Limbing Trees and Other Yard Work

Yard work isn’t my favorite thing to do. If I have the choice between working on a vehicle or working on the yard, the car or truck will win every time. Still, there are some jobs at my house that fall under the label of man’s work and one of those jobs happen to be limbing trees. For those of you who don’t have too many trees, it is the removal of limbs that are dead, are dying, or just not contributing to the overall health and beauty of the tree. You cut them back. It’s that simple. Just the same, not my favorite job so I try to combine something else I like to do with it to kind of even it out and make it more palatable, like shooting.

While I am sure it is not a surprise to most folks that I hunt and use a gun I am sure it is a surprise to many that I use a gun to limb my trees. Several reasons. One, the limb is too high up for a saw…even a pole saw. Two, using a pole saw puts a body in an awkward position causing strain to the back. My back is sore enough already. Three, I like to shoot my guns. Gives me a good reason to shoot at the widow makers and check my gun sights. There you go, three perfectly good reasons to use a gun instead of a saw. My wife, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same appreciation for guns that I do so I try not to shoot much when she is home. She doesn’t like the noise and I am all about having a happy wife. I wait until she’s gone to target practice and limb the trees my way.

Imagine her surprise when we stopped at a friend’s house and he was standing under a tree limbing the branches with his rifle. You should have seen the look on her face when I said he was limbing the way I do. She just don’t get it. Looked perfectly natural to me. Good way to clean up and test your gun I told her. She still didn’t get it.

I guess it’s a man-thing.

Making Dog Food

Like I said before, I got hunting poodles. The wife and I have 3 poodles, Annie, Salty, and Fred. Annie’s a great hunter and Salty’s a little guy (5 pounds wet) with the heart of a lion. Fred’s Fred. Great little guy but took a little longer to catch on to things. Not much of a squirrel hunter but let a varmint in the yard and he’s all over it. Forget about bringing to me and set it on the porch. He makes mince meat of it, what ever it is.

Well, this is about Annie and Salty, back before Fred came to live with us. Annie likes to hunt squirrels. She’s pretty fast but usually just a little too slow for the squirrel. Every so often she gets one, though. Well one day she was ready for it. The squirrel came down from the tree and jumped for the bird feeder. I don’t know how she did it but she jumped and caught it in mid-air. Caught it by it's tail. The squirrel came around and bit Annie on the lip and just wouldn’t let go. Annie didn’t know what to do. She shook her head and tried to get the squirrel off but it wasn’t going anywhere, that is until Salty saw what was going on. Salty, the littlest tough guy in the neighborhood, grabbed that squirrel off Annie and killed it, then brought it to me on the porch. Set it right down by my feet!

Poor Annie. Her feel goods were hurt….and her lip was sore. I took the squirrel, skinned it and cooked it for the dogs. They did good, even if her lip was tender. Got to reward good work.

I bet you thought I was going to give you a recipe.

Hunting with Annie

Yeah, you guessed right, I am a hunter. In North Florida I hunt deer and wild hog. I would hunt squirrel but the wife says it looks like a rat and she won’t eat it even if it does taste like chicken. Says she’d just soon deal with feathers. I usually hunt alone but every so often I take my dog, Annie. Annie’s a cute little girl, just happens to be a poodle. Now for all of you who think “A poodle? That’s a foo-foo dog!” I am here to dispel the notion that they can’t hunt. Ya see, poodles were used for hunting years ago. Their thick hair and agility made them great hunters. They’d hunt bear! OK, the big ones hunted bear. People bred the poodles down to the little things they are now and tried to spoil the tough spirit out of them. They are tough little dogs and like most dogs, can be trained. In the case of Annie, she’s a natural hunter.

Years ago, I had red-nose pit bull dogs for hunting. Caught a few wild hogs with them. They were my pets, too. Great dogs but needed watching. When I was away fishing (I’m a commercial fisherman, too), the dogs got out and killed the neighbors chickens. Not very neighborly. My wife told me to find someone to take in the dogs since they needed someone to hunt with….something I couldn’t do if I was away fishing. Made sense. A couple of months later, the wife saw a sign “POODLES for Sale” and had to have one. She wanted a little dog to drive around with and picked out a little blond girl. Named her Annie.

Annie must have been an old girlfriend in another life because she took to me right away. Just loved on me so I thought I would teach her to hunt. She stalks squirrels, watching them in the trees for hours, barely taking a breath. She’s fast enough to catch them in mid air, too. We have a few squirrels around with short tails to prove it.

Every so often I take her with me when I hunt. She’s quiet as can be and growls softly when she sees something. Couldn’t ask for a better hunting partner. She doesn’t talk or move much and with her blond hair she blends into the grass. Good dog. Good at tracking and keeping up. Couldn’t ask for more. Today we saw the prettiest site, a doe and twin fawns. The fawns had spots, looked like they were just a couple of days old. A beautiful site. Annie and I just watched them. I don’t hunt poach does, and I never hunt spots. I’m not that hungry.

Going to my tree stand in the morning. Major feed is about 10:30 AM and I want to be settled in long before feed starts. Maybe I’ll get to see the momma and her babies. Hunting isn’t just about killing and filling the freezer. It’s about  nature, going into the animals’  homes, and being a part of the entire process. To get the chance to live off the land is a gift I appreciate.

Well that’s about it for now. Wish me a safe hunt. Bye, y’all.

Scraping Barnacles

Like many men, I grew up idolizing my dad. Sure, we had our disagreements as I grew up but most of the time he was my hero. He stood tall, was quick with a joke, admired and respected by many, and loved by me and my brother and sisters. He was a Coastie and I wanted to be on a ship like him. I joined the Sea Pilot Cadets when I was a boy instead of the Boy Scouts. I learned about sailing, tying knots, and the ways of the water, lessons that stayed with me throughout my life. I watched every show that had to do with fishing and sailing, even SpongeBob. It seemed whenever someone got in trouble and got stuck with a job they didn’t like it was scraping the barnacles off of some ship.

Imagine my surprise when my wife brought these home. 

Yup, that’s right, barnacles. Pretty but big, nothing like I’m used to seeing. Then she started telling me about this show she watched where the host ate barnacles. She said it took place in Chile and no, it wasn’t that guy on the Travel Channel who eats anything and everything even eyeballs.

I volunteered to cook that night……burgers and fries. No barnacles. Gotta watch that woman.

Raiding the Tackle Box: Making Fishmas Tree Ornaments

Talking about old fishing lures and making key chains got my wife thinking and looking through my garage. I hate when she ventures into the man cave. Not that I mind her company but she cleans, moves stuff around, and appropriates things, this time, fishing lures. Seems she had a little Christmas tree stashed in a closet that she wanted to make into a Fishmas tree. After a trip to Walmart for bobbers, curling ribbon, and a bag of split rings she got to work.

First, she went through my tackle box. She picked out a few that were old and worn out, you know, shabby looking. 

Then she gently scrubbed them up. Used a soft toothbrush so she wouldn’t loose the paint on the lures.

Next, she removed the hooks. If you’re going to do this, be careful not to get stuck.

 

Here’s where the ribbon and the split rings come in. Cut 2  6 inch lengths of ribbon for each lure. Then, thread the ribbon through the split ring and tie it in the middle.

Attach the split ring to the end eyelet on the lure and make the ribbon curly using something flat. Easy to do with curling ribbon. All the lure needs is a hook to hang it from the tree.

 

The bobbers were even easier and a lot safer. No cutting off old hooks. Use round bobbers. The wife used 1 1/4 inch bobbers. They come 6 to a pack and cost about $1.50.

Push up the shaft and the hook will come up on the other side. Place a length of ribbon there, about 6 inches works good. Tie the ribbon to the tree. That’s it. Merry Fishmas!

 

   Came out kind of cute. Got a fisherman or woman on your list but don’t have old lures? I found some at Wally World a pack of 5 for $10. Brand new so you can skip the scrubbing part. Have fun and HO, Ho, Ho, Merry Fishmas!

Dan the Man and Fishing Lures

Welcome to my blog where I jot down ideas and tell stories about my life in the North Florida woods. I live here with my wife, 3 dogs (poodles I've trained to hunt), one cat (the other got snake bit), and a lovebird I bought for my wife. We live far back enough from the road that not too many people can see the house. Good. That's the way I want it. The folks who matter know where I am and come to visit often. We have a big house, a bigger garage, and about 20 or so boats. We'll talk boats later.

Hunting and fishing in the part of north Florida I live in is a way of life for many and definitely is for me. I live for it. I plan next year's hunt the day after hunting season is over. I know the moon cycles and the way it affects the deer and fish. My favorite TV channel is the Weather Channel. My favorite clothes are camo.

Yesterday my wife found some old, excuse me, vintage fishing lures while yard saling and decided to make key chains out of them. Cool idea. She showed me them before she started and I swiped one before she could "upcycle" it (her words). Great little trout getter. The keychains are cool, too. She did them up and posted them in my Etsy shop, MetalWoodsnWater. Now she wants to decorate the Christmas tree in old fishing lures and bobbers. I do believe she's redder than me.