Give to the Red Cross

There's a lot of people needing a lot of help right now. Go to www.redcross.org and give what you can. $5 or $10 is a significant donation if everyone in the U.S. who can afford it pitches in accordingly. I have been to New Orleans and all the way to the southeastern tip of Louisiana, and I'm afraid that a lot of the people I have met down there may not be around any more. There is a lot of rifraff in and around New Orleans, but there are twice as many good folks in SE LA and in Southern Mississippi. There are lots of guys down there who live for 2 things: Deep sea fishing and duck hunting- let's do our part and help them out as best we can and maybe they can get back doing what they love a little quicker!

How High's the Water Momma?

There have been several state officials from Louisiana and the city of New Orleans that have defiantly proclaimed that, "We will be back and we will rebuild." My only question to them would be: WHY? This city, that only a week ago was home to 1.5 million residents, is now a submerged ghost town save for the poorest and the weakest of its population. Why should the American taxpayers and insurance policy holders be responsible for rebuilding a city that, for the most part, sits 2 feet below sea level. So it can be leveled again in the next 50, 30, 10, or 2 years? The logistical importance of New Orleans is obvious as it is basically where the Mississippi river and the Gulf of Mexico meet, but why must it be populated by people other than those working at shipping yards, oil company outposts, or other necessary maritime occupations. The whole New Orleans experiment has failed. Scientist's have been saying for years that if New Orleans should ever take a category 5 hurricane on the nose that all would be lost. I would say that theory has been proven beyond all doubt as a glancing blow from a category 4 has all but turned the city into the new "Atlantis."

I say let's try to clean up New Orleans the best we can and keep the toxicity and the pollution of the very fragile ecosystem in place there to a minimum and never allow residential rebuilding to take place. Oh, and I've been to Bourbon street and it is overrated at best. I guess gawking at naked breasts of all shapes & sizes and dodging transvestites while the permeating stench of human urine stings the nostrils is fun to some but not me. Here's all you need to know about New Orleanian moral fiber: It's one thing for looters to steal food, diapers, and other essential items- in fact, it is completely understandable. However, in their city's most desperate hour, many of the refugees have returned to their thuggish ways and have stole shoes, tvs, computers, and other materialistic merchandise. What do they plan on doing with all this merchandise? Swim down to their local pawn shop and sell these looted items? When people should be focused on survival and helping others, why are so many New Orleanians spending so much energy on stealing in a place where, for the moment, money and material items do not hold any value? With residents like this, it is no wonder New Orleans has held the murder capital of the U.S. (per capita) title for the last few decades.

It won't be long...

A picture to help cool you off on this hot ass day. It's just a matter of time, boys. Hold... Hold...

The Wet Dog Days of Summer

After suffering through a significant drought over the past couple months, August has been suprisingly wet for Missouri. The rains have resuscitated brown lawns back to their spring lushness and have begun to swell the area creeks and rivers that were previously mired in stagnation. As I write this a huge storm front is moving across Missouri's mid-section that will hopefully send a few showers this way as well. So much rain has fallen in August that many people who were falling just shy of performing rain dances on their crisp pastures are now beginning to wonder if we're ever going to get a day or two to dry out. This is not the perspective of the Missouri waterfowler. It really can't get too wet or rain too much for our taste. For us and the ducks & geese, rain = habitat. By the grace of God we always have the ducks, there are well over 30 million ducks on the North American continent in most years, and 50% of those migrate through the Mississippi River flyway. However, it takes abundant habitat to attract and keep those 15+ million ducks contented enough to put the brakes on their southern migration and stay a spell. When the water stays between the banks, Missouri still has good to great waterfowling; it's when we get enough fall precipitation to send the water up over the banks & levees and out into the fields and forests that Missouri becomes more than just a fly-over state but rather a major staging area for all waterfowl.

Despite our recent good fortune, most of Missouri is still reeling from the mid-summer drought. The USDA has just announced today that all but 2 of Missouri's 114 counties are agriculture disaster areas. In addition, the majority of the state's reservoirs and wetland areas are either merely at a tolerable and manageable level or significantly dry. With underproducing crops, low water levels, and the fast approaching waterfowl season (teal season is 2 weeks away), the anticipation for a lackluster season is in the backs of every Missouri waterfowler's mind. We were spoiled last year with rainwater that backed up and flooded green timber and crop fields all over the state, and the thought of having to hunt while desperately trying to find adequate cover along sun-cracked banks is less than appealing.

However, we waterfowl hunters are a hopeful bunch, even when it flies in the face of common sense. With a great deal of luck, perhaps the sweet summer rains we have enjoyed over the last few weeks aren't just flukes and are actually a harbinger for an extremely wet fall.

Until next time.

Throw another blog on the fire...

After sitting idly by and reading other people's blogs from time to time over the last year or two I figured it was high time I joined in on the ruckus. My main focus will be writing about the many outdoor misadventures I inevitably find myself enjoying with friends and family. I probably won't delve into my personal life much and I'll try not to get too preachy. All I am really after is to create a forum for my hunting and outdoor stories that my friends and other like-minded people might enjoy. Obviously, hunting can be a controversial issue for some people, and I can respect that, I only ask that they respect my rights as well. Ideally, some people will visit this blog who don't hunt or who aren't outdoor types and will come away with new insight and perspective on why people hunt and spend countless hours freezing their tails off on a winter's day. Too many people who are against hunting focus only on the death or killing of an animal, and there is just so much more to it than that.

I enjoy all sorts of outdoor pursuits, and I'll try just about anything once. I may write about cutting wood, a float trip, training dogs, deer hunting, salt water fishing, or any other number of topics. However, my main focus will most likely be on waterfowl & upland bird hunting which are what I love to do the most. Hopefully, this blog will be different from the sea of blogs that now infiltrate the WWW and will serve as a respite for those who enjoy the outdoors as much as I do. Who knows? Somebody might actually learn something, it will more than likely be what not to do, but at least a lesson will be taught!

Until next time.