jdmidwest

I was sitting out grilling some ribs 2 days ago, sipping a brew and playing with the new Kodak, and this arrives at the feeder. Not an albino, it has a little color and regular eyes. It was larger than the normal birds on the feeder. I went back in and grabbed the Pentax with a good lens and never saw him again.

I said I was going to experiment, and it works. Looks like the Praying Mantis will eat Hornworms. It did not take long for him to pounce on the subject, it was all over by the time I came back out with the camera. From the looks of it, it was a bloody battle. Now I have a new business venture, raise praying mantis's in bulk to sell to gardeners for pest control. I still have to work on the genetic alteration to increase their size so they will hunt bunnies too. Anybody have a source of nuclear material?

I was wondering what that was hanging there for. Seen several run up to the chute and turn back down stream.

FYI, attempts made to correct this situation with the cows and the stream damage have hit the same dead end as it did a few years back on the Big River below HWY 8, DNR is the one to call. It would have to result in a documented fish kill to get any response out of them. MDC is well aware of the Eleven Point Ranch and its practices. It is not their jurisdiction. It is a shame the landowner does not take pride in the piece of land he owns and try to protect it. But instead, he does as his Pawpaw's Pa did and rape the stream and the stream bank, destroying the riparian corridor and polluting the river with his cow waste.

There are plenty of deer in those parts, just the size is smaller due to the lack of crops. They do well considering all of the poaching and other illegal methods that go on over there.

Notice the grin on his face, I think he was playing possum.

Here is a link to a hornworm problem. Almanac guide to Hornworm control.

I did not post Obima to rile anyone up. It is one of my pet peeves when someone posts a sign that is misspelled. I really hate the restaurant letter signs that are changed daily by the fine products of public education and have spelling errors or letters reversed like dyslexia. There is a billboard outside of Marble Hill that is advertising a $21 Oile Change. They really need to concentrate more on the basics in school like learning how to read and write, then math, then science, then history. Instead, they spend time taking performance tests, teach life skills, and sports.

The got mine this weekend too. If you look close, you will find little ones about the size of the inchworm. But they grow fast and eat alot. I usually just pull mine off and squash them. Can't really use pesticides when tomatoes are ripe. I don't know if the mantis would eat them. I will experiment this afternoon.

Well, that just goes to show you, you can post a fishing report on here with some humorous pictures and nobody takes notice. I even added the things that usually stir some up on here with no responses, I guess it turned out to be something other than what they expected. I really would have thought the bloated drunk would have got a laugh out of some of you.

I think you missed the point on that one too but I guess I did not make that part clear enough. I was amazed that someone was going to go thru the trouble to catch a nuisance coyote and keep it alive. I plan on killing the ones I catch to keep from having the problems that has driven me to control them. I am not going to sell the hide or the animal. Personally, I have a thing about skinning a dog. If the coyote has a nice pelt and is not mangy, I will give it to a fellow trapper to skin for his own personal use and profit.

I have went off on irresponsible pet owners that fail to control their animals and let them run wild on other peoples property before, I don't think I have to rehash that one. It is the owners fault, not the animals. You know the ones if you have gotten animals from a shelter. Our dogs were bought and sold, trained for a purpose of hunting to produce an income of coon pelts, kept and cared for just like any other animal on the farm. They never entered the house, they never run free other than for hunting, and could be traded off at any time, so we avoided emotional attachment. We did take pride in our breeding quality and showed them several times where they took top honors and blue ribbons. They were papered and registered. But so are our horses, our pigs, and our cattle. They were livestock, not family pets.

It has become an evening ritual with the 18 m/o, introducing him to the outside world and nature. I have to pass something along to another generation. Turtles, tree frogs, locusts, hummingbirds, and of course the praying mantis. One of the perks of the little ecosystem I have created around the house with my forest and gardens. One of his favorite parts is playing with the praying mantis's that live and feed in the flower garden and among the trees. The past few years I have been raising a pretty good crop of them and they seem to be flourishing. Of all insects, I have found them to be the most interesting and tolerant of man and handling. They will crawl up on your hand and let you study them, not run and hide or try to get away. Last year I had one take up station on a shepard's hook that held a hummingbird feeder. I fed him grasshoppers that I had removed the back legs off of several evenings till a big rain and I never saw him again. I would place the live hopper in front of him on the feeder and he would spot it right away. He would do a little zig zag stalk then pounce like a cobra. The ones in the pics have been around several weeks in the thick flower bed in front of the house and have produced alot of entertainment. And the pesty bugs have not eaten up my flowers. If I could only breed one big enough to take a squirrel or rabbit in the big garden, I would have it made....

Redbud, what part of this conversation did you not understand about me and dogs? Most people can't raise their kids, much less an animal. But it seems like everyone has to have several house dogs now. That is what drives the puppy mills. If people did not feel the need to have several house dogs that they let out and let run uncontrolled in all of their neighbors yards, you would not have puppy mills. Is it clear on my opinion about people and dogs? If there are less pets, then your business suffers, so in effect, you feed the problem. We raised coon hounds in kennels with nice open runs. They were trained and controlled and cared for very well, just like other livestock on our farm. What did your pawpaws pa do?

I personally don't see why anyone has to keep a dog in the house, therefore I don't see a need for puppymills. But, it seems like you make a living off the sick puppies or do you do it "pro bono"? By the way, my Pawpaw's Pa did not keep animals in the house either, but we did raise coon hounds. We used them for hunting coon.

I really don't think politics come into play in that neck of the woods, most are too lazy to vote. The judge was probably guilty of the same thing and was covering his butt so his buddies would not turn him in to get a reward. I think there was a bunch facing the same charges, but two of them had some money to fight it. Same thing happens all of the time in little ole MO counties where the population is sparse and the violations are plenty. But it is not just around here, look in Illinois, Blagovich is going to skate on most of his charges.

I don't think they kill them on most places, they just run their dogs and train them. Fox hunting is an ancient sport brought over from the old country I believe. I don't think the fox survives. They are managed and licensed by the State Of Missouri. The coyotes I trap are ones that need to be eliminated, they will not leave the trap alive. I have a different purpose for my methods. I was just surprised that they could actually trap alive and transport a wild animal with no damage using only a 5 foot cable. As far as preserve hunting, not my kind of thing. I know of guys that pay top dollar to hunt a bunch of quail and pheasants raised in a pen and released for their hunt, but not me. We used to have quail on the farm, but the foxes, coyotes, and bobcats seem to get rid of them for me. Hence, the trapping thing. If you have a problem with disgusting puppies, I suppose I can use my newly acquired training and help you catch some. We would have to contact the local MDC agent to approve nuisance animal removal.

Went floating with my dad today, his first time in a yak. He has always been into horses, I have been into boats, so most of our summers are spent doing different things. Today things fell into sync and he decided to float with me. After loading up a tractor to take to a repair shop and waiting for a neighbor to come pick up a bale of hay, we were finally on the river at the early hour of 12. It was hot and a front was threatening to push thru, but I still whaled the water with a F13 Rapala. I managed to land several, mostly kentuckies, smallies, and a few redbellies. We took our time, relaxed, and enjoyed the time we spent together. At 74, he took to paddling the yak well. We floated from Sam A Baker to 34 Bridge, a float we have taken several times in the past. I was wanting to go to Bounds Creek, but the tractor screwed us on that one. Now for the humor. I have attached 3 pics. The first is a cry for better public education. We parked a truck under the 34 bridge and I saw the first photo op. I edited the nasty, but the retard spelled Obama, O B I M A... Come on, how could you really get that wrong? The second came at the end of the float in the same place. When we parked there was a man camping in the field at the bridge by his self. When we come back, obviously several beers later, we found him. As we beached the boats, there was something in the water in the shade of a lone tree rootwad in the stream. Knowing the county I was in, I assumed it was a bloated skinned carcass floating in the water. Dad asked what it was and I responded it looked like a baby hippo. Then it moaned and moved and I saw the beer can and started laughing and out came the camera. There was even a guy crossing the bridge that spotted him and came down to see if he was alright. The third was near the farm on the way home. Fresh kill, still moving around, except for the fact that his head was smushed into the pavement. For those of you that wonder, if the Yota had got him, there would not have been much hide left. I did circle around to make sure he was DOA, I would have hated to see him suffer. Freshly shed, beautiful scales, 6 rattles and a button.

You can't shoot deer in the water, there is a law against that, and an ethical issue. Same as running them down with a hound, it is a matter of ethics and they taste like crap after they are run with hounds. Makes them tough. I am sure the MDC will appeal the ruling. I also heard there is a group that is trying to get leased hounds approved to chase deer also.

I attended and became certified for use of Cable Restraints today at Duck Creek. The class was presented by several professional members of the MDC and a trapper with alot of experience using the cable restraints. I attended for the sole purpose of controlling predators on the farm, coyotes and fox. The coyote population has exploded around the farm, and we have had predation of calves, chickens, ducks, and our horses have been bothered. Hunting has been a hit and miss venture since they move at night for the most part. While most paint an ugly picture of trapping and restraints, it has a very important purpose in the wildlife management of MO. Since the introduction of Man in mass quantities, the balance of nature has been shifted. Problem animals feed on our crops and livestock. Fur prices have fell to where trapping is not that good of a living. But the animals need to be controlled to keep things healthy and in balance since our arrival. Trapping is an effective way to control them. And it is a very important part of the MO outdoorsman's heritage. Cable restraints capture the animal alive and keep it humanely, without alot of stress, till the trap is checked daily. I was surprised to find out that there is a market for live coyotes and foxes on farms that run them for sport. The price they pay is alot more than the hide will bring. I feel it is the best solution for what I need at the time. I have trapped with leg hold and live traps, and have been pretty good at it. I look forward to this new adventure.

I always pick up a few guinea feathers and odd stuff in the 4H poultry exhibit. The kids get mad when you try to pluck them off live birds though, FYI.

Then you might have a problem with trapping then. Same theory, you bash the animal over the head with a small shovel, you skin the animal, sell the pelt, and dispose of the carcass. It is humane and legal in MO.

Have you heard the one about shooting the dogs that run deer yet??? I really thought it was pretty clear. Most of the locals around where I hunt know it is illegal, they take the collars off so they can't be identified. When they run deer on the farm, they are molesting my livestock and I have a right to.... At least that is how I interpret the law.

Isn't clubbing of seals a valid form of hunting for them? As long as they dispatch them with a quick brain bash, its all over but the crying. The fur and meat are not all tore up from a bullet. It is a quick, painless death. But it is not for the squeamish.

So you are saying that PETA is cherry picking the bible for their interests?? That is what the original post was doing. Christians have been killing animals since the get go, animal sacrifices, eating only fish during certain occaisions, etc. Adam should have whompped that snake in the Garden of Eden, if so maybe we would all be without sin and living in harmony with the wild.