jdmidwest

Tonight we ring in a new Decade, 2020. I was sitting here remembering clearly the events of New Years Eve 1999. I was in a buddies back yard in Florissant listening to the river boats on the Missouri River sounding their horns, gunshots and fireworks popping off everywhere while marinating in my alcoholic beverage. It was about the worst point in my life, freshly divorced, separated from my daughter. I was in the tech business then and carrying the pager waiting for the dreaded thing to go off if all of our software prep had been in vain. Fast forward 20 years. I met my wife about a month later on Yahoo Dating. She brought with her a daughter also a few years older than mine. Both have grown up and done well, married 2 fine men, and have 4 beautiful kids. Lots have happened for the better, many changes are behind us. Some of the ones at that party are gone now. Happy New Year!

I fish for fun, so I will mash barbs down on jig hooks to release fish easier. No tools, just work finger along hook and push out. Never have much problem with tube jigs or Ned rigs going deep.

It really depends on what you are going to the Dr for. Would have to be a General Practitioner or Gastric guy. They would be the only ones worried about what goes in your guts. They really don't have to say anything about smoking, its pretty well common knowledge it is dangerous for your health. The warnings are all over the packages and millions spent in advertising the fact each year.

Raining here last night, too wet to cook outside. Rubbed two pork tenderloins with McCormick Sweet and Smokey and let warm up to room temp. Popped them into the air fryer for twenty minutes at 400. Turned out fine, tender and juicy.

If you rented a certain room and had a silenced 22...... They were pretty beat up last time I saw them, several crippled geese in the bunch. Need to be put down anyway. They were fun to watch, but would not want to live there. Firecrackers would take care of most of them. The white ones would still stick around with the cripples. Rent a room and celebrate New Years Eve.

I have caught nice chain pickerel there. January after they open it back up for fishing after duck season was a good time. They like to hang under the old lily pads. They have changed the lake over the years. They used to use herbicide to kill back the coontail and keep some of it open. Some water weed has invaded with small white flowers and burn your eyes if you transfer it from hands to eyes, we call it pepper grass. Boat lanes are usually choked out in the summer time now. Then water management has been poor due to the reconstruction. Most of the cypress has finally died and its a big open weed choked pool.

The flounder was dipped in egg and rolled in cracker crumbs. It came out crisp and tasty. I did tilapia, just rolled it in cornmeal breading like I would to drop in fryer, the breading was still like dry cornmeal when done. Still wanting mushrooms and onion rings in it, they should do fine beer battered.

I upped my shooting game this year too. Added several to the shooting gallery. I am gonna build a range at the farm with a covered bench and a berm. Weather keeps me from shooting sometimes. I am going to reload more this year too, develop some pet loads for the .300 Blk Out, 6.5 Grendel, and 5.56. Upscale the triggers from std mil spec. And, spend more time shooting. My pistol reflex is getting rusty and the eyes are not focusing on the sights like they used to... Sucks to get old, but the extra time gives you something to do.

Did you move?

Read an article the other day about horses being shot in Kentucky. I thought about farmers loosing alot of money since horses are a staple animal to breed in KY and have value. Then I saw an article about it on the BBC news. They mentioned the ASPCA getting involved, someone was hunting the animals. That story had the real truth. Feral horses released by irresponsible owners that could not afford to properly take care of the animals. They had been released into the wild onto public land to fend for themselves. Probably had become a nuisance and someone decided to do the humane thing and put them down. The real criminal was the one that released them. Everybody seems to have a dog or 3 in the house anymore. Growing up, all animals were outside unless we were saving a young one. ASPCA preys on that and uses that for donations. Livestock is well suited to fend for itself in the weather as long as it has not been conditioned by human dwellings. Cows have sense enough to use a wind break and lay down in a storm. Don't worry Oneshot, they are able to survive. As long as the farmer brings them hay to eat.

I like fishing with the loons. They have a nice, eeerie call. Pretty birds. And they seem to like fish.

Fish, not so well. If you use a recipe for baked fish, yes. If you are battering fish like you drop in oil, no. I baked some breaded flounder in it and it turned out great. Its a convection oven, not a real fryer. I bought one after Thanksgiving, Instant Pot version. Does bacon well and fast. Pork chops are great. Chicken wings, excellent. Bakes potatoes to perfection. Fries are good, tater tots come out tasty, not grease bombs. Should do hash browns the same way. Roasts veggies pretty good. If you are cooking for 2, perfect. You don't have to heat up an oven for some things you normally bake. If you are feeding more, you may be doing several batches. Cleans up fast. Lots of recipes on the net.

I talked to an agent about my manufactured home and asked why its so high compared to built homes. Her response was that tornados like to target them over built homes. My response to the stupid answer "Really, a wind created by opposing temperature forces has a mind that can target a specific style of abode over another with precision?". Then I got that stupid blank look. The reality of the matter is like car insurance. A class of people that tend to live beyond their means will use insurance as a source of income and file more claims. And they prey on that statistic with higher rates.

Kind of my thoughts on buying a camper. Never really thought of a boat that way, but, makes sense.

Jet boat coming this spring, one way or another. Continue to explore new waters like last year. Hopefully have a better bass year this year out of a boat. Seems like every trip was post front and water was blown out. I can count the good trips on less than one finger. But, I did see lots of new areas. Cordell Hull was a fair trip, probably the best one of the season. But it was white bass and sauger in 95 degree weather this fall.

I miss the old days when you could shoot while you were fishing. Snakes, turtles, green herons, gar, etc.....

Its not a time of year that they are normally active. They are bored and looking for something to do. This time of a year, bees are normally in a state of hibernation. Clustered to keep warm as a group, moving around the hive on the inside as a group to areas with stored honey. Warm days come around, they carry out the dead ones and poop. Then go back to cluster. Normally This warm week has them out looking for stuff. Pine resin for Propolis to seal cracks, old pollen on weeds, etc, all stuff for the hive to survive. They were attacking the chicken feed at the farm, dragging the grain dust in to use for food. All my hives have been active, which means they have made it this far. But this warm weather means they will burn more honey stores and the cold weather may be more dangerous to come.

Those are for the dems. Republicans know that poop is fertilize and good for the ground. Many a time I have sit and wondered. How many hours do some men waste watching the dog take a dump or a leak?? How many pounds of poop in a bag does one carry in a year?? Growing up on a farm where the livestock is outside all of the time, I have never done either by hand. I have cleaned out stalls and bulldozed it, but never carried any poop in my hand that was not in a diaper.

Modern powders are non corrosive for the most part, all season would be fine. Kept inside in a low moisture environment. If water has a chance of getting in barrel in rain, I would reload. I would pull it or fire it and clean it after season.

When you carry, you develop a different mindset. Think 2steps ahead and avoid problems before they happen. Direct eye contact with everyone makes people act differently. And don't carry at a party of drunks.

The 45 was on me when I was with Wrench the day I met him. Always carrying, no matter what. Not that I am worried, but you never know. The world is a different place today, but I have had one close since I was 16. Concealed carry is just something new in the past few years. It was something I only did when I felt the need. Open carry brings up too many questions. More now than back in the older days. I remember the days when the Smith 686 6" laid on the seat beside me in a canoe on a float. 2 rounds of shot shell and 4 hollow points was a standard load. Nobody paid much attention to it. I have a pic of a nice Kenai River Trout I am holding with my 1911 in a shoulder holster behind it. And I always have a blade.

I was confronted with the same issues when they took out my right arm. First problem, either carry a revolver that could be fired either hand, or carry an auto with ambidex safety. Shooting with the off hand posed some issues, but I did a little practice and was good enough for protection. A 380 with good loads will get the job done if needed. But nothing beats a 45 acp in my book. I like my Shield 45, fits nicely in a waist band or paddle holster.

Which powder are you using? Black Powder 3f or 2f, Pyrodex, Triple 7.

Walleye were hitting good too about a month ago..

I think you need to kick back and heal up. Maybe do some bank fishing somewhere.