Walnuts!!

One of the saddest things that happened
was when Sam hired that ol' Frank Beasley
to clear one acre in the back corner of his land
next to the crick.
Sam ain't over it yet.

He had spent days walkin' out a path
for the bulldozer that wouldn't take down any trees,
or dig up the dirt so bad he couldn't put it back.
The trees let him know it was OK, they trusted him.
Sam knew Frank's pretty mean, but he does good work
for a fair price.

After Sam lead him around the twisted path
marked out with pieces of old bandanna,
he watched as the dozer piled trees in one corner,
makin sure the ones he wanted to save
didn't get hurt.
When it started gettin dark,
Beasley said he'd be back tommorrow to finish up.

After lunch the next day, Sam went to town
to price fencing, chickens, and hogs.
Took him most of the day to pick'em up
when everything was ready.

When he got home, there was the Caterpillar back on it's trailer,
and Frank standin' there with a bill in his hand.
Sam went ahead and paid the eight hundred
cause the man said he had to get on to his next job.
It wasn't until he had sighed with satisfaction
at his new, clean corner that he noticed the three black walnuts
the old bastard had knocked down
tryin' to find his way back out.

By Vol Lindsey

He Who Barks at Robins

Honest Boss. I wasn't barkin at no Robin! X.

Brandon gets sworn In

My oldest grandson was sworn in with the Riverside Police Department on wendsday. It is on the north side of Kansas City in the river bottoms near one of the casinos. Everyone there seemed very friendly and happy to have Brandon on board as a new patrolman.
Top picture was taken at my daughters afterwards. Brandon tried on one of his new uniforms. X.

City Morels

As I was mowing the yard yesterday I glanced over at the base of a big maple tree in our front yard. I thought I was seeing things at first. But sure enough there they were. Morels growing in our yard. I picked about a dozen under that tree, then minutes later as Gi Gi arrived home we found another dozen under an elm tree in front of the house.
The main thing I like about city morels is you don't have to do battle with the ticks and skeeters ;^)> X.

Bogamans Diet Plans

I've been on a number of diets in my life. For the most part I have been at a relatively good weight. The later part of my life is the time when I actually needed to be dieting.
When I graduated from highschool I weighed 198 lbs. and was fairly solid for someone who was 6'3". After highschool I joined the Marines. I actually gained some going thru boot camp and infantry training. I then weighed 212 lbs. and thought I was in the best shape of my life.
Wrong! After a two week leave I reported back to Camp Pendleton for some more training before I went to Viet Nam. The training was very tough. I lost about 7 lbs. We were running about 15 to 20 miles a day in full combat gear. That's helmut, pack, rifle and combat boots. As I look back now, that is probably the best shape I have been in during my entire life, no doubt. If you want to lose weight I guarantee this plan to do it. Caution tho, you need to be in great shape before you start.
My next diet started the day I arrived in Nam. It was the hottest part of the year. Temperatures would reach 120-125 during the day and the humidity was stifling. My first three months there I was a machine gunner in an infantry battalion. We spent most of our time in the bush. I was packing a lot of weight. The machine gun weighed 24 lbs. two belts of ammo another 15 lbs., my pack with supplies was 12 lbs. and we always carried a mortar round for the mortar squad which weighed 10-12 lbs.
While in the bush we only got 2 boxes of C-rations a day. So the combination of the heat, packing extra weight, only eating two meals a day, and the stress, I lost about 30 lbs. that first 3 months. After that I stayed around 175 for the rest of my tour. This plan should be reserved for naive young people who like living on the edge.
My next diet plan was the result of a divorce. No need to go into this one as it is not a pleasant diet. If you've been there you know what I'm talking about. It should be reserved for no one except your worst enemy.
As I mentioned earlier the later part of my life is when I actually needed to be on a diet. After turning 50 my line of work had changed so that I wasn't getting a lot of excercise. I gradually gained weight until I weighed about 285. I've been on two diets since I reached that mark. The first time I got back down to 220 using a low carb diet combined with using a tread mill daily. But my love of the bad carbs eventually gained favor and I slowly got back to 285.
About 6 months ago I was diagnosed with type2 diabetes. My NP started me on medication and told me to start on a proper diet for diabetics. I lost about 15 lbs. initialy by cutting down on portions and watching the sugar. A couple of weeks ago at an appointment with my NP she suggested I go on a low carb diet to help with my blood sugar as she didn't think I was progressing as good as she wanted. So, thats where I am now. I've lost more weight on this diet and my blood sugar is starting to fall in line with where it should be. My weight is now 255 and I hope to stick with this until I get back down to the 210-215 range. That's my goal any how.
So, you can see, most of my diets have been forced upon me. With only the later ones where I was a willing subject. But even then there was a motivating force. X.

P.S. Your welcome to try any of these plans. I'll give you a warning however, the Combat Plan or the Divorce Plan could be deadly.

Pyrimid Bow

This a pyrimid style bow I made from a hickory stave. It is patterned after a west coast bow made by native americans. The quiver I made from a beaver pelt. Also some arrows I made. X.

Garden Toad verses Dennis the Menace

As I was running the tiller in our garden tonight I had to stop 3 times and move a big toad out of the tiller path. I would make a round and here he would come again. Seemed to be attracted to the tiller. It got me to thinking about my childhood. When I was a young lad any critter was fair game for some of my mischeif. I am not sure if it's just a boy thing or my dark side is just darker than most. Grant you, I'm not proud of some of my chilhood actions just telling you how it was in that Dennis the Menace stage of my life. It's a 180 degree difference today. Guess I've realized the good a lot of critters do and I will go out of my way to see they receive no harm. Or try to make a place for them to live or stay.
And because of my history, I'm a little more tolerant of an unruly or awnry child. Having had that experience myself I know that, given time and some guidance, people can change, even for the good. X.

Time Warp!!!!!!!!!!

I had a doctors appointment in Kirksville the other day at the Veterans Clinic. During my drive up there my mind drifted back to a time when I was a Conservation Agent in Putnam County. It was the early 70's and I was 21 years old. The agent in Adair County was a man named Bill Otten and he lived in Kirksville. He was a very good agent and had good repoir with most everyone. I liked Bill, we always had a lot of fun working together. He was a bit of rebel and always made jokes abought our supervisors. He ended up marrying the Magistrat Judge and took some ribbing about that. After two years I transferred to southwest Missouri and became the agent assigned to Pomme De Terre lake. After eight years there I resigned and pursued other employment.
About a year ago on another visit to the VA clinic in Kirksville I looked up Bill in the phone book. Sure enough he was listed. I called and he met me at a local eating place. During that visit Bill told me he eventually became the Regional Supervisor for that region. I told him I was surprised because the Bill Otten I knew was a bit of a rascal. He laughed. I also told him that I was sure he had been a good Supervisor.
As I was thinking back about this time in my life it was hard for me to accept that so much time had passed. Almost as if I had passed thru a time warp at some point and now it was forty years later. Sometimes when I think about past events it seems they happened just days ago. Does this mean I'm getting OLD or did I really pass thru a time warp?
The picture above was taken of me when I was 26. The Conservation Dept. used it on a brochure for people interested in becoming an Agent. X.