Looking ahead...

[Rick]

Foraging for buried Moon Pies at DComeaux's blind:


At 16wks, the wee one is getting big enough to come along on more of my rounds.

[DComeaux]

Nothing leaves there undigested. There was a matter of flattened boiled eggs on one hunt. Blake was in the process of opening the bag for distribution and we started working birds. Well, he sat on em......

[Rick]

We were out there again this morning, and all of the dry stuff in that pic is a muddy mess again. All the rain we didn't get anywhere else in the area must have dumped there. Place is cursed, and I don't think it will ever dry out. But the pup had a blast playing in the water.

(The old guy with him allegedly got his feet mired and tangled and hit his ass in your south cut.)

[DComeaux]

It will dry, eventually. It just does it in its on time. It wore me out year before last. It gave me a small window to plow and on top of that were the mechanical break downs. Our area is the lowest on that farm.

[Rick]

Our area is the lowest on that farm.

I once thought so, but wouldn't want to bet a nickle on it now that I've seen it be the first earth to show. Maybe just has the best drainage. Don't know. Just know the farm's water control would still likely be the sorriest I've encountered, even if it had been kept up as set up.

[Rick]

Nonc coyote tried to show young Marsh how to prep for the mudhole by busting flotant in a canal we followed this morning, but the wee one didn't join him for long. If I didn't know the coyote was an endorphin junky, I might of thought he was showing off when Marsh and I stopped for a breather on the bank above:

[DComeaux]

That dude is a HOSS!

[Rick]

Not to mention demented. That was shot at the back corner of your piece while the pump was just about sucking mud up front. So even after the parish cleaned the front canal last year, the drainage system remains badly skewed.

[DComeaux]

Picture little Ellie coming across that muck with a speck in her lips. I get a little concerened about my girl every time she's in there with a load.

That place needs a a good bit of work to function properly. The band-aids aren't working too good anymore.

[Rick]

Picture little Ellie coming across that muck with a speck in her lips. I get a little concerened about my girl every time she's in there with a load.

Need to tell Blake to quit watching kites fly and kill them dead in the pond.

[DComeaux]

Picture little Ellie coming across that muck with a speck in her lips. I get a little concerned about my girl every time she's in there with a load.

Need to tell Blake to quit watching kites fly and kill them dead in the pond.

It doesn't happen often. We try hard not to drop birds in that canal or the on the outer levee.

[Rick]

Be careful with Ellie around that canal while the water's warm, unless its too locked up with flotant for the gators to hunt there, which seems likely at this point. Was one pushing 8' on the inside corner by the outside pipe until I started jacking with the water level and sent him over the levee. But he's still hanging by the screw gate giving me an excuse not to dive to see about making a better seal.

[Rick]

Still working on DComeaux's neighbors' drainage, but had a lot of help this morning:

[DComeaux]

Still working on DComeaux's neighbors' drainage, but had a lot of help this morning:

A root puller. Is that in the southwest cut on that east section near the canal where that field drains?

[Rick]

Still working on DComeaux's neighbors' drainage, but had a lot of help this morning:

Is that in the southwest cut on that east section near the canal where that field drains?

I wish. That's the north cut of the east blind just above the levee. Guy didn't take the time to let the ditcher cut deep into a hard ridge right in front of the levee drain, so a poor little puppy had to do it for him. Drainage on that farm is sooo incredibly screwed up. Been reworking the ditches by hand for a couple or three hours a day and feel like I'm getting nowhere. Doesn't help that you have to very nearly be pumping mud in front to have drainage in the back. Would be entirely screwed without the excavator work last winter, but they still didn't get deep enough.

Tomorrow morning's project is digging out the dumb-assed down pipe someone put on the SW corner of the center piece's drain. Would sure like to find it's not glued to the elbow, but have never been able to budge it and expect to be taking it out the hard way, as if digging it out and ditching in that mess won't be hard way enough. Tell myself it's a good tuneup up for egg season...

[DComeaux]

Dang! That's a lot of work. I wish I had the time to go work with you, I'd definitely be out there. It's a whole lot better than where I go every day.

The wife and I are sitting down to some pot roasted specks. My hands and face are soon to be covered with gravy.

[Rick]

I cuss a lot but feel blessed to be afield as much as I am. Though I did have to "settle" for goose fajitas last night.

[Rick]

I wish I had the time to go work with you, I'd definitely be out there. It's a whole lot better than where I go every day.

They miss you, too:

[Darren]

"They" look pleasantly plump and growing by the second.

[Rick]

Have to feed to multiply, so I'm doing my part to insure Dave a good crop. Should be bountiful, as this morning's front set the drying project back to "go".

[DComeaux]

I wish I had the time to go work with you, I'd definitely be out there. It's a whole lot better than where I go every day.

They miss you, too:

HA!

Post by Rick » Wed May 27, 2015 10:06 am

Have to feed to multiply, so I'm doing my part to insure Dave a good crop. Should be bountiful, as this morning's front set the drying project back to "go".

Gee, thanks.

I was on I10 around the lacassine exit or a little further west when I ran into that front. It was a menacing sight and the wind was ridiculous. The wheeler's were applying brakes and I made sure I wasn't on their downwind side. I drove in varying intensities of rain all the way to Houston. Not a relaxing drive.

[Bad1701]

I wish I had the time to go work with you, I'd definitely be out there. It's a whole lot better than where I go every day.

They miss you, too:

HA!

Post by Rick » Wed May 27, 2015 10:06 am

Have to feed to multiply, so I'm doing my part to insure Dave a good crop. Should be bountiful, as this morning's front set the drying project back to "go".

Gee, thanks.

I was on I10 around the lacassine exit or a little further west when I ran into that front. It was a menacing sight and the wind was ridiculous. The wheeler's were applying brakes and I made sure I wasn't on their downwind side. I drove in varying intensities of rain all the way to Houston. Not a relaxing drive.

Fuck I bet not.

[Rick]

Did our marsh's farm releases today, including a few in my mudhole, which is looking pretty sweet after all the rain and before Summer heat pops however much of the bottom up.

[DComeaux]

Did you release some at our place? I'm away from home and haven't been on the computer or watched TV until this morning
How's the weather been over that way? Any drying taking place?

[Rick]

Saw the pics elsewhere and hope your vacation was as nice as they looked.

The farm releases are mitigation for two years ago's eggs, of which there were none on that farm. Only year I can recall it failing to produce. But there were two or three nests there last year, so there'll be plenty coming your way next year. Have had to draw the water so low on your end that everything's moved out, including the big guy in the NW corner. Though he's been hanging by the screw gate and may return when the smoke clears.

I've been out there for a couple or three hours most days since we finished chunking gators and am still finding making water run uphill slow going, even without any new rain this week. Cuts haven't been leveled in who knows how long, and where there aren't clay ridges to dig through, the ground is so rotten that it's self sealing. Don't know if it will ever get plowed. Know it won't get poisoned, and every day of new growth slows the drying process that much more.

Anyway, Marsh and I walked just about everything this morning, and it looks like we've only two or three more trips before we've done all we can with a shovel and it's up to the sun and wind gods.

[DComeaux]

The vacation is wonderful with one night remaining. Overindulgence in all things did happen. My thoughts are now turning to all things duck. That farm is a B%$&H.

[Rick]

Finally got to spend a little time in our marsh this morning and had my first look at the mudhole since turning some farm release gators loose there this past Spring. Has grown up a bit:


and will take some grinding:




But I've seen it much, much worse, and I'll not complain.

Though I can't help but worry over how young Marsh will adapt to its challenges...

[DComeaux]

It looks like you have a decent amount of water under that vegetation. You only need a underwater bush hog and a rake.

[DComeaux]

It looks like you have a decent amount of water under that vegetation. You only need an underwater bush hog and a rake.

Did that well blow out inconvenience you?


(Had to quote myself to add this)

[Rick]

Hope no one was hurt, but I've been too far back under my rock to even hear that an area well blew out, much less be inconvenienced by it.

On the other hand, it's looking like the hydraulic o-ring blow out shut the plowing on your piece down before I could complete it. Doug was talking about bringing the tractor home to start another project, rather than finishing that one, when I last saw him. Though it was still where I parked it on your north end when I was out there showing a blind down the road late Friday.

Will be picking in "the islands" tomorrow, then on to Grand Chenier and, hopefully, done with that this week and more into the camp loop after that.