping in the boat.
The rainbow in the picture hits the dock where my boat is sitting. I took that as a good sign, The water there is too deep to dive for the gold so I hope the luck fills my live well for safe keeping.
I had a lot of folks ask me today about my blog novel, From the Journal of Deputy Issac McNamara. I'm working on that to be my Thursday entry. So thanks again for following. Keep in touch and let me know what you like and dislike.....
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Off to a GREAT start
I'm passionate about my fishing, like some folks are mad about cars, golf, basketball, baseball and football. I love to go fishing. The way I look at it, I work hard 40 hours a week, pay my bills, stay out of trouble ( most of the time) and if I have a weakness ,it is fishing. Now Bass fishing is my favorite, the hours I spend just casting for the species more than pays for the price of the lures. When I catch one like the one on the right then all the money is worth it. When I'm out on the water my blood pressure drops, the idiots I have to deal with are forgotten, and everything is at peace in my world. I had a person explain to me one time that if I added the cost of the boat, license and all the tackle then every fish I catch is like $10.00 a pound. I got news for that person, I seen a new bass boat on a show room floor this past week and sticker price on it was over $41.000.00 That means that the fish I catch is like $200.00 a pound. Thank the good Lord I don't need a boat.
I walked through the lure department of my local Bass Pro Shop and readers, if I told you there were lures there that cost as much as $25.00 would you believe me? I remember when I thought spending a $1.50 on one was outrageous. Not only that but they have videos playing at the end of every isle telling you if you only buy this $25.00 piece of painted plastic you are going to catch these monster fish and be famous. I guess my age and experience saves me because much like a gambler can not help from dropping a quarter in a slot machine I have a hard time resisting the urge to grab up four or five of them high dollar lures just so I can try them in case they might catch a fish. Heavy emphasis in the word might.
I started fishing next to my dad on farm ponds and creeks near my grandparents homes in Texas County, Missouri. We used worms we dug up ourselves or grass hoppers we had to catch. We spent hours catching bluegill, small bass, and a red eyed fish called a goggle-eye. As I grew up, Dad took us to Minnesota for Pike and walleye, and later yet Lake of the Ozarks for Crappie fishing. Most of all we used natural baits we caught or trapped ourselves and caught a lot of fish.
Then when I was 18 a friend, named Don Kramer, made me into a monster. We were fishing a small creek called the Courtious (Coat-a-way) when he tied on a blue wooden bait with a couple of treble hooks hanging off it and cast it into a eddy. The thing floated there a few minutes, Don took up the slack, and the water exploded right before my eyes. A few minutes later Don lipped one of the biggest bass I had ever seen up to that point in my life. I was hooked, deep. Why if I could catch fish like that with out digging up worms, or crawling around in a chigger infested hay field catching grasshoppers, or waiting while a minnow trap does its job, then I was signing up. I did and several years later, and a whole lot of money spent, I'm still at it. I go just as often as I can and stay just as long as possible.
The first fish of the season was caught on a painted piece of plastic I paid a lot of money for....Ain't life good!
I walked through the lure department of my local Bass Pro Shop and readers, if I told you there were lures there that cost as much as $25.00 would you believe me? I remember when I thought spending a $1.50 on one was outrageous. Not only that but they have videos playing at the end of every isle telling you if you only buy this $25.00 piece of painted plastic you are going to catch these monster fish and be famous. I guess my age and experience saves me because much like a gambler can not help from dropping a quarter in a slot machine I have a hard time resisting the urge to grab up four or five of them high dollar lures just so I can try them in case they might catch a fish. Heavy emphasis in the word might.
I started fishing next to my dad on farm ponds and creeks near my grandparents homes in Texas County, Missouri. We used worms we dug up ourselves or grass hoppers we had to catch. We spent hours catching bluegill, small bass, and a red eyed fish called a goggle-eye. As I grew up, Dad took us to Minnesota for Pike and walleye, and later yet Lake of the Ozarks for Crappie fishing. Most of all we used natural baits we caught or trapped ourselves and caught a lot of fish.
Then when I was 18 a friend, named Don Kramer, made me into a monster. We were fishing a small creek called the Courtious (Coat-a-way) when he tied on a blue wooden bait with a couple of treble hooks hanging off it and cast it into a eddy. The thing floated there a few minutes, Don took up the slack, and the water exploded right before my eyes. A few minutes later Don lipped one of the biggest bass I had ever seen up to that point in my life. I was hooked, deep. Why if I could catch fish like that with out digging up worms, or crawling around in a chigger infested hay field catching grasshoppers, or waiting while a minnow trap does its job, then I was signing up. I did and several years later, and a whole lot of money spent, I'm still at it. I go just as often as I can and stay just as long as possible.
The first fish of the season was caught on a painted piece of plastic I paid a lot of money for....Ain't life good!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Did you think I Expired?
Folks and readers that may or may not be following me I have returned. Its been a long cold winter here on Schooner Creek. There has been a lot of water under the bridge since my last entry. Let it be said that things are almost back to normal. I can almost see out of my eye,my daughters health is good right now, my computers health needs to be worried over. I made the mistake of installing a Norton anti-virus program that slowed my computer down so much it lost a race with poured molasses.
The weather is improving here in southwest Missouri, it is finally warming up a little. Tablerock Lake, here at Schooner Creek, has a surface temperature at 47 degrees prior to the heavy rains we have received since Monday. The rain was warm and hopefully has had a positive impact. Three days of fishing produced one fish, to small to keep. My grandson Joe has not let me forget about it yet, prior to the rain. Joe and I made the 45 minute run down to Cricket Creek in search of Crappie. The water there was stained getting on to muddy. Temperature was 49-51 degrees and the crappie had lock jaw. My friend Doug and I have worked our favorite places around the Kimberling City area with nothing to report. We are going out again this afternoon to try again.
The Lake level dropped below 915 for the first time in almost a year. Due to the rains it is back up there again around 917. I was told that to find stained water now you have to get up the James River arm above point 10. Last week the White Bass was making themselves popular up above Cape Fair, and for what it is worth fisher folk on Bull Shoals at Forsyth were have a lot of fun catching them off the banks near Shadow Rock Park.
Crappie are still spotty, they are still a few warm days from getting really active. My guess the water is still to cold. The coming week has several days of 70's and nights in the 50's. That will bring up the temp pretty fast.
My thanks to everyone that takes the time to read my entries. I have missed being able to put my thoughts down. Hopefully I'm back at it again and who knows, writing this blog will do more for me than the health plan.
The weather is improving here in southwest Missouri, it is finally warming up a little. Tablerock Lake, here at Schooner Creek, has a surface temperature at 47 degrees prior to the heavy rains we have received since Monday. The rain was warm and hopefully has had a positive impact. Three days of fishing produced one fish, to small to keep. My grandson Joe has not let me forget about it yet, prior to the rain. Joe and I made the 45 minute run down to Cricket Creek in search of Crappie. The water there was stained getting on to muddy. Temperature was 49-51 degrees and the crappie had lock jaw. My friend Doug and I have worked our favorite places around the Kimberling City area with nothing to report. We are going out again this afternoon to try again.
The Lake level dropped below 915 for the first time in almost a year. Due to the rains it is back up there again around 917. I was told that to find stained water now you have to get up the James River arm above point 10. Last week the White Bass was making themselves popular up above Cape Fair, and for what it is worth fisher folk on Bull Shoals at Forsyth were have a lot of fun catching them off the banks near Shadow Rock Park.
Crappie are still spotty, they are still a few warm days from getting really active. My guess the water is still to cold. The coming week has several days of 70's and nights in the 50's. That will bring up the temp pretty fast.
My thanks to everyone that takes the time to read my entries. I have missed being able to put my thoughts down. Hopefully I'm back at it again and who knows, writing this blog will do more for me than the health plan.
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