jdmidwest

Sure was a nice weekend this one was, kind of reminds me of February without the rain.

Yep, wandering around on private farmland just fine. Oops, that is why they shot one.

It was hard to BBQ a tranqulized elk, they had to shoot it.

A herd of 30 deer overgrazed an alfalfa field of ours one season to the point that it affected the hay crop. Elk need alot more than a whitetail daily. Properly hunted, the deer population was trimmed and it never happened again. Elk are going to be managed differently, obviously no hunting seasons.

And exactly how will that sway your vote?

The reason Private Landowners are against them is they are 1000 lb eating and moving machines. A poor little whitetail that averages 150 lbs or a turkey that is only 17 lbs will not over graze private property or tear down fences. Those little whitetails will stretch out a barb wire fence when they crawl thru or jump it. A turkey will worry itself silly on a woven wire fence looking for a hole. A elk will just tear it down and keep going. The deer will not usually kill the occupants of a vehicle traveling 55 mph like a big ole elk. I assume, doing the weight to eating ration math, they must consume 10x the browse that a whitetail will. I have seen too many whitetails decimate an alfalfa hay field from over grazing. And, they did not cost approx 30k each to reintroduce. I think they are great majestic animals. They taste great, would rather eat a thousand pounds of elk before one whitetail backstrap. But are they really worth it?

Wow, had a gully washer today. Two big storms rolled thru and dumped a total of 1/4 inch. That closes out May with less than 1/2 inch of rain. At least it is cooler and we did not get the winds that they did in the bootheel.

It really sucks if the fish are biting and you start loosing track of time. We always try to get in at daylight to make that float. I have tried to find that farmer and that access, it would break that stretch up about right. The last part is pretty worthless anyway. How was the little rock garden nearer to the end. That can be rough at times to run.

Was that big bullfrog in the bushes on the left side? Last time thru, I had been watching the bushes, a huge watersnake had disappeared into them. We always lay out flat and float under the bridge. When I approached the bridge, that dam frog jumped at me and I about crapped my shorts. One time we went thru and that farmer was dumping his trash into the river as we approached.

I am not really too impressed with this one. Pretty strong on lumber and lawn stuff. Lowes, Sears, Buchheits, and ACE have better tools. Prices were not all that great either.

Unless I am missing something, you can find plugs at most hardware stores like ACE. Cork or rubber, maybe even a small twist type like a live well plug. Just put them on the hole from the inside to keep from knocking it off in transit.

I stopped by Menard's on the way home awhile ago during the grand opening. A fine young youth approached to sell me Direct TV. I said great, I would like my bill to return to the $29 a month you are advertising, I have been with you for a long time and it is around $70 for the same basic package. Needless to say, he lost interest fast.

Yep, they really do eat all the weeds. And the pasture looks like horses have been clipping it.

Did the MDC ever post how the elk turned out BBQ'd. I wonder if artificially implanted elk taste like native elk. It was a $30,000 meat shoot.

And there is always the path up the other side, over the dam, then down to the parking lot. It is a hike, but alot safer than trying to cross a raging river.

Was that where Bill Clinton posed the other night with 2 porn queens? I thought there was an article a month or so ago about it being resolved, maybe I am wrong. I may be confusing it with the new get away camp the MDC took over in the area last year on the Current.

I reseeded the bare spots earlier this spring with the hopes of rain, they sprouted and wilted. I am on county water and it is costing enough to keep the garden going that produces food. I sit this morning planning a fishing trip at the office with a friend. He stated that the creeks will be muddy, big storm passing thru. We still made plans. I watched a nice big cell come thru the Ozarks, enter Wayne county just west of the farm, then watched it split to the north and south. I had about 12 drops here, not enough to run the wipers. Perry county had enough to puddle the bridge we fished this afternoon, but the gravel was already dusty again. Fishing was slow, new creek and not much for water. Did find 2 big otter toilets in about a 1/2 mile of stream. Seen a few deer.

Where do we draw the line on how much the government has to protect us from endangering ourselves. If I recall, there are signs at all accesses that the river may rise suddenly due to generation. All who fish tailwaters know, the river rises suddenly and gets dangerous. If you saw the water rising and felt that it may be dangerous to cross, why did you attempt it? Why not wait till the boats start running and get a ride across the river? If you were fishing Rim Shoals, would you have heard the horn? Bottom line is, you are responsible for your own safety. You can not blame it on a SW Power employee, faulty equipment, or the guy across the stream failing to let you know the water was coming up. The horn is a courtesy, we all know what will happen when they turn the water on. I always used a marker stone and kept a watch on it.

The point was "rocky mountain elk" species was never destined to live in MO, we introduced it here in a feeble attempt to replace an extinct species of elk that was native to MO for sporting purposes. It is not really about the elk, it is about hunting elk in the future. You can fluff it up by saying that they are here to kill weeds, but the main reason for the reintroduction was to create a hunting animal population for those too cheap to pay to go out west. Man's interests were the driving reason behind the elk, the personal gain of being able to hunt elk again in MO. And Elk Hunting was what drove them to extinction in the first place. Man and his interests or needs have nothing to do with what is best for nature. It is not a native animal, who knows what disease or change it may bring to the Ozarks. Look at the wild horses, they are nice to look at, but were not native and they cause problems. Feral hogs, MDC did not introduce them, and they can't manage them. There are no predators for the elk, they will have to rely on man to control the population. It will have to be managed to prevent harming other populations of hunting animals already here. And, if you really looked at what I meant, I was simply stating that man needs to be controlled in order for the rest of nature to be returned to balance. We know that will never happen. I never really shrug off mankind's role in the natural world, but I never stand around hugging a tree trying to figure it out. The obvious solution will never be an answer until something wipes us out.

Interesting, I had one several years ago. It must be an obsolete model. Is this one for sale?

When you speak of dormant grass, do you mean brown and crunchy or disappeared back into the ground leaving bare soil? I have alot of both. It did cloud up here this morning and I saw what looked like a rain cloud, then it cleared off and got hot.

What kind of a trip do they try to sell at Cabela's?? I prefer that shop to BPS.

Possum

They have seen more bait dragged in front of them than the average smallie.

Many meetings were held and landowners were against the elk for the majority. But, then suddenly, the program progresses to the boondoggle we have now.