Gilly

Amen to that, boobie. Sooner than later I'm afraid.

Oneshot, we too have been blessed with the fruit of our labors. There is no need to try and justify that to anyone. You will know in your heart when it is time to divest yourself of any or all of your 'holdings'. As we get older it has always been our plan to downsize......and it is difficult to do that when so many great memories are involved. Just last summer we started the thought process of selling our farm which is really the family cabin. The very same evening our five year old granddaughter came over to my wife and I as we sat around the campfire......."oh grandpa, the farm is soooo much fun." Gulp. Ok. Back burner for now.

Peace and comfort to your mom.

Just gotta!!

That'd be a tough driving position....but if the will is there it can be rigged I'm sure! (Probably would look like one of those bug-eyed mad driver models from the 60's)

While you slept? Man, that is scary.

My son got his van broken into, turds stole most of his tools. He called the cops and got a recording...."leave a message, we'll call back" (Omaha, NE.). So while I'm out canvassing the neighborhood he's on Craigslist and found his tools. He calls the cops, again gets the recording. The Craigslist ad had a text contact only, no phone number. My son says "what now Dad?" Text them, see what happens. The guy calls back, gives my son the address, we roll. Just 5 blocks south of my son's home the city/county jurisdiction changes so we knew we were dealing with police who respond when you call. My son and I had a game plan prior to getting to the guys house to see the tools. At no time would we get out of sight of each other. He would signal to me if these were his tools and I would retreat and call the cops. That's how it went down. Turns out the kid's a tweaker and had just gotten out of jail earlier this spring. It was his dad's house that he was living at. This kid actually had stolen my son's stuff but he was also receiving all kinds of stolen items on a regular basis from other thieves and selling it. After calling the cops that evening they rolled 6 cars in within a few minutes, the first showed up as I talked with 911. Because of cross jurisdiction it got kind of confusing....stolen in one county versus found in another. Ultimately my son got back most of his tools and the police dropped off a crap load a few days later that weren't even his. My son told them they weren't his but the cops were in no way going to leave them at the thieves house as that kids dad piled the crap in the side yard and told his son to get the 'f' long gone. Those tools are in a storage unit. Most folks have said they wouldn't have done what we did, "Leave it to the cops to do their job." However, I am a contractor too. I have dealt with stolen tools for 20+ years. Stolen items are a low priority for police to investigate. Heck, there have been times when I've seen our tools in pawnshops, on the shelf WITH our identification on it. Even with a theft report we have to buy them back if we want them. So my patience with that system eroded many years ago. That night when my son saw the tools on Craigslist we knew that at the prices they were advertised at they'd be gone quickly. That torqued us off too. You work hard for your money and these shitbirds have no qualms about selling a worm gear drive saw for 40 bucks. So we rolled. Thankfully it turned out ok.

Done.

Be safe is an understatement......too windy to be on the water on the dam end.

I have to concur on this and add that it applies to quite a few pastimes.......but it is the 'sign of the times', right? Take a kid fishing, shooting, hiking or go bike riding with them!! I spent years as a scoutmaster. It was my policy that no one could bring electronics on campouts. I took the time the other day to visit the old troop at one of their campouts. Good grief.....Ipods and Androids. I didn't hang out very long as the adult leaders seemed to condone it to some extent. "It is what you have to do to keep them engaged....". We all need to be mentors to our children, grandchildren, youth. Take time to say "hey" to the neighbor kids. My grandson and I were standing in the driveway practicing fishing....pitching at Tupperware boxes. Kids from around the corner stopped by, never met them before. They gave it a try. Couple of days later their dad stopped by and wondered what to buy their kids. "Want to meet us at Cabela's?" I was happy to do it and amazed that apparent electronic junkies were so totally clueless. The kids also wanted to buy a small tent and 'camp' in the backyard. Hey, it's a start. We left them at the store as they still had a lot of exploring to do.

My son, daughter and son-in-law were out last night and just headed out again. Some success. I will try to post a picture from my phone. Couple of nice 'eyes

Grandchildren are, well, grand!...... we have four. The oldest, is a monster. Must have been something in the water when he was conceived. He towers above his classmates and peers. Just started baseball last week and they want him to play catcher. The coach told my daughter he needs a nut cup. "He's only a second grader!" my daughter responded. Explain that set up to a second grader. Nice article. I truly appreciate entrepreneurs, Phil.

We fished Tuesday. My grandson had a blast, I froze. Must be the dang meds. No fish but caught a bunch of quality time!

Do you remember water rockets? They weren't very big, maybe 6"tall. You'd put some water in them, attach them to the hand held pump, pump air into it, release the trigger and whoosh....up it'd go! Haven't seen those for a long time either.

Sitting on the crapper and calling geese.......thought I'd seen it all!

No, haven't read his book. His hunting operation is on the Nebraska side of the river. My cabin is downriver from him about six miles and on the Iowa side. Get's frustrating sometimes because the Nebraska season is usually earlier and runs longer than Iowa. I would bet your HoneyCreek spot was 10' underwater when the Corp flooded the area a couple seasons ago.

I live in the Omaha, Ne. area. Lots of birds in the air late this afternoon. Sun came out around two. Could hear them prior to that. Not certain how far they'll push. Probably past Squaw Creek as it looks like they got snow too. But they were flying high/fast. Article in the paper today....One of the guides north of us (he's 94 years old, Ralph Kohler) calls the shot on a group of Canada's. One of those big boys crumpled and dropped right on Ralph. First time in 70+ years of hunting.

Nice cart. Just got done doing a gas engine G16 for my wife. She was having a hard time driving our non-power steering ATV so a brain storm hit me one night between beers......why not a custom golf cart? Lift kit, wheels/tires, back seat, she's been having an absolute riot with it!

Way cool.....I love ingenuity!

As mentioned above the drought has a lot to do with it. The farmers around us have barrened many areas that would typically hold wildlife. I'm not certain what the rules are but a lot of the bales are going on trucks and headed down the highway. Not certain if they're selling it or what.

My grandkids love Scheels! The one here in Omaha has a ferris wheel right in the middle. Each dept. seems to be a little more thorough and better presented as compared to the other stores. It's more of a department store in my opinion. The associates are great for the most part. Around the holidays the help can be a little less knowledgeable.

My cabin is in Iowa, Mondamin specifically. We purposely developed 30+ acres for pheasant. Last years flood put us right at the edge of the high water, a refuge if you will. Once I realized what was happening (the animals had sought shelter in the grasses to an extent I had not dreamed of) I posted the area and did not allow anyone including family, to hunt. I will still let only a very select few on the land. The birds have held pretty tight to our land and were beginning to spread out but with hunting season at hand we're seeing the numbers get stronger. I had a problem with coyotes earlier but things appear to be balanced right now. I love to hunt pheasant but this new found refuge situation is kind of cool too. When several dozen pheasant are standing back by the barn in the evening or back deeper in the grass and cussing the the heck out of each other it's very satisfying to know our plans panned out. I suppose I'd better be careful with these new attitudes I'm experiencing.......I'll end up driving one of those new green machines.

Been there done that, f & f. However, I did listen to my body. One day I just didn't feel right. I had taught recognition signs of heart stress for years but what I experienced that day was none of those but it was starkly different enough to have me say to my wife...."Honey, somethings not right, keep your eyes on me in case I go down." "Uh uh" was her response, "if you think I'm going to save your big azz when you go down you have another thought coming......" and with that it was off to the ER we went. I felt fine when we got there and for several hours thereafter. Blood tests said differently. Apparently when you have an 'event' your body releases extreme levels of enzymes, etc. that are detectable. 98% blockage on the non widow maker side of my heart. A stent later and with the same admonitions/precautions I'm sure that you received it was back to daily life with an awareness of the fallible me. Cool thing was I did not officially have a heart attack so my insurability didn't suffer. My lifestyle has changed somewhat, I read the labels more, exercise more, appreciate life a whole bunch more. So congrats on the good checkup. Live well.

My home base is a bit north of you guys and probably a different flyway. We live in Papillion Ne. but on most weekends we run up to our farm at Mondamin Ia. Adjacent to our farm is state land and next to that is the Missouri River and it's backwaters. I don't shoot ducks or geese anymore, lost the taste for them. I still love to be in the blind and call/hangout. I haven't opened the blind this year due to time constraints but back on the river backwaters..........man-o-man have they been lighting it up! I have never heard this much shooting this early in the season.

Launched at Stockton (RB Road) today. Wow is the lake low. Haven't been back to Stockton since early June. Caught only smalls but a beautiful day it was!