Company Whilst Splitting

After work I took some time to split as much of the wood as I could that I and Rachel have been collecting for our apartment. In doing so I hit a cherry log, glancing of the side. When I turned the log to get a better whack, this not so little creature showed itself.

To give a little bit of size reference here it is next to my hand

  

This was a cool creature to come across during my wood splitting, plus I needed a break. 

Stay Tuned

Firewood

It's been a great summer so far but getting out and having my adventures has been difficult with a full schedule. Today I was finally able to get out and do my thing. I went against the Geneva-Convention today by cutting firewood alone, but took great caution all around to avoid anything terrible. With that, I was able to cut wood at at property I work on with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation in 2009, as well as work on again last week. Because of my awesomeness, I got a wood permit and away I go. I am in need of standing dead trees so Rachel and I can have a warm apartment this winter. My former boss was a girdling king and thus there were plenty of trees for cutting. I even managed to find an intern's oops and found a standing dead oak. PRIME. I got out to the spot to have discovered I forgot gas. Thank you Dad for the full tank. Well, I was not about to leave my new firewood so I did the only thing I could do without finding a truck:

I knew the old Buick had it in her. Kind of a hairy drive to Nick's house but nevertheless got the job done. And, for Dad, I laid down BOTH plastic and cardboard in the back.
At the point of getting to Nick's place I was exhausted and ready to go home. I prayed for a second pair of hands to help me unload. Out of nowhere, one of the neighbor's kids came over and asked if I wanted some help. Unreal. Ben was a nice kid and I am sure that is not the last time I will see him. When I got back to the apartment, Rachel had not only cleaned my apartment for me, she had dinner waiting with a batch of chocolate chip cookies cooling on the counter. I will keep her.

Great day on earth.



Stay Tuned

Memorial Day Weekend: Saturday

Saturday took me to Charles City for a wedding. Rachel's former roommate and her husband were finally getting hitched. We have been friends with them since coming to Iowa State and this was a big deal for both Rachel and myself. Rachel was a bridesmaid and I was an usher. It was a beautiful ceremony and the only glitch was Megan forgot her bouquet going up the aisle. Anyway, Rachel and I finally were able to get a nice picture together with our fancy duds on.

The reception was like most but Ben's family is one hell of a rowdy bunch. It was fun and YES, I even danced with Rachel. I maintain, real dancing.

Nick also seems to catch the real pictures best. This was as we were sitting outside the hall.

Stay Tuned

Memorial Day Weekend: Friday

Started the weekend on Friday by going out to do some  more work on Coleman's. This time Nick was able to go with me and throw a chainsaw around. We were able to get a lot of work done on the maple section and it was a lot of fun just dropping trees. After the work there we decided it would be in our best interest to go to Big Marsh to catch or shoot some carp. The fishing was sort of a bust from the start but the carp were thick above the dam. Nick struck first with a nice fat buffalo.

Nick decided to give me a chance and went down below to fish. He shot another one at the shoot before I took to bow for good to take my opportunity. I managed to get my first two carp in over two years.

We headed to the upper bridge and Nick was able to whack a lard of a carp just before we left.

Stay Tuned

Saturday Break with Fish and Chips

I took the afternoon to do what I wanted to do. Again, I went back to the fishing spot I did yesterday at the Des Moines River. I got there with not another soul in the area. Within minutes there were two guys fishing on my right. Another half-hour later A really haggered couple started fishing on my right. Every other word was as usual an F-Bomb. To put the icing on the cake the guy started casting over my line. I just did the opposite of what I wanted to do an let it go. I then proceeded for the next two hours to show both parties what it looked like to catch fish. The guy in the left caught one carp and that was in the entire time I was there. At some point I was lucky enough to catch a nice eater walleye. I used the strap to my pack as a stringer. I eventually packed up and left with my walleye in hand. I got back to the apartment and cleaned up my prize.

I normally don't keep fish but Rachel is gone to Cedar Rapids for a bachelorette party so this is my opportunity to have fish. At the time it worked great so this is what I called a college-boy's cutting board.

I then wanted to try something I saw on one of those damn cooking shows. I tried the breaded cheese bit.

When all was said and done it didn't go as perfect as planned but still wasn't too bad. The fish fried up really nice and I decided to have a classic fish and chips. I finished it of with a mug of beer. Classic.

 

Stay tuned

Between the storms

Woke up this morning to heavy rain and lightning. Eventually it let up and the forecast showed a gap. I headed out to the Des Moines River outside of Boone. Fishing was slow but I ended up with a few small catfish and sheephead. I also caught the weirdest looking minnow. Half shiner, half sucker. Thunder and lightning sent me back to the apartment. Nice outing anyway.


Stay Tuned

Coleman's Project

Went out to the property of my to be father-in-law where I have been given permission to do whatever I want in terms of management. This was a tree planting day. I planted two cottonwoods, and two or three shrub plugs that I had transplanted. I also took the time to go back to the corner where I had cut out hawthorns before and this time planted 10 spruce that dad had given me. I am trying to create a sanctuary area  in the southeast corner. I have much more work to do but nevertheless I have to start somewhere.
 Here is the beginning stage of cut and clear:

 This is just after I planted the spruce.

 

After planting the trees I thought I would see if I could catch a few carp or catfish on the creek. I took the pack rod Uncle Rick gave me and sat for a couple of hours. I ended up with a few suckers and a bunch of creek chubs. I took most home for catfish bait later. 

I checked out the progress of my work from earlier this year as well:

Most of the ash i girdled were stone dead and the hawthorns reacted better than I ever could have thought. The hinge-cut trees are started to sucker back and the ones I stump cut are stump sprouting. Again, not what I expected but happy with the results. The maples acted as if I never touched them but I expect them to still die back within the year. There is a ton of work to be done there yet, I just need to fine the time.

Stay Tuned