jdmidwest

I think a quick blanch to stop cell growth should not affect it. But it does not take long to cook the stuff. Maybe you blanched it too long.

I think you can just blanch it and freeze it. It should retain its texture.

Most are kinda yellow with a touch of grey. All were in decent shape. Many were about the size of my fist. They were growing in pairs for the most part under sycamores with a few poplars mixed in. All were in an area about 75 feet long and 20 feet wide. I rounded a tree and noticed a stubby black tailed slim thing with no shoulders. Stepped back and took it all in, just a blue racer. There was about 55 of them, same place as the past several years. I asked my doctor if there was a cure for foundering on them and he said to bring some to Reelfoot next weekend for him to test. Other than this, I have found over a dozen in the yard at the farm last weekend. All little grays about the size of my thumb. I really have not hunted much this year. We did get an inch of rain last night and most were very fresh. I think the little devils popped up today. Battered the bulk of them and they are in the freezer cooling down. Rest are in my belly.

How is the mushroom kit coming along? Picking any yet?

Here is a link I found that accomplishes the same thing, except the one I remember used water instead of the foam block to eliminate any air gaps. http://inside hull transducer mount for kayaks Other options, I like the scupper hole idea, most sit on tops have them. http://www.fishfindersource.com/4-ways-to-mount-a-transducer-in-a-kayak/

Did not get the snow. Good rain settled everything nicely. Covered up strawberries, lettuce and peas, and squash for the frost tonight.

I bought a cheap Eagle portable a few years back and it works good enough for structure, depth, temps, and fish arches. Runs on 8AA batteries and has a suction cup mount. Just wet the cup and stick it to the side of the boat at the waters edge. Every thing comes back off. Don't have to mess with a heavy lead battery. And I used it on my jon boat or as a secondary on the bass boat. With rechargable batteries I usually made a few trips before recharging. If the batteries died, I would pop in regular batteries to finish out the trip. I have seen on several yak sites where they just place the puck in a well of water inside the hull and shoot thru it. Most make a little open box inside the hull with metal and silicone, filled it with water, and placed the puck into it.

I was too busy last night preparing my offering for the other 47 percent to post my paltry offering. I did manage to get out yesterday and look around at 2 of my spots. Stepped out of the runner and it was 44 degrees and sleeting. Geared up with the muck boots, goretex pants, waterproof fleece, and gortex boonie and trudged out into the wild. Looked for about an hour and a half and come up with one waterlogged, windburnt one. At least I am finally on the board for the season. Really wanted to get out this weekend, but with youth season, mornings were out of the question. By evening after working in the garden, on the duck boat trailer, bees, and yard, I was too pooped to stomp the woods.

I have been looking for a hot model all my life. I like them in the warmer weather, they tend to wear less clothes.

Now it looks like the NSA was using the flaw to capture data on the public. Just another piece of spyware on the general public. http://www.wired.com/2014/04/nsa-exploited-heartbleed-two-years/

Tilled the garden on Thurs. Put together the raised beds and dug them in. I bought 30 bags of Humus/Manure from Wally World and filled them up. I dug up my horseradish and moved it into a small raised bed, saved the extra roots to start a bed at the farm. Started digging up some strawberry plants that had over run in a part ot the garden, ended up with over 70 new plants. They made a nice big bed. The garden was too wet to really be tilled, but I broke it anyway. Surely all the rains of the next few days will break up all the clumps. I held off planting anything, but have it all planned as to where it will go. I came in tonight after using parts of the body that have been relaxed since duck season pretty sore. Checked the net, chance of snow on Monday night. Then a good frosting on Tuesday night. Good thing I did not plant anything. Gonna have to cover the other stuff up to keep it from getting burned. Gotta love this weather. Here are some pics. The first is the beds I made. Then the horseradish and strawberry bed. Next is the bed with lettuce and snowpeas. Then the zucchini under glass. Finally one of my other strawberry beds, already blooming.

How are you raising them? I was going to start a bed this year. Back when I was young on the farm, we dug a hole with the backhoe and buried an old freezer. Filled it with compost and stocked it with those crawler snakes. I never run out of worms. I have an old mineral bucket that I am thinking about burying in the yard and doing the same thing.

Don't know if everyone has heard about the new Heartbleed flaw in internet security, but here is an article about what you can do to protect yourself. Unlike a virus, it was a flaw or bug in a version of the encryption software that internet and websites uses to secure passwords and other stuff. It was found last week by a Google guy testing for security, but has been out there for a few years now. It opens up your passwords to about a third ot the web or more. The simple solution is to change your password to the site after the flaw has been patched. Then watch for any purchases or bank transactions if you did any web commerce or banking with a flawed site. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/things-you-can-do-to-protect-from-heartbleed/article_989dca3b-04d9-51d2-b4f5-1d1e43abd320.html http://news.yahoo.com/u-government-warns-potential-attacks-heartbleed-bug-135137709--sector.html

Funny you say that. I probably use a teacup of honey a year or less. I do like chewing on the comb. The pastor heard me say that one day as I was buying some queens from him. He laughed and stated that I was the first person he knew that got into beekeeping for other reasons than the honey. Mom tells me that I quit eating honey when I was young and watched Grandpa working his bees. I did not like the thought of eating anything that a bunch of bugs crawled around on with dirty feet. I watched them sucking juice last year at the farm out of the piles of rabbit poop under the cages and I still don't relish the thought of good fresh honey.

Buddy found several half frees today in St. Louis area. But he said they had a red tint, so they may have been false. Good thing he only eats the ones I pick for him.

Can you really call someone a hoonyak on a public forum?

Make me a great hoppy Pale Ale and I will come and test it. Porters and Stouts are not high on my list of beer. Gdam Ness, are you jonesing that bad for a mushroom fix that you are planning on growing some? Get out and stomp the woods. Buddy found several patches of half frees today, if he would have looked closer, there were probably some grays. They have to be as big as a beer can for him to find them.

I went out Monday to a few spots, nothing yet. Mayapples and other spring flowers just starting to show. With the temps today, I will be looking this weekend. I beat the curve this winter with my bees, others are reporting losses of 25 percent or more in their hives. It was a cold winter with several warm days that made them break cluster and get out and waste energy.

Queen has hatched out and mated. Bees were bringing in pollen for the first time today on the queenless hive. That is a sure sign they are feeding newborn bees. The worker bees were kicked into high gear, another sure sign that there is a new queen in there giving them direction. Bradford pears bloomed out and they are working them good. Lots of activity in the bee hives today and in the pear trees. We have a line of them along the lane to the subdivision so they should have a feast for a week or so. And the neighbors like to grow plenty of dandelions, they will be hitting them too.

I have seen some pretty good deals on the older Lowrance 5 DSI models. I have a Mark 4 DSI, black and white version with GPS that I bought at Academy last spring for $139 after rebate. I wish I would have gotten the color and a bigger screen. At least with color, the fish show a different color than the background and structure. I do miss fish arches but the little thing really picks up on the structure and shows it clearly. And it is really easy to mark a spot with the gps and come back to it. I am with moguy, the new hdi would be an improvement and I saw them on sale somewhere for around $199.

Taking the landowners side, he saw somethng happening on his property and went to investigate. Maybe he has had run ins with some undesireables in the past. Who knows and it turned out fine, nobody hurt. Crooked creek is small enough that I am sure it does not see many overnight campers. I really thought Arkansas was one of the states that allows you to own the stream bank and refuse anyone out of the water. As long as you stay in the water, you are not trespassing. I know it happens all of the time on the Spring River and I have never pushed it on posted ground. Even campground owners post that the campground is for their guests, all others are trespassing. The only exceptions would be Corps of Engineer flood area, State Forest and Riverways, and other public areas.

Obviously someone knows more rougue deer farmers than I do.

I am hopeing so. I have too many things going on to be out stomping the woods for shrooms.

I give up, your coolaid is too strong. Keep carrying your torch and wander along. I never run across any deer farm where they trapped a wild deer and started a herd. All were bought and sold at an auction. They are livestock and should be governed as such. There are no wild captive deer.

Bees are fair. I have 2 hives that are iffy, one is queenless and the other is not laying much. Other 4 are doing fine. Cold weather delayed my order of foundation for honey supers till last week. They don't ship wax in freezing temps, too brittle. Then when I ordered they are way behind in shipping. Same goes with queens, so I have tried to let them make one. Grass is green, but that is about it. Strawberries are perking up nicely. Trees are way behind. no life out of a redbud around here. Bradford pears should bloom later this week, that will make the bees happy.