Better "luck" next time...

[Ducaholic]

Sounds like you got things mostly where you want them. Hopefully some refreshing showers are also in the cards.

[Rick]

Got to visit the fellow who runs the hunting for Oak Grove, one of our region's premier clubs, at one of my grand daughters' graduation party yesterday and learned they were covered up in black jacks (ringnecks) and thanks largely to that were up some, numbers wise, from the year prior. They also took some advantage of good squealer numbers during their first split, before they left the area. (For our marsh, which was below our recent norm early on but back up to par later?) Also noted more wigeon than usual.

In more local news, Call and I were in our marsh this week doing some long overdue hillbilly carpentry to shore up a "chicken or egg" boat hide issue we inherited. Not sure whether a predecessor had tried to repair a failing 2x6 roof support with a second 2x6 that fell short of making the whole span, then added on to it without splicing the two or, for some reason, decided to add those additional lengths of 2x6 as facing and the dip that was then in the metal roof there and channeling rain into the blind through their juncture, held enough of water to rot the original roof support. Regardless, the boat hide was constructed in manner precluding that supporting 2x6's replacement without taking out most of the hide's roof and framing behind the blind, which is a headache I'd rather put off until forced to by a need to replace the fiberglass pit it entraps.

So I finally addressed the issue by kinda-sorta straightening the span with a temporary 2x4 and hammer "jack":

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(Eye-ball measured twice or thrice before cutting and still fell a bit short of level, even after adding the only "shim" available.)

Then settled on a 1x6, instead of 2x, splice to avoid making it more of a potential head-knocker for the guy on its end:

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Went a bit overboard with the chainsaw when trimming the well warped 2x6 end out of the way, but better too much than too little, thought I. And, hey, it's done.

[Rick]

Might also note that all that banging and clanging brought fire ants, quite literally I fear, out of the woodwork, so Call and I were out there the following morning with a jar of the cornbread and borax mix that wipes out tiny black house ants in a hurry, suggesting they carry it home to their nest, as well. But subsequent test results with it on fire ant mounds in our yard were mixed - which offers excuse for another ride in the marsh with "fire ant" poison.

Will also note that more normal post rains water levels allowed us to back in and prop-wash muck from under the boat hide to the end of our "island" I'm trying to expand, as well as run the smaller intra-blind trails we want to maintain.