Back When Snow Was Fun!

Check out Mr. Cool with the shades on. X.

A Lot Of Stuff

Through most of that first spring,
All Sam did was to walk round
his property introducing himself
to his rocks and trees and
some of the birds.
They thought he was alright.

Sam got to thinkin',though,
that winter might be kinda tough.
So he took that old truck
down to some construction sites
in Knoxville and brought back loads
of scrap lumber.
The carpenters laughed about not havin'
to pay for cleanup.

When he had what he figured was enough,
Sam got to lookin' real close
at the layout of that big red oak,
bought some tools,
and went to work.
Three months later,
he had four rooms around the trunk,
and a porch stickin' out from the kitchen.
The bedroom was upstairs for the view.
For a minute or two,
he even considered puttin' in electricity,
but decided it might work against
the place's natural energy.

After it was all done,
Sam rocked back on his heels,
looked everything over,
said,"it's good".


By: Vol Lindsey

Ice Fishing

Haven't done any of this for a few years. Me and a friend have been having some luck catching sunfish primarily. He did lose a nice catish which broke his line just as he was pulling it thru the hole in the ice. Using a rubber jig with a wax worm on the hook. They are very good eating at this time of year.
The weather is supposed to warm up in the next few days, so the ice may be thinning up. The lack of really cold weather like they have up north sort of limits the amount of time we can enjoy this sport here in Missouri. X.

Zeus

We've added to our critters. Meet Zeus. He's a five month old Boxer with huge feet. If he grows into the feet he will be close to 100 lbs. by my estimation. Our other dog, Greta is a female Boxer and probably weighs 55 lbs. She is five years old and seems to be happy to have a playmate. Although he is already about her size, she still is the boss and lets him know it. X.

Hell's Snails

A little slow humor;^) X.

Getting Along

"It is never to late to give up your prejudices."
Henry David Thoreau

This picture says it all. X.

Grandad's Fly Rod

Some of my best memories as a child growing up, were times I spent with my grandad Buckman. The one I called "dad". My love for the sport of fishing, I owe to him. Every time he would have a break in his workday on the farm, he would haul me off to the river or a neighbors farm to go fishing.
If you are familiar with fishing tackle, you know that a fly rod is primarily used to fish with artificail flies and lures. Grandad's only tackle was a fly rod. And he used it for everything but artificail flies. His favorite was live bait of some form or another. Using the fly rod in this way was a little unorthodox. Especailly for river fishing where we were after catfish and carp. But this worked for him and was how he wanted to fish.
Of all the years I've been a fisherman, I've yet to encounter someone using a fly rod in the manner that my grandad used his. He was a unique individual, and I guess that is what this post is about. Not his fly rod. He was a free spirit and never a follower. He cut his own path thru life as he saw fit.
He had a dairy. It required that he get up early every morning. When I stayed there during the summer, Sam and I would get up early with grandad to do the milking chores. One morning I woke up and went downstairs and was waiting my turn to get in the bathroom. Out pops grandad in his birthday suite. It startled me, for it was just another side of that free spirit I had never seen. I guess I had invisioned grandad sleeping in long johns or something like that.
I gained more than a love of fishing from him. He showed me that we all have choices in life, and that we should follow 'our' heart and not someone else's heart or wishes or lifestyle. X.

The Truck

For a little while
Sam lived in a tent
about halfway between the tree and the crick
just sorta camped there all spring,
eating from a campfire,
and drinking that cold crick water.
Said, "Wish them elves could see me now."

Along about June third,
Sam went to a little country store
to stock up. That's where he saw the truck.
It used to be blue,
and some of it still was.
Paid that boy a hundred and fifty dollars
and drove it home,
while Billy had a good laugh
with old man Morton,
but Sam knew what he was doing.
Says, "the driveway cost more'n the
damn truck."


By: Vol Lindsey

Yellowstone/Northeast Corner

I have been to Yellowstone four times now. Each time, I spent just one day exploring one part of the park. Money being the main issue. Staying either in the park or one of the surrounding towns can be rather exspensive. If you plan to spend several days there you will need to make lodging in the park at least a year in advance. It would also be advisable to make reservations in the outside area at least 5 to 6 months in advance.
This past fall when GiGi and I went we stayed in Cody Wyoming the night before. Since I don't like takeing the same route every time if I have an alternative, we went into the park on the northeast corner. I hadn't seen this part of Yellowstone on my previous trips. After seeing it, I would have to say that it is my favorite part of the park. A lot of wide open spaces with streams and wildlife in this area. There were also lots of people fishing the streams here. If you're a fisherman, this would be an area to focus on.
We went when most of the kids were in school. So the traffic was not near as heavy as the other times I visited. X.

THE TREE

When Sam first found out
he won the lottery,
he rode all the way back to the mountains
of East Tennessee.
Said he had to get away
from all the racket,
but it just came with him.
So he parked under a cut,
by Dead Man's Curve,
jumped off, and ran through the woods.

About a hundred yards in,
he broke through some bushes
to a clearing and in the middle
there was an old red oak
that spread out about thirty yards,
it's trunk as big as a house,
the bottom limbs so thick
their own weight pulled them down
toward the ground before
they could sweep back up
at the perimeter.

Sam says it's what saved him.
Says, "I just climbed right up
one of those limbs,
laid back against the trunk,
and listened to its song
"till I fell asleep."
Next day, Sam went to the courthouse
to find the owner.
Bought all hundred and nine acres for
fifty-two thousand dollars.

Old man Morton laughed about it
when he told his buddies what that
damn stupid hippie from out west
had paid.
Sam went home
and took a bath in his very own crick.



By: Vol Lindsey

"Mom and Dad"

The picture above is of my granddad and grandmother Buckman on thier wedding day. But to me they were always mom and dad. I spent a lot of time on the farm with them through out the year. Thier youngest son Sam was my uncle. However, he was only one year older than me. So, he was more like an older brother. And since I started staying there at a very early age, I just imitated him and would call them mom and dad. To me it was like a name, not a title. My mother gave me some of the letters that I had written to my grandparents while I was in Vietnam. Sure enough they started out "Dear mom and dad". It would be much later before I would use the grandparent phrase, after 'dad' had passed away. I began calling mom, grandma. She lived to her mid 90's and was a specail lady. X.

Night Skies

"The essence of any religion lies solely in the answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to the infinite universe that surrounds me?" Leo Tolstoy

I never cease to be amazed and be in awe of our skies on a clear night. Last night was one of those nights for me. The stars were out in all thier glory. At times it can be a spiritual experience, just observing the beauty of a night sky. A one on one relationship with the natural world in it's rawest form. It's not hard for me to see how the ancient people had a solid connection to the heavens and the stars in the sky. And why it was so important to them. Modern society has become so far removed from that connection that I feel sorry for the masses. They have lost an important part of thier being. They have lost the magic that comes with that connection. X.