jdmidwest

Fished Montauk over the weekend, it was about 6" hi and flushed. Stopped at Meramac on way thru and it was still high. Spring branch was cloudy. Lane Spring should be about right. Others around Fort Wood should be ok too.

I would not miss a copperhead either, but you should really know what you are killing. Same reason swans die during snow goose season. Funny part is that it was on a local news station, pic showing the dead snake someone killed.

Those boats are hard to sink.

Just a bunch of short San Juan worms. Maggots are what forms when you buddy's daughter leaves a dozen eggs an other trash in can inside lake house several weeks before we show up. I brought a Venus Fly Trap for weekend. It fed well!

Seems like the City of Scott City needs Snake I'd lessons, they posted a dead water snake, not copperhead. City of Scott City warns snakes are out. That being said, trip to the Ozarks today brought them out today too. Green snakes across the road in several places between Enough access road and Boss. Montauk was crawling with ring neck snakes. No mushrooms and small trout. Beeutaful day.

Insurance costs money. And insurance companies are in it to make money. I am sure the risk guys see what is going on and rates will rise costing the farmers more money. Either way, farmers are at a loss. Tax payer dollars spent on flood control and its not happening.

They say bumble bees make honey out of the pollen they collect. They have underground hives that are not as complex only containing several hundred bees max. They don't store as much food as usually only the queen winters. Honeybees have many hundred of thousand bees and winter above ground in great numbers. They rely on the stored honey to survive the winter as a group and keep brood raising all winter.

It may be the color of your box. They see red as black. And black irritates them. I made the mistake of wearing some black latex gloves one time. They swarmed them like mad. What colors do bees see I use plastic in my coated with wax. They will draw it in the spring and when they are building on a young queen. You can always melt some beeswax and brush some more on to get them to work it. Your queens may be getting older, most keepers requeen every 2 years or so. I would make some splits this spring and they will make a new queen if you do a walk away split. I usually take a frame of eggs and brood, a frame of capped brood, and a frame of honey out of a good hive and move it away. Fliers will return to original hive, nurse bees will stay to tend the brood. Feed them well and check them in 3 weeks. If you have new brood, they have made a queen and all is well. If not, add another frame of brood and eggs and give them another 3 weeks. Or buy a queen and put her in the split when you make them. They will release her and the cycle will start much faster.

Doing research, the Arkansas Black seemed to be the most resistant to disease and keeps in storage best. Can't say that I have ever saw one in a store. University of MO Ext site has some good info on fruit trees.

Spring has sprung, and bee season is here. Not much to do to them from November till March. Started last season with three hives at the farm. I bought 2 hives for the house to start the season at 5 hives. I split the hives early at the farm and brought 3 back. They prospered thru the summer and around July, I made 2 splits at the house to make a total of 10 hives going into the winter. Christmas day was abnormally warm this year and the bees were flying. One of the late splits were not flying. Opened them up and all were dead, quick frozen in time. They had the brood on one side of the hive and the honey on the other. A cold spell made them cluster on the brood and they starved out. Instinct will keep them on the young to keep them warm, they all died together. I broke that hive down today and cleaned it out. Entrance reducers came off today. Bees were pretty pissy, it clouded up here this afternoon and they don't like that. They know that weather is coming in and they are going to have to sit inside until it passed. But no stings, just bumps and buzzes. Put together some frames and went thru my backup boxes. Did an inventory on equipment to see what I may have to order and make this spring. Right now, I am ahead and ready for spring buildup when the flowers start blooming. Right now, all they have is maples to feed on. But danderlions will be popping soon with a few more warm sunny days. I am going in with 9 good hives. The 3 farm hives will get split up this season. They have been there for 3 years or more now without a new queen and have old comb. I will probably tear them all down and make several starter hives out of them, forcing them to make new queens. Going to be a fun year.

Ended up with 2 Arkansas Black Apples, a Granny Smith Apple, and a Bartlett Pear. Worked with the bees all afternoon getting ready for spring.

Local grocery store has fruit trees for 19.99 each. Good looking 4-5' trees. I plan on taking a few apple and pears out to the farm tomorrow and building my retirement orchard. Doing a little research on what they have an whether they self pollinate. May have to buy doubles.

I would say several thousand in repairs!

Finally cleared off a raised bed this afternoon after work and dug the strawberry plants out of it. The plants I had in the cells of the cement blocks last year put runners into the bed. They produced a 5 gallon bucket of young plants with great roots. Going to have to start another strawberry bed. Tilled the soil and planted lettuce, spinach, and snow peas. Covered back up with plastic. Plants I had started a month ago in the peat pots have lone since withered and died. I never have much luck with starting indoors months ahead of planting time. They do work good to sprout stuff in to start out before planting. Mushrooms around the corner, just a few weeks off.

Its all the hot air they blow that is causing the global warming. Nothing organic has ever came out of any of it. Nature has a way of taking care of itself.

How did your lawn look after that one??

I keep my boat on solid gravel, seems to work pretty good. Might have to dig it out of a creek. That Creek gravel works wonders.

Ya all missed the major point of this post. Imagine what kind of smallmouth fishery the White River System would be now if the dams had never took place. The Invasive Trout are nice, but, just imagine what that river would have been like over 100 years ago before the dams. Thats a beautiful smallmouth, nicely colored. Unlike the dark ones that I am getting used to in TN.

I have a great surgeon and cancer doc, he has been the best over the last three years. And all of the support from family and friends. 2 years without any new sign of return is the first milestone to becoming a cancer survivor. My cousin was released as a survivor this week also. 2 major successes from the same group at Washington University/Siteman group.

2 Year Checkup Today. All seems to be going well. Doc kicked me out to six month cycles and things are looking good. Celebrating the birthday of my grandson that was born the day I found the second lump this Sat. Life is good.

They may have some value, depending on condition. But since they are guns from your parents, I would think the sentimental value would be more. Do you have children or someone you mentor that would enjoy them? I would not walk into Cabelas or any big box with a gun for sale. Maybe a local dealer would be my first choice to sell to if I needed the money for them. Or offer them to friends. Gunbroker is a great place to see what a gun may be worth. Get on their website and search for others like the ones you have to see selling price. A dealer will not give that, he will have to get that price and make money on the deal. Browning 22 if made in Belgium or the US will be easy to sell. Old doubles are all across the board on pricing and may be a gem, depending on condition. I became the trustee for my Father in law yesterday of 7 firearms to keep safe for his great grandsons that are now 10 and 2. My family tends to keep many guns and pass down to next generations. None of his were of any great value, but well taken care of and will be cherished by family for years to come. They all have a story that goes with them and were hunted with by him and one by his dad. Its part of the Sporting Tradition I have been taught thru the years. I have guns, decoys, fly rods, knives, and many other things from my Grandfathers and Uncles. Every time I use them brings back memories of them.

Major flooding on the TN rivers system that I like to fish. Water levels have been high all fall from the goofy system that has been dumping there since the hurricanes this summer. Pickwick dam is about smooth over into the tailwaters now. I see the top of the locks on some of these shots. Our lower ramps and parking lots are under water now. Blowout below the dam Pic

I wish MDC would control feral animals.

But the mud motors put out 3 times more noise with lower power at prop from what I see.

Its a rural gathering of homes. I still have room to sling a dead cat. The way the deputies explain it around here, its inhumane to let an animal out of your control as a pet. Has nothing to do with a leash law. A pet is something you nurture and care for constantly. To let it roam free is just neglect. And a fine. And, Missouri is a Stand Your Ground, Castle Doctrine state. Any threat can be dealt with lethally. A person has the right to protect themselves and family from a biting dog. Its owner does not have to be warned.