ness

Thanks for the added color, Chief. There are crazy folks out there, and they can be darn-near impossible to deal with. Being right doesn't matter, the law can't always do something about it, and it can make life miserable -- if you let it. I'm talking from first-hand experience right here. Sometimes you just gotta suck it up, shut your yap, take your lumps and keep to the high road in order to 'win' with these kinda folks.

Fact is you were in a position to help get this matter worked out with the landowner and the deputy, but the issue remains unsolved. Maybe a little less 'testicular fortitude' on your part would have helped matters some. Don't try to tag me with responsibility or lack of caring.

No -- I'm not assuming that Chief did anything wrong at all, nor am I assuming the landowner was being truthful. Matter of fact, you guys have been pretty convincing that the landowner was lying. I do know the landowner got the fuzz down there, Chief got a warrant, was asked to not float or bring a group down for a while, and Chief agreed. That's not by the book, but that's what he's got. Yep, that's how it works. Nope, not at all, and I didn't say that. I said that it didn't help matters though. It helped keep the landowner pissed, and likely contributed to the deputy just moving on rather than having a discussion right there as to what the law is. And the landowner got to bend the deputies ear while they were out tracking down Chief. I think the deputy said you could be in the water, not on the banks. And he let the landowner spout off, most likely to defuse matters. Nothing too twisty there, right? Again, I'm not assuming he IS a habitual trespasser. What I am assuming is that since the guy knows Chief/Britt by name, and stated something to the effect that he had done this before, and convinced the deputy to come down and talk, that there's something there. A better approach would have been to simply state that you hadn't been on the banks, and that you'd make sure everyone in the group knew that was the law. Well, like I said in the earlier thread: there's the law and there's the LAW. You wanna be right, or you wanna fish. Lipping off to a cop is always a bad idea. It's only ignorance on my part if I get behind something when I don't have enough info to make an informed decision. IF Chief has a history of trespassing and lipping off, and you guys come along and lip off, I'm really not interested in helping. That's my logic in a nutshell. Make sense now? BTW, based on your transcript -- I think you handled it fine. Huh?

Cricket -- thanks for the detailed explanation and transcript. I'm assuming that Chief wasn't really speaking in Olde English but that the substance of things said was essentially correct. BTW -- I didn't say you weren't truthful, but there were some details missed in the previous telling of the story -- which has kinda come in spurts. I think JD asked for some clarification the other day, and was rebuffed. The fact that Chief apparently has had some run ins with this guy in the past wasn't made clear until tonight. Frankly, it is important in the overall story, though not directly so in the legality of what you all were doing. Troutfriend -- I don't know who JDC is, but yes he was being a smart azz. One thing I've learned in my decades in the real world is that things aren't always black and white and by the book. Take for instance the deputy, who correctly quoted the law, but let the crazy landowner say his version without correcting him. You think he just missed that, or maybe didn't want things to escalate? He let it slide. There's no question this is a navigable stream and folks have a right to stand in it. But, this landowner convinced the deputy that this Chief guy is a habitual trespasser. Then he gets the kinda treatment JDC was dishing out. Anybody here think that helped matters? It kinda makes a difference to me in whether I want to get behind this particular cause, or just let it take it's course. So, Chief ended up with a warrant, had to go down get things cleared up. In the end he got told to stay away for a while. That's not the law, is it? See how things work now?

Seems to me the folks doing all the defending weren't even there. And the ones that were ain't talking. You wannabe lawyers consider this: the previous testimony has O-fishully been called into question.

So we're not to discuss this new bit of info? It's not about the law at this point for me -- I understand it just fine. It's about getting the full story. That's not too much to ask for given that several of us rallied behind this cause using our real names.

Hmmmm. Why were you rolling camera and keeping it concealed? So, who was it in the boat doing all the talking? I'm guessing Cricket. There were instances of just plain being a smart azz, like 'if it makes you feel bigger', interrupting the guy (deputy?) to repeatedly ask who the agent was, and asking if the prosecutor was also a CA. Folks on the bank were keeping pretty cool throughout though. I guess Britt is Chief, and there's a history? Do you just know Chief 'from the internet', or was that a bit of a stretch? Why press the point with '2-inches of water', etc. When did the 'you'll be in a world of hurt' quoted in the earlier thread get said and by whom/to whom? I don't know any of you guys, but I know something about your personalities here. I had a suspicion that there was some yakkin' going on, but I took you at your word. So, I called the Sheriff, gave my name, work number and asked him to see that this situation gets corrected. Prolly would have passed on it if I'd have seen this first.

Geez -- sorry to hear about all your trouble. Hope you bounce back quickly. You've got the right idea -- make something special from that old catalpa tree. Maybe several things for all the folks in your family.

I dunno, man. I saw one up here the other day, and we don't see them much.

I got one word for you: DENKINGER!

Dayum! Well done, Bobber!

Thanks for the update -- I haven't seen a lot in the media, so I've been wondering. There is a photo of flooding near Poplar Bluff on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning though. Great that you had so much help down there. Hope everybody's safe, the damage is minimal and you can all get back at it real soon. We're all pulling for you!

While we're at it, remember Justin and Amy Spencer down at Sunburst and Myron and his brood down on the NFOW. It's looking pretty rough down there too.

Prayers said, for Phil, his family and everybody down there.

Yeah, Eric -- I gotta agree. And, life's better since I made the conscious decision to stay outta the pissin' matches here. I've got the ability to think this stuff through on my own, I know where to go if I need information to research things, and I know people who I can have reasonable discussions with. Phil, and many others, are facing a big battle for their homes and their livelihoods. Chambug is right in that we might be better off to think more about those in trouble.

LOL That is a beautiful shot there, Phil. Man, I need to get me and the boys down there this year.

I do mine pretty simply: saute in butter a little s&p. Toss in a little more butter at the end -- just to melt. Serve over toast. The mushrooms are the star of the show.

One thing to keep in mind Max is that you'll want to stay off that beautiful soil in the raised bed, so you might want to make it a little skinnier so you can reach to the center from the sides. 4 feet is a good rule of thumb.

Get lots of organic matter (compost, peat moss, etc.) mixed into the soil. Break it up real good to a depth of 10-12 inches, but don't get it too fine. Have you thought about a raised bed? There's an upfront cost in materials and soil, but it pays for itself in better results with less work. Get a nice rich soil going in a raised bed and you're not handicapped by the typical clay soils around here. They look neater and are easier to maintain too. I went back to them this year after several years of trying unsuccessfully to get my soil right.

Good luck! Do it right -- getting the bed in good shape will make more difference to your results than about anything else.

"There's the law, and then there's the LAW." ness Don't you guys remember getting run of ol' man Prater's stretch of Shoal Creek by the LAW? Q: "You got a warrant?" A: "Yeah, I keep it in my shoe" (Buford Pusser)

That asparagus looks pretty lonely, sure. But there are others, and those crowns have only been in the ground a couple weeks. I'll take it. Funny, but I didn't even notice the bark in the mixture until I saw that picture. I guess it took a real close-up shot of a very skinny stalk for me to see it. It's a bagged mix that I really like -- very light, lots of organic matter, a little vermiculite and a slow-release fertilizer. pH came in at 6.7, so I'm not worried about it this year. I'll check everything next spring and adjust if needed. You got a hose around there?

I would say that's an ideal outcome. Well done, Chief. Who's got a right to what is important, but keeping the peace is too. Sounds like he knows how to do both.

Before I commit to anything: were you thinking the "clean up the place" kinda stream team, or the "bug the sh*t out of Prater" kinda stream team?

He was out when I called, so I left him a voice mail. I told him who I was, left my phone number and said I just wanted to state an opinion -- which was that it's important for floaters to be able to do what's allowed by law without trouble from landowners. I suggested the landowner in question be informed of the law, and left it at that.