jdmidwest

Guilty, Second Degree Murder. http://www.stltoday.com/news/state-and-regional/missouri/jury-finds-property-owner-guilty-in-river-shooting/article_200f13aa-9901-52fb-947e-102b97ec049e.html Does not look like any river right of way issues were even brought up. That part still looms in limbo and will remain the same little fuzzy gray area. Of course, that part was not on trial.

I went to raised beds this year. 2x8's filled partly with original garden soil and topped with 4" of Walmart Composted Manure and Topsoil mixed. I thought it was going to be the way to go. My tomato plants have been in the ground for about 3 weeks now and they have not grown more than an inch or so. Cucumbers and tomatoes are turning a little yellow. At first I thought it was the cool nights 2 weeks ago. Then there has been the excessive moisture of the past few weeks. Now we have another cool spell with days with clouds only. I noticed that there was alot of chopped bark and wood in the mix, more so than what I bought last year for the other beds. I thought maybe the mix was too hot and burning the plants. I was at a loss. Then a friend told me that the bark was using up all of the nitrogen in the soil and the plants were not getting any. So, I sprinkled a miracle grow packet on the beds and let the rain soak it in. Then I hit them with some pelleted 12-12-12 to give them more in a time release manner. If the sun ever comes out, maybe they will perk up! The corn and okra is starting to come up. Taters are up now too. They are planted in the rest of the garden. Started picking a few strawberries, but they are suffering and rotting in the rain soaked beds. Bees are doing great, I have already split one hive into 3 and am well on my way to my goal of 12 by the fall. It will probably be more like 20 by then the way things are going. I have another hive that I will split into 3, the rest will be doubled by June at the least. We need less rain and cold temps. How about a little sun for a change?

It was a poor season around here. I hunted opening day and the first weekend. Saw one hen and never heard a gobble. Only heard a few shots on the Sunday of the first weekend, none on the other days. Went to Reelfoot the second weekend to fish. Rain this weekend, tall green foliage, ticks, were all good excuses to stay out of the woods. Bluegill were biting was the best reason. My job puts me on the road alot in the countryside. All season I was seeing single hens milling around. I did not even see a beard until yesterday, two gobblers in the edge of a field by the road. I rolled down the window and cut loose with a mouth gobble and one answered. I cussed him out loud and he answered. Next year, I think I will just road hunt in the middle of the day and not even bother with the woods....

If you want good flows and fishing, Whitten to Narrows for a multi-day float. Trout at the start. But if you target them, smallies and goggle eyes too. From Riverton down, Smallies and other warmer water species.

Nice area. Trout for the most part. No stamp needed unless you keep one. It is the lower end of the restricted area, depends on where you go from the access. I like coming in from the East side thru the Wilderness. You can see the old mill and spring without crossing the river.

We were standing around the local C Store waiting in a long line to pay. Round here you would hear grumbling, but there they were all visiting and not in any hurry. We arrived at the campground and noticed the NO Alcohol signs everywhere. No Rangers circled all nights keeping tabs on you. Everyone went to bed by 10 and we sit around a campfire listening to the crickets instead of dogs barking, kids hollering, and drunks yucking it up. And all of the sites had water and sewer hookups. It is a laid back, relaxing area.

It was a busy weekend last week and many boats were running on plane. I hear that is an ususal occurance because of the stumps. That will go away when the lake drops back to normal. The people around the area are great too. Friendly and helpful, good ole southern hospitality.

I have been fishing TN waters for the past few years and the state is really starting to grow on me. Buffalo River and Pickwick Lake for big Smallies. Pickwick tailwaters for Sauger in the winter time. Last weekend I finally hit a lake that I have wanted to fish since the late 80's, Reelfoot. Located only a few short hours south off nice 4 lane interstates, it is an easy drive. It is surrounded by nice campgrounds and affordable lodges. It is a hunting and fishing lake, no jet ski's or powerboats. Plenty of trees and cover. We camped in the State Park campground, which was partly under water from last weeks 9 inch rain. Fishing was slow due to the rain and goofy temps. We caught a few on Saturday, but the bite was not on. Local tourney was won with an 8 lb catch of crappie. Did not even go out on Sunday as there was a lake wind advisory. Spent the day cruising around getting to know the area. Normally this time of year, the crappie are spawning and catches run in the hundreds, but the spawn is late. Bluegills were just starting to move into shallows also. Lots of catfish, no limit on those with the exception of only 1 34" or better in possession. Redear are there too with a limit of 20. I am going to make a few more trips down in the following weeks to catch a few coolers of panfish for the freezer. Then hit it later on in the summer for some bass or cats.

The plants seem to wear out with age like everything else. I restart with fresh plants every 3 years and it seems to work well. If a patch has a slow season, I will dig it up. Been doing them for about 15 years now and pick about a quart a day when they start, maybe 2. I have one 8x3 bed and 3 5' circle beds. I started another in the garden this year with about 70 plants I dug from last years runners. They should start putting on good next season. I have heard commercial growers till alternate rows each year or so and let the runners fill the empty spot to generate new plants. I always plant the ones that produce the smaller berries like Ozark Beauty or Everbearing. I have tried some with the giant berries, but they were never sweet like the smaller variety.

My rule of thumb, when it hits 80, they are done. Last Friday was my last time out. I found several yellows that were too far gone. It was a short and sweet season here. Very few grays, all yellows for the short 2 weeks I was finding them here. Maybe farther North.

I have a few berries starting to show some red blush. They are about on the same time schedule as normal, unlike everything else. All of my plants are loaded with berries and blooms. It looks like a banner year for them. You should be seeing little green berries starting to form when the bloom falls off. They will put on for several weeks. You should keep them watered. Don't fertilize till the berries stop. I usually just hit mine with Miracle Grow a few times during the summer when I water them. The runners are young plants. You can thin the bed out in the spring when they start to put on small green leaves. Take the root clusters and move them to another bed. Thin them to about a 3 to 5 inch spacing between plants and you will have good vigorous growth. After about 3 seasons, they tend to slow down in production. I will dig out all of the old plants, add fresh soil, and put in new root stock plants. The next season, that planting will be a good producer. I have several beds and rotate them around to keep at least 2 really good beds. The others will make a few berries in the first season that you plant them. Second and third season will be really productive. After that they slow down. I put the old plants I pull out of the beds in an unused area of the garden. They will produce runner plants that are good starts for a new bed or give to a friend. And you will get a few berries off of them too. Keep old dead leaves cleaned out to prevent ripe berries from rottening. Pull weeds. If you have a problem with slugs eating berries, put dishes of beer in the bed to kill the slugs.

Nice. Alot of time and patience goes into those full dress flies.

I have been out twice this week and found some dried out rotten yellow ones. I think I was several days late looking for the ones that I have found. This cold spell after the rain did a number on them.

The power of google, there is an asparagus lover website. This link may help you out. http://www.asparagus-lover.com/freezing-asparagus.html

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.