jdmidwest

Just in time for grilling season, some marketing group has decided to change most of the cuts of pork and beef to something totally new. Seems like people are confused with the cuts of meat that have been called what they are for a long time. So to make it easier for those that do not know what the cuts of meat are, lets change the name! I fail to see the logic of it, but like most everything else lately, lets change it. Will that not confuse the majority of the people that know what they are buying? Interesting article. Thank God, chicken tits will still be chicken tits. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/us-usa-meat-names-idUSBRE93312620130404?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

A park ranger watching is just doing his job. The whole www watching is weird. There will probably be a day where we will all have to wear cameras so everyone can watch us. GoPros for everyone.

It is a lake of many records. New State Record Bowfin this week. http://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/puxico-man-sets-new-state-record-bowfin

I was thinking about my laptop bag and knocking off some fishing while on the job.

8 footer would be just for paddling around, not much for fishing out of. Probably only weight rated for a smaller person also. I use 12' and have found them to be about the smallest for fishing stability. I have looked at a 10 footer just for paddling and floating. As far as resistance goes, it is the hull style that make the real difference in paddling. An 8' yak may be pretty wide in the middle and track worse when paddling. Longer boats have more resistance when you stroke from one side to the other and tend to run straighter.

Dances Eel was a killer bait for nice bass in the lily pads at Duck Creek. I bought it on clearance as a joke and tied it on for fun one day. I had some fun till I broke it off and could not find another.

Electric fence

That lake produced some nice ones back in the day after they dammed it up. Then it tapered out and was over run with dinks. Would be nice if it was for real. It needs a good shot in the arm.

Opened up the nucs today after the rain passed and the sun warmed things up. Wow, there are alot of bees in those little boxes. More in each of the little packages than was ever in the first hive. I spent the rest of the day transfering them to the larger hives and working with them. It was pretty warm today and they were flying great. If the weather keeps up and does not turn dry, I will have some honey this year.

I have been catching crap about that all winter. I am building a bee house this summer.

But I painted the 2x4's. If it were permanent, I could pour some concrete. But the blocks are good heavy anchors. I have some pretty red ratchet straps to anchor them down in the wind. The houses are nothing really special, just pretty wood. I have a good deal on cedar, it is cheaper than the pine and paint. The gable roof and stands are pieced together with some odds and ends. Just wait and see what comes next. I have some real boards cut for some seriously nice stuff.

Came home Thurs to check on the bees around lunch time and heard some barking coming from the bushes. The neighbors got a worthless little pound dog for Christmas, a weiner dog. They were supposed to keep it on a leash, but their words hardly ever mean what their actions actually do. My words, a warning that there may be traps in my yard, was a fact. I sit him up by the trees so they could see it when they come home. Of course, it was the weiner dogs fault it was loose, and they hoped it learned a lesson. About 30 minutes later it was back by the back door barking at my other halfs ankles. Its too stupid to learn a lesson.

After a 4 month wait, I picked them up today. 2 five frame cardboard boxes full of bees with an established laying queen for $130 a box. Nice weather today, cool, cloudy, fog and rain. Not a good day for bees. I opened up the nuc and let them fly some, not many wanted out. But some came out, did the little circle orientation flight and checked out the neighborhood. And they were coming back in so the whole thing worked. They seem to be friendly bees, they liked to sit on my finger and warm up. Several got chilled on their test flights and I helped them warm up. Tomorrow, temps are supposed to be in the 60's and sunny, I will install them into the new hives. I will post some pics of that.

It has been long winter and several boards have met their match to my saws, routers, and drill. I found a source for bandsawn red cedar cut to 3/4" by 10" for a buck a board foot. I have a cabinet shop supplying me oak and maple scrap for frames. About the only thing I have not found a way to make is the foundation itself. I had to break down and buy it. At present I have components for about 200 frames of various sizes and styles. 3 completed 5 frame hives for swarms. 2 completed cedar hives, one 8 frame with a gable roof and the 10 frame with a plastic roof. Hive stands and multiple spare boxes that just need to be screwed together and finished out with either spar urethane or bargain exterior latex. Here is some of the finished product

Cedar Plank Fresh Alaska Silver Salmon over an alder fire on the bank of the Portage River chased down by a stream chilled Alaska Amber. Morels would have made it even better.

Weather spotty, temps up and down like the water. Trout fair on powerbait and antron eggs. Some have reported that they caught several daily limits on a good day, but you have to stomp in front of real fishermen to be successful..

I would think they need a home more than a kayak. Where will they store it?

Looks like the locals stripped the cab, engine, and front wheels off the semi that was attached to the trailer.

You boat is covered like any other trailing device when it is attached to your insured vehicle for liability only if it hits something else. But in order to cover it physically for comphrensive claims, it will need it own policy. I don't think a homeowner policy will cover it if something happens. It will not cover a car or motorcycle if you have a fire in the garage. Speak to your agent about your concerns. If it is a nice boat and an investment, I would look into a policy that covers it. And some states require it on the water for liability.

Carry a small handheld NOAA weather radio and keep abreast of the weather conditions. They will post flash flood warnings in advance so you can plan accordingly. Check it often if there are storms are rain in the area. Some watersheds can collect enough water far upstream to flash flood a lower portion that does not get any rain. Research the river and learn the local towns so you can tell if you are in an affected area. I would carry a light weight tent with some weatherproofing, just in case it rains. A thermarest mattress should do fine. Probably a 50 degree bag or a nice blanket that time of year. Assuming you are floating a MO stream, you are legal to carry openly anywhere you go with a handgun and concealed if you have the permit. Concealed is best as most river rats are scared if they see you packing heat openly and will ask questions. Ark is different, they prohibit carry in stream access areas and some other goofy stuff. Read the rules. Hopefully there will not be a burn ban this year in MO, we have busted the drought. So you should be able to collect deadfall. But a firewood supply along the river is always iffy if it is a popular stream, it gets picked clean. Portable stoves are usually not included in a burn ban, just open camp fires.

I personally prefer people to wear earphones on the river. It does not disturb nature as much as the speakers do....

It all boils down to man's intervention in the whole thing. The manmade dams create choke points that allow the fish to become easy targets. The dams impede the progress of the fish to their natural spawning patterns so they have to be regulated in some sort of way. Paddle fish have suffered from all of this so they had to be protected. Man has depleted other fish that produce the caviar in other countries where it is relished as a delicacy. Man has created an artificial market for the paddlefish eggs and generated the demand. Why are the paddlefish only in season during the spawn? Are they so elusive you can not catch them any other time of the year? Are tailwaters the only place to catch them? How does one possess a fish but not its eggs? Do you have to clean them on the water? Do you only catch females? I would think you would want to release the females and let them spawn and eat the males. I only ask because it is one of the fishing sports that I really know very little about and have never attempted to catch one.

Anybody get any snow today? Last year I was mowing the yard by now. That is a big change in climate if you only look at things short term....

What is this Facebook thing? Sounds like a hassle....

But you don't need them after 65. You still have to buy the deer and turkey tags