Christening of the Katie Belle

Other than taking the Garfish (our canoe) out for fishing trips and afternoon excursions on Bayou Nezpique, we're pretty much landlubbers.  Until last week.  My Dad bought a boat - a bay boat and we took her out to Big Lake for her maiden voyage.  Big Lake is a 40,000 acre lake, otherwise known as the Calcasieu Lake estuary and is located South of Lake Charles in Cameron Parish.  It opens up into the Gulf of Mexico and is home to some mighty fine fishing, especially speckled trout, redfish, and flounder.

Here we are launching the Katie Belle out of Hebert's Landing.  Katie Belle is Dad's nickname for my mom and the name of his new boat.  So on this afternoon with threatening rainclouds and misting weather, my Dad & Mom, my uncle John, Russ, Benjamin, and I set out for a three hour tour - a three hour tour.


Getting ready to launch

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale - a tale of a fateful trip,
That started from Hebert's Landing on my Dad's new bay boat ship,
The mate was a mighty sailor man, the skipper brave and sure,
Six passengers set sail that day with boots smelling like cow manure.


The first mate and the Skipper

The weather started getting rough,
We were soaking wet with mist,
We caught a tiny speckled trout,
And Russ gave the fish a kiss.
 

We love speckled trout

We didn't set ground on any uncharted island, but we sure had a great adventure.  The boat ran nicely and we enjoyed the afternoon.

Benjamin's hanging onto his cap so it doesn't fly away

Mom christened the vessel with some Chardonnay.


"Katie Belle" christening the Katie Belle

Benjamin holding a small speckled trout that went back into Big Lake to grow for next time.  

Grow up a little and then come back and see us!

Here is Benjamin with the net hauling in a redfish that my uncle John caught.  Benjamin is very handy with the net as we learned on a previous crabbing adventure that I posted about.  So much so that we nicknamed him Benjamin Net-an-Yahoo.  Benjamin hooked a big fish that was giving him a good fight, but it escaped as it neared the boat.  Benjamin was pretty disappointed when it popped off the line, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

Benjamin performing his duty

Here is John hoisting the catch of the day - a nice redfish.  We tried to watch the seagulls and follow them, but the fish just weren't cooperating on this day.  Although we didn't catch a whole bunch of fish, we still had a good time.

Big catch of the day

When we were loading up the boat, the fishermen right in front of us offered their catch to us,  I guess they didn't feel like cleaning them.  We gladly accepted three very nice speckled trout and a flounder to go along with our redfish.  I filleted them when I got home and they sit in the freezer awaiting the frying pan.

Not so big catch of the day

We look forward to more boating excursions this summer and the opportunities to tell more fish stories about the big one that got away.

Be Ye Not Conformed

This past week we had the Youth Group over to the house for what was intended to be a Bonfire and fellowship.  Most of the youth were out of school for Spring Break and it was the last real chilly weather of the season with overnight temperatures dipping into the 30's.  Perfect night for a bonfire, except for the fact that we had very strong winds from the northeast.  Winds from that direction would create a fire hazard since our barn sits to the east of our burn pile.

I had high hopes that by nightfall the winds would diminish, enabling us to light the fire and send sparks high into the night air, warming us and providing us with a nice evening.  It wasn't to be.  No worries.  Plan B involved a fire pit with a bunch of sticks I'd gathered from the yard.  It always helps to have a back-up plan since things have a way of not going exactly as planned.  Be adaptable and resilient.  We ended up having a great night.

Gathering around the fire pit

So using the house as a blockade from some of the wind whipping from the north, we started the fire in the fire pit and got some good coals burning.  Armed with Flaming Hot Cheetos and youthful enthusiasm, we gathered around the fire.  Russ was the master chef of the evening.  He has a neat grill thing in his hand where he is roasting some hot dogs over the fire.  In addition to chips, we had hot dogs, cold drinks, brownies, homemade cookies, fruit, and a strawberry banana dessert.


What a great group of kids!

After eating we had a devotional around the campfire centered around the following verses:

Romans 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may that prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Keep the fire burnin'

We talked about presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice and what that meant.  We talked about the fact that they are each a Child of the King - Princesses and Princes, and are highly favored by our Heavenly Father.  We discussed keeping our bodies pure as they are a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Finally we talked about not conforming to the world.

I'm 46.  I remember what it was like to be young.  I wish I could tell you that I was perfect, but I can't.  These kids are good kids - really good kids.  They are bombarded at school by temptation and influences that I didn't have to deal with at their age.  Their innocence has been under attack by a world that has them in its cross hairs.  Our kids need our prayers.  Our kids need parents who will stand up and be counted and lead.  Our kids need leaders whose lives and actions match their talk.  God, I hope that I can be that type of person for them.  Parenting is the hardest thing I've ever done.  A good buddy and I often repeat that phrase to each other.


Smiles everyone, Smiles!

While looking at the burning coals, we talked about letting our lights so shine that others might see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.  We don't want to hide our lights under a bushel basket.  We want to be in the world, but not of it.  At the same time we talked about being careful.  I used the illustration of someone standing on a bench.  Is it easier for the person standing on the bench to pull someone up to his level or for someone below him to pull him down to theirs?  It's easier to be pulled down.  I challenged them to keep the faith and not be pulled down into peer pressure and ungodly influences and temptation.  

Walking the walk

We sang a song around the campfire.  Remember the song "Pass it On"?  

It only takes a spark, to get a fire going?
And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing,
That's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it,
You spread the love to everyone
You want to pass it on.

Shout it from the Mountaintop!

The group ran around in the pasture with the animals, climbed trees and went down the zip line and eventually got flashlights and ran around the yard playing hide and seek or flashlight army.  I think it is safe to say they had a great time.  It made me think longingly of similar times from my childhood.  Nights that you wished would never end.

Nice fire roaring

As the night got cooler, more and more sticks got added to the fire making the fire leap as everyone sat around it talking and laughing with fingers stained red with Flaming Hot Cheetos stuff on them. 

Flames leaping into the air

Our little fire pit couldn't contain the fire and burning coals fell out of the pit and onto the ground starting new fires, providing a perfect lesson on which to end evening.  What started out as a small spark, became an all-consuming fire which the vessel could not contain.  That fire then overflowed the fire pit and birthed new fires expanding and burning in different directions, threatening to spread out and touch everything in the vicinity. 

Light the fire in my soul

May the fire of Christ's love do the same in our lives and not be extinguished.  May our fires burn flaming hot!

Big Boy

Nah, not this guy...  I wonder what happened to him, though.  As a kid I remember seeing him in front of Shoney's restaurants, if I recall correctly.  On family vacations we'd stop and eat at Big boy restaurants sometimes.  I never see him anymore.

No the Big Boy I'm referring to takes a little explaining.  If you've been keeping up with us we've had a raccoon (we think) that has been killing our chickens.  We've tried this:



A leg-hold trap

And we've tried this...

A big cage-trap in the pasture up against the chicken tractor

And we've tried this...

A medium cage trap outside the pasture against the woods

So far, other than catching the neighbor's cat and an opossum, we're striking out.  Time for Plan B and that is where Big Boy comes in.  I introduce you to Big Boy, our new livestock guardian dog.  He is a Great Pyrenees, an old breed that has been used for centuries by shepherds in northern Spain and southern France to protect their sheep and we are hoping that he will protect our chickens.    

Big Boy, friend of chickens and worst nightmare of raccoons

He is a very gentle and affectionate dog that has grown on the whole family quickly.  A friend knew about our predator problem and just happened to hear that Big Boy was available.  The price tag on Big Boy was affordable - "Free to a good home" and so we picked him up.


I'm a nice guy, really.

So we placed him in the pasture for the first day in his guardian role.  He did not chase the chickens and acted real laid back and just scoped out the territory.


To Protect and Serve

Only one problem with Big Boy, Rosie and Daisy, our two Jersey cows, do not like him in "their" pasture.  They came to check out the newcomer and starting rushing toward him threateningly.  Big Boy started to bark, but it was clear the cows were on the attack.  We had to remove him from the pasture as we were kind of afraid for his safety since, even though he's big, they weigh probably a combined 1,600 pounds more than him. 

Not worried about the two behind the electric fence, but worried about these two bullies charging me in this paddock!

This is going to take a little time to get the cows acclimated to the newest member of the family, but they will.  Each day we've been walking him in the pasture and getting the girls used to him.  It's working.  They're being nicer.  Tomorrow we'll put him back in the pasture and see how it goes.

In the meantime, we keep the cage traps baited until Big Boy completes orientation and starts work full time.

Saving Bok Choy Seed

This past fall was the first year we planted Bok Choy.  Otherwise known as Chinese Cabbage, this was a new vegetable for us.  It is widely used in Chinese cooking and is generally stir-fried or sauteed as a side dish.  It is a very nutritious dish that is in the brassica family, closely related to the cabbage or common turnip. 

Bok Choy

We liked it, but I really planted more than we could possibly eat, and we couldn't keep up with all the production before a lot of it bolted and went to seed.  That's okay, though, since it is from heirloom, open-pollinated seed-stock, we can save the seed and not have to buy new seed next year.  Here's how we did it.

The plant extends a long stem with yellow flowers that eventually yield a multitude of seed pods on it.



Bok Choy Seed pods on the long stem

Once you notice the seed pods getting a tinge of yellow color, you can clip off the stems with some clippers.  If you don't clip them at this point, the pods will open and the tiny seeds will shatter all over the ground and you will have lost your seed.


Clipping the stem for drying

I simply store the stems/seed pods in a bucket for several weeks in a dry location.  In this time the pods turn from green to brown and they become dry and brittle.  You can mash them down at this point. 

One of two buckets I have of Bok Choy Seeds

These boogers are prolific in producing seeds.  Please ignore my very dirty fingers below and check out the number of seeds in just one seed pod.  I count 17 seeds in just one pod - amazing!


Seeds of Change

When the seed pods are dried, I poured into a separate bucket and began to mash up the stems and pods to release the seeds.

Mashing up the seed pods

One handful at a time, I pour into a separate bucket.  You can see the seed separating from the chaff below:


Separating seed

I pour this mixture through a colander that will allow the seed to flow through, but most of the stems and seed pods to remain in the colander.

Pouring through a colander

And here is the finished product.  It looks just like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and turnip seed.  I'm sure there is a better way to do it since there is still some chaff in the seeds.  It was a pretty windy day when I did this and I tried to mimic the way they used to thresh wheat.  I threw the seed in the air, allowing the wind to carry away the chaff while allowing the heavier seed to fall back down in the bowl.  I could have done this for longer and ended up with really clean seed, but I didn't see the point.  This Fall, I'll plant the seeds and see what type of germination I get.

The finished product - Bok Choy Seed

It is important to save your seed in a dry location.  We save vitamin and supplement containers for this purpose.  I used a funnel to pour the seed from the bowl into the seed storage container.

Bok Choy Seed

Since some seeds look alike, I find it very important to label the container with the name of the seed as well as the crop year that it was saved from.

Labeling on the cap of the container

I really do have a lot of Bok Choy seeds.  This is less than half of the total seeds I have drying right now.  If anyone is interested in trying some Bok Choy in their garden, get in touch with me, I'd be more than happy to share.

Our Lawnmowers

We put our little John Deere lawn tractor in the garage back in late October after we mowed the last of the summer grass and leaves.  I'll crank it up every once in a while to make sure it still starts for when we need it, but we try to delay using the John Deere to mow until we absolutely have to.  It is officially Spring right now but the nights are still pretty cool, so the grass hasn't started growing vigorously yet.  I'll hear the neighbors firing up their lawnmowers to mow the white dutch clover that fills their yards.


White Dutch Clover in the yard

We fire up our mowers as well, but we use a different type lawn mower to trim our clover - Rosie and Daisy.  Unlike my boys, they show excitement about being asked to mow.  They also don't need to be filled with fuel.  Aside from the cow patties that they leave scattered on the front lawn which some people find unappealing, I can't really think of any downside to letting the cows do the mowing for me.  I'm sure if we lived in the suburbs, the Home owner's Association would likely frown upon this lowbrow practice.

Rosie & Daisy chowing down in the yard

So oblivious to deed restrictions, Rosie and Daisy set out to mow a section of our yard.  They don't have harmful emissions that harm the environment, unless of course you count...  Well, you know.


The Jersey Zero Turn Radius Lawn Mowers at work

They run excitedly from one clover patch to the next, noses to the ground, skillfully pulling out each piece of clover and devouring it. 

Clover for Daisy Lou

Cows are not emotional creatures.  You will never see them smile.  They are very even keeled and the only time you really see them show enthusiasm is on that first cool, crisp day of the fall.   They'll kick up their heels and run around.  Looking down at this platter of clover, I'll bet she's smiling on the inside in her own cow kind of way. 

Do cows smile?

She's nose deep in the clover now, but she has that twinkle in her eye to let you know that she's happy.  

Daisy's favorite meal - white dutch clover

It's kind of rude to stand over someone while they're eating, so I'll move on down the road.  Enjoy your luncheon, Miss Daisy.

Finally, here's how we keep our lawnmowers from mowing our neighbor's property or getting out on the road.  I have some temporary electric wire fencing on a reel that I unroll and affix it to some step-in fiberglass posts.  To be honest, I don't even hook it up to the charger.  The cows have been shocked before, so they respect the fence and don't go near it.  We don't leave the house while the girls are mowing, though.  We keep a close eye on them.  Once we see them sit down, they're done and we walk out and lead them back to the pasture. 

Cows inside the temporary fencing mowing down the clover

Tomorrow, I'll simply pull up the temporary fence and move it to another part of the yard where there's more clover.  Clover provides the girls with lots of protein, digestible nutrients and calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.  This, in turn, enables them to produce the most delicious, nutritious, milk on God's green earth. 

Daisy and Rosie - Mowin' the grass & puttin' milk in the glass.  Thanks girls!

Jethro Bodine's Favorite Meal

If you've been keeping up with the blog, we've lost a few hens and meat birds to a predator.  I think it is a raccoon, so I have 3 traps that I've been setting every night and other than catching the neighbor's cat, I haven't had much success.  If we were depending on my trapping prowess to provide our meals, we'd probably be mighty thin and perhaps be boiling dandelion roots for nutrition.

But things took a turn for the better last night and this fellow was waiting for me in the trap.  An opossum.  Could this be the guy killing my chickens?  What am I gonna do with him?  Unfortunately for him, he's not protected by the due process clause of our Constitution like we enjoy.  What are my options?  I remember as a kid, I'd watch the Beverly Hillbillies on TV and Jethro Bodine's favorite meal was Granny's possum stew.  Yum!  I wonder if Tricia could google up a recipe...


Possum in the trap! 

After I skinned him, Tricia boiled the old guy with some beans.  I'm only joking!!  This is actually some comfort food that we enjoy - 15 bean soup.  The meat is a homemade smoked sausage that our neighbor blessed us with - not possum sausage, but pork and deer. 

15 bean soup

Along with the 15 Bean Soup, Tricia has some Blue Stone ground Cornmeal.  She mixed that up and put it in the oven so that we could have some hot blue cornbread to eat with our meal.  Is there anything better than hot cornbread with a big pat of butter melting on top?  I don't think so.

Mixing up Blue Cornbread

I picked a nice bunch of fresh kale from the garden to go along with our meal.  This stuff is so good for you.  I also pulled some beets up to add some color and flavor to the plate.


Fresh Kale

Now although it is actually called 15 Bean Soup, we eat it over rice similar to what we do with Red Beans & Rice.  Scrumptious!  Look at those vittles!  Although there's no possum on that plate, I'll be Jethro would eat that plate and be standing at the pot for seconds.  Check out the blue cornbread...

A nice plate of stomach-pleasing vittles.

Back to ol' boy in the trap, I'll tell it like this.  I had a neighbor who always had the greenest, most healthy vegetables in his garden.  One day I asked him, "Mr. Bill, what do you do to make your vegetables so nice and healthy?"  I still haven't figured out if he was serious or not (but I think he was), when he said, "Kyle, here's my secret - at last count I have 62 stray cats buried in my garden."  Mr. Bill had a different twist on the old Indian trick of burying a fish with each corn seed they planted.

If the choice is between him and my chickens, it's an easy choice.  I'll leave it to you to figure out where my alleged chicken killing possum is.


RIP Chicken Killer