jdmidwest

Back in College, I managed an open pit BBQ joint. I BBQ'd a bunch of wild game for a benefit feast. Coon was pretty good, greasy. Grandpa used to feast on groundhogs. Since they are only eat veggies, they taste pretty good. Squirrels like deer, eating nuts can taint their flavor.

My method is a little tricky, but less cutting and handling. Cut thru the tail at the base from the vent side leaving skin on top of tail. Stick a sharp pointed blade down the back a ways on each side of tail. Grab squirrel by back legs and stick partially detached tail under boot and pull the hide off to the front legs and head. Grasp the pants and skin out the back legs to ankles. I then have a post with 2 nails driven into it about 3" apart. Hang the squirrel by the pants and gut, clean, remove head and skin, trim. Then cut the back ankles off. Grandpa used to make one incision in the middle of the back, insert fingers and pull the skin off to the front and back. Gonna have to get a PCP. Been looking at one that just came out that has built in pump handle.

They have a pro rated. 4 year warranty. I think. Aquaseal works good or the repair kit they put in the box is your best bet at that age.

Nice buck.

Bullwinkles down by HWY 60 is not too bad. We stayed down there in the spring for a memorial service of a friend. Clean and reasonable priced. Not far from dam.

Find the biggest bunch of meth heads and camp in the middle of them. Still curious about the treatment, what kind of cancer are you suffering from?

It turned out to be a one fish weekend. After a breakfast at Billy Gails, I managed to tweak out another hour of fishing below the dam in Taney. I walked in at the upper outlet and fish were rising to little dog pecker gnats hatching off. I flailed the water for a while with some micro dries but could not get a fish. Polarized glasses were still in truck and the glare was killing me. The dark bottom of the tailwater rock did not have any contrast to see fish. I went back to the truck, doing a little dance on a rootwad and about biting the dust. Fished down to the other outlet switching off to soft hackles and finally a midge nymph. Tripped over a few fish walking out and almost bit the dust again. They do like to eat what the waders kick up. Back on the road, big Bass Pro in Springfield. Last time I was there was 1998. It has gotten a little bigger. Took the 40 year tour upstairs. Picked up the fishing needs I wanted. Then I found the NRA museum. That morphed into the Archery Museum. I did a flash tour of it, wifey was getting tired of walking. Every nook and cranny led to something else. We finally found the old store over by the camping section. I recognized the cold water fish tank and the underground shooting range. Need to go back and spend a day there. Forgot to mention US Guns. Great gunshop. I got to visit with those folks on Sat after lunch. Nice shop, friendly folks, great assortment of all kinds of firearms. I like the way they arrange handguns by caliber and long guns by type. Killed an hour there. Found stuff I had not seen in a long time. I could retire in this area and have enough to do for the rest of my life. So many things to see and do.

Driving across 60 by Cabool yesterday, my backup display came on suddenly. There was nothing behind me. I looked up in the mirror and the boat was still there. Then the image disappeared. The head unit connects wirelessly to the remote camera, it picked up some bodies other camera.

I second the Monty Python also. Neat!

Blazing Saddles, that's our Classic Movie. Wrench sitting around the campfire eating beans.

We toured the town this morning. Went by and meet Phil for the first time and visited with him for a few minutes. I stopped by last trip in 07, but he was out. Nice place. Took his advice and ate Dannas BBQ for lunch, good eats. Picked up some fossils at the Fossil Store for the grandkid. Launched at Indian Point MDC ramp and fished both sides of the point. Tubes, crankbaits, and suspending all failed to bring any action. Caught 1 KY bass. Nice day for a boat ride. Gonna Wade for trout in morn and head back.

Pickwick fell thru this weekend due to weather. I decided to follow thru with an old plan I have been wanting to do for three years but was interrupted by the cancer. Loaded up boat and wife and drove over yesterday. Got checked in at 5 and run down to Bass Pro. Found a whole new world of shops along the river and we piddled away the rest of the evening down there. Stopped at Mcadoodles and picked up a 6 of Cobra Chaser ale then went back to room. Heading out for round 2.

Nice boat. But Airborne and Ranger, does that mean you can take a Forrest Wood into the air on a wake? Just funning. Looks like you are ready for battle.

Sitting here watching the original Dracula from 1931 with Bella Lugosi. Almost all of the actors were dead before I was born. The movie has been restored and digitized for HD, its full screen on my larger TV. I saw the wires on the bat. But the camera did a pretty good job of capturing it. 80 some years in the future, the primitive equipment did a pretty good job of capturing the images. This was filmed before WWII. Makes me wonder, how will our generation be immortalized?

What makes the Etec better? Seems pretty simple to me, that is what you would do to any outboard. You don't have to change oil in a two stroke would make it cheaper.

They make nice pets.

I have for many years gotten his catalogs and weekly emails. I have a few in my collection and watch for them on Ebay. Like many, most are made overseas any more and just have his name on them. But the US made ones are the best. I have always wanted a trip to his Retail Shop. I have been to Smokey Mountain Knife Works, its one big knife show. I usually come home with a few from every gun show and buy several on Ebay. My knife and multitool collection is getting pretty large.

MODOT a few years back got their budget in a pinch and closed down alot of smaller locations. Gas prices skyrocketed to $4 bucks a gallon and people started using less of it. They get paid by the gallon, not a percentage of the sale. They cried and cried and let our roads suffer. But they bought big LED signs with stupid little messages on them. They put up mile markers every 2 tenths of a mile. They put up the catch fences that keep you from crossing the median when you realize you made a wrong turn. They spent alot of money on crap and our roads suffered. They have been adding on and rebuilding their buildings at the Maint. areas. New weigh stations. Spending money on more crap, but the roads still suffer. Ya, vote them in some more money to waste it on crap. I bet our roads will still suffer.

That is why they call it a suspension bridge. Just what the engineers had intended.

New one too me. Makes an Emerald Ash borer look pretty lame.

Just perfect. Was it the smoke from that 2 Stroke that stirred them up? 🙄

Read a study the other day about all of the "conservationists" that relocate poisonous snakes they find near humans. The study showed that the males traveled away from the drop site and many returned to the original location. Females tended to stay were they were dropped for some reason. Both had a higher mortality possibly due to strange surroundings. Turns out it is not really a good practice.

I don't like summers. Too hot, too many bugs, and fishing is just ok. Days are so long and too many things to do around the house. Lawn and garden, home maint., bees, and other things. Fishing spots are all crowded with tourist and boat riders. The only good things about summer is extra time to get things done so I don't have to do them during the good seasons. And bikini's, I do enjoy most of them. Fall is here and the start of my favorite seasons that run all the way thru the spring. Got a taste of it a few weeks back at Lake of the Ozarks. Last weekend it was a trip to TN again and the fish were turning on. We fished a smaller stream for a few hours and I caught 3 bass and a chub. But one smallie did weigh 3 lbs 9 oz and only 18" long. Great fight on a light action spin rod with a Super Rooster Tail. Fished the rest of the day on the Tennessee River and fish were starting to gorge on the threadfins. There were spurts where bass of several types were busting the shad schools and we both had doubles many times. I caught my first TN Striper in one ball but could not raise another. He was only about 12". I have caught many white bass there, but this was the first true striper. It is shaping up to be a good season.

. Turtles too