ness

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.

I built four raised beds last fall because I was tired of fighting the crappy soil I've got. I'm going back to the square foot method after a hiatus of several years too. Just want to get more out of less space with less work. Put hoops over two of the beds so I could get an earlier start, and keep cool-season crops going longer into the summer and fall. I had everything protected under plastic when we had a pretty good hail storm a few weeks ago. Started everything indoors from seed again this year, and have lettuce ready to pick now. Peas are off to a great start in the new environment. Garlic, onions, Swiss chard, spinach, radishes, are well on their way. Maters (4 heirlooms, two hybrids), chilies (Ancho, Anaheim) and herbs are in the cold frame and about ready to go in the ground. Strawberries are coming on too. Everything loves the great soil they've got this year in the new beds. It makes a helluva difference -- wish I'd done it years ago. Built a couple more raised beds on the other side of the yard this spring and put in asparagus and black raspberries. Added a couple more blueberries and another gooseberry to the ones I had. Bunch of landscape cleanup to do this weekend, then I'm kicking back for a while. Two small beds and hoops (early April): Raspberry and asparagus beds: Can't wait until next year!:

He said he had a meeting. Hardly sounds like an arrest. Perhaps I'm missing the joke -- it wouldn't be the first time. However, if he does end up in a room at the Graybar, I hereby pledge the sum of 5 (five) dollars to the Free Chief Fund.

I think if we all go at this with the "...harasses with a person" language in there, we're hurting the cause. I also think a cut-and-paste web forum thread is probably not as effective as either a letter or a phone call directly to the people that can make a difference in this. I think about 25 calls to the Newton County Sheriff's office asking about the floatability of the stream, the rumors of gun-toting landowners running off legal floaters, and a little humble 'what's a feller to do, I think this is legal' or, 'we were planning our family reunion there next month' act, would have a much greater impact. I think I'll give Sheriff Ken a call tomorrow and get the ball rolling. Maybe ask him where this Prater guy lives and ask if I should just stay away from there or pack some heat when I go down, just to even things out.

That right there is a good idea. So many times we hear the authorities defer to MDC - just like in this case. The reality is that actual jurisdiction is with law enforcement, but you'll never get every county sheriff and deputy seeing this the same way. But since CA are often involved in these cases, all of them being on the same page would be a good thing. Anybody heard from Chief? Hopefully he's not in 'the Box'.

A warrant? You just don't get a warrant out on somebody. You file a complaint, present your evidence and they call you up or visit. If there was a complaint filed it didn't come up in the conversation with the sheriff, right? This guy's a nut job. Screw the legal stuff. You need to work up a number 6 on him.

Nice that you had a positive discussion with the sheriff. If it was me, I'd drop him a note thanking him and all his deputies (hint) for their efforts. Did you guys ever figure out which one of you was the one that had been repeatedly warned?

Welp, I'd say that deputy either didn't know the law, or elected to fudge a little to avoid a confrontation. Possibly influenced by previous problems with problem floaters/trespassers, and/or those landowners. Hopefully you guys were able to put that behind you pretty quick and make something of the rest of the day. I think you're right in going to talk it over at the sheriff's office. It needs to be figgered out. Cricket -- why didn't you whip out your Dale Carnegie magic???? You coulda had them frying up some of those morels

Just curious about this: So, were you guys just floating through, wading in the stream, pulled up on the bank or what? What'd you do for the 45 minutes while you were waiting on the cops? When the deputy said you can't get out of the canoe did he mean onto the bank, or out in the water?

I think I'd call the sheriff's office (or go if you're close enough) and politely ask a few questions and let them know what happened. Did you guys happen to get the deputy's name? I don't think I'd go in there with a 'tude asking for the deputy's head or spouting the law though. I can see them wanting to avoid a confrontation, and maybe encouraging you to move along even though you had a right to be there. Depends on the overall situation. But a little discussion with the authorities may just get them to visit this guy and set him straight on the rules. And, threats (such as 'you'll be in a world of hurt') can sometimes be enough for a disorderly conduct charge.

I like CRP. And that's all I've got to say about that.

CO has got hundreds of options. Hell, about 1/3 of the state is public land. I think it depends a lot on what kind of fishing and/or vacation you're looking for. It's CO. It's great. We've been to Estes/RMNP numerous times. It's a beautiful national park, with tons of wildlife to see, hiking trails, etc. There's small-stream, medium-stream, tail water (kinda), lake and Alpine lake fishing opportunities. It's about an hour from Denver, and an easy 1-day drive for me. Estes is a pretty cool town with enough shops around to keep my wife happy and touristy stuff for the kids. Lodging opportunities range from back country camping to luxury stuff. There are two very rare subspecies of cutthroat trout in the park, if you're into that. Otherwise it's feral rainbows, browns and brookies. There are decent-sized fish in the Big Thompson below the dam. Good-sized, very wary fish in the slower water of Fall River and Big T meadows down low in the park, and lots of other meadow opportunities around. As you move higher up you'll encounter a lot of pocket water and smaller fish. They'll readily take about any dry fly you toss on the water, because they only get to eat a couple months out of the year. They're not stupid though -- they're looking up, and a shadow, flash or crummy cast will put them down. You'll have to pass on 50-percent or more of the good places because you either can't get there, can't cast to it or you'll be seen. For the rest, you'll be doing just about anything BUT long, graceful casts. If you play it right, and if they take, it will be lightening quick. You'll find yourself saying 'he missed the fly'! But it's YOU that missed him. I love this kind of fishing more than any other, so that's where I'd go. I've fished a few other places out there too -- Michigan River up in North Park, Blue River near Breck, etc. I've never fished any of the big-name streams, and don't really have much desire too either.

Naw -- this girl just wasn't gonna let some city slicker come in and mispronounce the daily special, which I think is kinda funny. Get it now? I've also had really good fried chicken there.

I have et at Cookin from Scratch, and it's powerful good. I remember I ordered 'chicken and dumplinGs', and the waitress corrected me and said it's 'chicken and dumplins' (no 'G'). Anyhoo -- good stop if you're in the area.

I suppose I can trust you guys to keep a secret. There are multiple, big fish at N37° 27.0058' W91° 39.6599'