I Usta Throw a Curveball

Drove down to the cities for Christmas. Weather was too dangerous for Johnny and the girls to come up here. We went over and saw our grandson and then had a quiet Christmas Eve at John's. Played some cards and had a couple of Captain Morgans and coke. John and I don't normally drink that but we know somebody who did so we always have a couple on Christmas Eve. Guess that's now our tradition.
Chaos reignith Christmas Day when the girls got there. After presents, we decided to play some Wii. My favorite was the bowling. No idea how many games I played. Then it was time for the snowball fight. I can hardly move my right arm.......And I thought I was in shape.
A three hour drive home took four hours yesterday. T'wasn't a lot of fun on the freeway. Blew out the driveway. One neighbor came over with some treats today and another showed up with his plow and plowed out my mailbox. It's funny. People live up here for the peace and privacy yet they always seem to be there when you need some help. You don't even have to ask. We really only knew one neighbor when we lived in BP and up here we know all five couples. Funny how that goes...
Oh, and speaking of that curveball. It's the only real pitch I had in Little League. I tried to throw one to my nephew about six years ago and tossed the ball into the lake. My arm hurt the next day after that effort as well. I never seem to learn.
Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Be safe New Years Eve...

The Future? Oh Yeah, and Last Wednesday....

Ever notice how busy people are these days? It seems to get worse each year. At least to me it seems to. Ok, I'm retired so it's easy for me to talk, however, there are more ways to occupy ones time than ever before. Cell phones, that do darn near everything, computers, year around sports, school, work. It just goes on and on. It's the world we live in I guess and I'm just a spectator. I'm hoping these two and maybe my grandson will become hunters. Sure we can bond in many other ways but I might shoot a big deer again someday and I need someone to drag it out for me..... It builds character....
Ok, weather report. We got between 15-17 inches of snow Wednesday. Thursday was the start of the four day does only deer hunt. It was 6 below and Dewey Drive didn't look too inviting so I went back to bed. It was 17 below this morning. I would have loved to have gone out but had to drive to Superior to let the vampires have some blood. Darn.... I had fresh venison for dinner last night so the incentive really isn't there.
Ok, medical report. Took my last pill this morning and am feeling like my old self. This dang climate change is keeping those ticks active longer. After all, I got bit in November. Unless those little suckers have snowshoes, I should be safe now...

The Opener - 2009

Deer hunting tends to humble a person and this year was no exception. I started the day before opener by making a visit to the ER at St. Marys Hospital in Superior. I contracted Lyme's Disease and was about as sick as one could get. They gave me a shot in the hip and armed with 10 days worth of pills, I headed home. Didn't feel worth a damn on Saturday but hunted anyway.
Remember those big bucks from my previous blog? Well, we never saw them. I shot a nubbins buck Sunday afternoon and Johnny shot a doe Monday. Tuesday I was in the Cities and it poured all day Wednesday. Johnny and the girls came up for the Thanksgiving weekend and we hunted hard. He saw a couple of does and a buck but didn't have a shot. I heard one.....
I was still sitting in a tree when darkness hit Sunday night.
The trail camera is out and I'm already planning new stands. Watch out Mr. Buck, I'll be waiting for you next year......
Oh, and for you folks that wander out where ticks live, read up on Lyme's Disease. It can be wicked if not treated. I was in today for a follow up and though I feel fine, I have to be on pills for another 11 days. They told me if I didn't take them, I would be back inside of three months and that wouldn't be pretty...

Deer Hunting

These are a couple of the big boys roaming my land. I captured them with my trail camera and only posted them to get your attention.
Thirty or so years ago, a buddy of mine told me that his grandfather had once told him that if you hunt deer for nine days just for that split second when you pull the trigger you should probably find something else to do to occupy your time. The return on the investment wasn't worth it. For some reason I never forgot that.
I first started hunting deer when I was 15. I got to go with my dad the last 2 days of the 9 day season. There weren't many deer back in the 60's and by the last weekend, what few that were left were hiding out pretty good. I wore hand me down clothes, socks stuffed in old shoes and overshoes and stood in the snow carrying a gun I had never shot. Never did see any deer but dang it was cold!! My dad asked me later why I kept hunting considering the lack of deer and lousy clothing I was stuck with. I guess I was just too stubborn or maybe I just liked hanging out with my dad and my uncles Wally, Lenny and Vern. They enjoyed each others company more than they did shooting deer. What I group of guys to be able to hang out with. I miss all of them so much.
When I was 21, my dad bought me a used 30.06 semi-auto rifle. It was used but was in good shape. We also started to see some deer. The way we hunted in the woods was to get out to our stands in the dark and sit all day. I'd pass the time by reliving my life (that would take 5 minutes), thinking about work, wondering if the other guys were as cold as me and looking at birds and whatever creatures would wander by. Then, out of nowhere, a deer would appear like a grey ghost in the morning mist. I'd wonder how the heck did he get so close without me seeing him? My heart would pound so hard, I just knew he could hear it. As long as my heart keeps pounding, I'm not going to worry about the return on the investment.
Next Friday my son and the guys will arrive for Saturday's opener. The hunting party is changing again. One guy's gone but we've added a new hunter. We can tell him all our stories and plot our strategy for opening morning, which basically consists of all of us sitting in trees....
Opening morning I'll walk out to my stand in the dark. I'll sit there and, of course, relive my life. I'll look down at that old 30:06 I'm cradling in my arms. I'll think of my dad, I'll think about my sons and I'll wait for that grey ghost to appear out of the morning's mist......

Hangin' Out With An Old Friend

I've been busy of late with my trail camera. I got some nice pictures of numerous does, two bucks (one of which is huge), a bear and a crazy rabbit who keeps stealing my apples at night. BUT, Sam likes his picture taken so I opted for my old dog.

Sammy just loves it up here. So many new smells. One day I walked out to one of my stands thinking he was back at the house. I started messing around at the stand and a couple minutes later, I heard a noise, turned around and there he was. He doesn't want to miss a thing and follows me everywhere.

I have to be careful as 5 minutes of walking around in the woods will cause him to be sore and stiff the rest of the day. Big time!

Yesterday he finally discovered deer. He saw a doe and fawn next to the house and growled at them through the window. He wouldn't leave the window until they had left. Last night I let him out and as he walked out of the garage he saw a doe and two fawns across the street. He tried so hard to run after them. I managed to call him off as every such effort causes him to stiffen up so bad. He was happy though as he chased those darn deer away. He likes that.

Today I sighted in a couple of guns behind the house. He had to stay in the house with Glenda as he goes nuts when a gun is fired. Once I was done, he was let out of the house and headed right for where I was shooting. After sniffing around, he headed for the target and tree I had pretty much blown to smithereens sighting in my 30.06. He was looking for the bird. He hasn't hunted in seven years but has never forgotten what it's all about.

Right now he's fast asleep in the kitchen. He's had another big day. Later he'll limp into the bedroom, start to snore, and rest up for whatever tomorrow brings.

I now understand why "old" people get so attached to their pets. People come and go and even good friends and family are only there some of the time. That dog is there every morning when I get up. Ready for a treat, a trip outside and then his breakfast. Oh, and then he has toast with me. Been doing it for 10 1/2 years. I hope we can do it for a little while longer.....

What Lurks in the Night!!

Johnny wanted to pick out a deer stand where the big bucks live. I dumped a bunch of apples and set up my trail cam to see what lived back in the hinterland where we built his stand. This beauty came through late one night and then again the next night as well.

I pulled my trail camera and came back two days later to find all the apples gone. There's either deer activity around or this fella now weighs 20 pounds.

I've been busy building deer stands but now may stop and start constructing an ark. All it does up here is rain. Ok,ok, it's been raining all over but I've got this giant clay field we call our yard. It ain't pretty.....On the bright side we are feeding lots of birds as they are eating all the our grass seed which has floated to the lowest spot in our so called yard.

HOWEVER, "Mel and Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume 1" is ready to be put to cd. We each picked four country and four rock songs. Actually it went quite well. I questioned one of his rock songs which I considered country and he questioned one of my country songs, considering it a rock song. That's a wash! We even had room on the cd and at Mel's suggestion allowed our better halfs to each pick a song for the cd. That's 18 songs in all!! suggest you get your order in before the Christmas rush. This is gonna be huge.... I think.

I know possess a "Sconnie" drivers license and have purchased a small game license. If it ever stops raining, I' think I'll go chase some of those grouse I keep flushing when I'm wandering around the woods with deer stand lumber under my arm. I wonder if these birds will fly in the direction I am shooting???

An edifice to the deer gods.....

I built the first deer stand on my property this last week. It's a lot of work when you do it by yourself. About 15 or so trips carrying ladders, boards, tools, etc. Glenda helped me and was instrumental in holding up my ladder when it almost tipped over on me. Don't know how good a spot this will be but we set up the trail camera today so we'll see what wanders by over the next week or so.
I've found a few other spots I plan on building in. They are a lot further from the house but utilizing the road and the ATV trail I've got, I'll get em done. I'm stubborn if nothing else. Now I gotta go but some more wood!
It does feel like deer hunting season. An inch of snow yesterday and it was 22 degrees this morning. Makes for nice walking in the woods and we've scared up a few grouse. Speaking of which, next Sunday and Monday I'll be back in Minnesota hunting grouse with my old buddy. Hopefully the birds will be flying in the direction I'm shooting. Even if they're not, there's no place else I'd rather be.....

Turkeys, campfires and other things.....

Well, those of you that know me well do know that I am probably a certified pyromaniac. Nothin' beats a good fire. I spent a good part of Friday shovelling soggy clay so I could create this little fire pit. It's not up to my standards but one has to be careful with 70 acres of woods right behind you.
It's interesting that in Wisconsin you have to get a fire permit to burn and have to check in each day to see if conditions are such that you can burn. Well, I have a ton of stuff to burn and since it's rained about a foot in that last two days, I could hardly wait to light one up. So, I get on the internet just to be a good boy to verify that I can burn only to discover that this county doesn't allow burning on Sunday!!! What the (&*&&**(())$ That's not gonna sit well with me..... Oh, and that includes holidays as well so I can't even invent some obscure Norwegian fiesta that only I have heard of. I'm not happy...
The misses took the picture of these turkeys right outside our bedroom window. We've been watching about nine or so hens and as many little ones. Haven't seen the gobblers but they must be around somewhere as that's where the little ones come from.
I spent the last couple of days searching for a rifle clip and some Contender shells. I looked everywhere convinced that they must have become victim to spontaneous combustion. I was down to one old metal box I kept coins in. Of course I had lost the key so had to destroy it to get it open and lo and behold, there was my stuff. Now I'm back to being armed to the teeth but will have to buy another metal box...
It's funny this moving thing. You find stuff you've kept for years, not daring to throw away. Then you realize you've been moving it from house to house year after years and have never used it. When we moved the folks out of their last apartment, I found probably every card we had ever given my parents. My mom kept them all. We read a lot of them and then threw them out. I've come to discover that I do the same thing. I've got 20 oe so cards and letters I keep in my dresser drawer. Cards and letters that, well, I just couldn't throw away. I found them today, looked at the pile and put them where they belong, back in that dresser. I couldn't start reading them. I know what's in some of them and it would tear me up to start reading. So then, why do I keep them???
Tomorrow it's finally supposed to stop raining. I think I'll take a long, long walk.

3 1/2 months.....

Howdy! Hard to believe it's been that long since we moved from the lake. Time goes so fast.
The older I get, the less I enjoy being out of my element. I guess I just need that comfort zone and my own space, Never used to be that way....
I did take my own advice, noted in my last blog. I got on the phone and TALKED to my friends. Quite a change from email, blogs and all the other impersonal ways we communicate these days. Even got a few invites for cookouts and the like.
BUT, now it's time to get a move on and start planning some activities. We've been so busy unpacking and trying to get organized, I've hardly spent any time in the woods. That's gonna change starting this weekend. Kurt will be coming up and then Johnny and Uwe. Uwe is our new deer hunter. Always fun to welcome a new hunter into the fold plus I can impart all my great wisdom upon him!
Been seeing turkeys at the end of my driveway, deer of course, and there's at least two bear roaming around. Hope to get out grouse hunting soon after I decide on the location for the next great deer stand.
I had another wonderful idea. I'm teaming up with "Real Texas Fish" and we are going to put together - are you ready for this? "Mel and Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume 1". We're each gonna pick 4 rock and 4 country songs. Mel's already working on his list. I, umm, haven't had the time yet but it's gonna be a great cd.
Well, hopefully tomorrow they can get the hot water heater working. That and some excavating and we're pretty much done except for some furniture left in storage and figuring out how to best organize my garage - the "Man Cave". Damn I hate moving however this is where we want to be...
Hey, a special thanks to Kurt, Blase, Uwe and Stone for walking ditches with Johnny and I over Labor Day weekend. Not many volunteers anymore so we all had to walk two miles each. No matter. Time goes fast when you walk with good people......

Goodbye.....For Now

We had a long weekend to say the least. With the help of our good friends Al, Anne, Ty and "Twig Man", we moved two trailers loads of our stuff into storage in Wisconsin. I don't know what we would have done without their help. Thanks guys!!
I wanted one last picture of Glenda and I against the backdrop of our lake. So many years, so many experiences, so many good friends.....
Glenda took a shot of me planting my dad's rhubarb on our property in Wisconsin. I've taken it with me everywhere I've gone. I hope it makes it. He was so proud of that rhubarb and, well, I am my father's son...What else can I say. I've come to enjoy hearing from you folks every now and then and will miss being able to hear from you over the next 2 - 3 months. This damn internet, email and blogging makes things so impersonal. I'm going to have some time on my hands. I think I'll pick up the phone.....
Until later....... Dew

Fishin', The Last Weekend??

Memorial Day weekend is normally a good time to be fishing our lake. This year, because of a couple of cold fronts, the crappies were pushed out. We did catch a mess of sunfish and Taylor helped us clean them.
Sunday night, John and I decided to make a campfire and watched the grandkids fish off the dock as the sun was setting. Of course, Taylor nailed this nice crappie and the kids caught a few more before they decided to play soccer in the dark...
Taylor also caught this nice bass from shore and with the walleye she caught two years ago, she is becoming quite a fisher person. I told her next is to gut out grandpa's deer. We'll see how that goes.
Earlier that evening John, Glenda and all three grandkids went fishing. I lit up a cigar, poured a Jack and sat on the hill looking over the lake. I thought of all the years we've spent up here (17 to be exact). I thought of all the great people who made the journey up 94 to hang out with us. I don't know if this was ever a home or just a destination, a gathering point for us and our friends.
We pulled the boat that night. While John headed for the boat landing with the trailer, I made one last swing around the lake. A lake I've fished for 35 years. Sometimes I hated that lake. Sometimes I loved it.
But, the only constant in life is change and I think it's time. As Bob Seger said, "..turn the page".

DeweyFest!!!

T'was a fine time this weekend! Everybody took the time to drive on up, or over, to celebrate "The Old Norwegians" 60th birthday.
The NW wind and cold temperatures made fishing lousy, to say the least, but at least it didn't rain.
I got roasted by my 'friends", but they were pretty easy on me. It coulda been worse....
As you can see, much goes on at "DeweyFest" Brian is catching up on the latest news while Kurt concentrates on walking a straight line. Don't ask me why. I don't know...
A special thanks to Doug and Loretta for ALL the work they did in puttng this together. BTW, Loretta's the pretty one and Doug is the one with the funny foot...
I wish I had a better picture of me but this is all ya get. Wind burned dragging Kurt, Al and Mikey all over the lake.
Thanks to you all...... Dewey P.S. "What a long strange trip it's been".....

Noodling, Norwegian Style

So, Tuesday night I stopped at the culvert to make sure water was still flowing out of our lake. The water is still about a foot over the culvert but the vortex was really small. I saw a brown mass stuck in it and figured it was partially clogged with weeds. Being tired and since I was a bachelor last week and had to cook my own dinner, I said to heck with it and started to drive home. A pickup flagged me down. It was one of my neighbors, Charles, and he asked me I saw the weeds in the culvert. He wanted to know if I thought he could remove them with a rake without getting wet. I said'go for it" as I was tired and wanted to go home.
My phone rings aboput a half hour later. Charles was down at the culvert, had got all wet and said the water was too deep. He said he only had waist high waders and needed chest high ones. I asked him if he wanted me to come on down and, of course, he said yes.
When I waded in, the water immediately got all murky and I couldn't see a thing. I reached down with my bare hands and felt what seemed to be a piece of metal wedged in the culvert. Then I grabbed onto what I thought was a piece of rope. I pulled on it with no success and finally stuck both hands down around this object and started to twist and tuen it. Finally it came unclogged and I pulled up, by it's shell, the largest snapping turtle I had ever seen. My response was "AAAAAHHHHH" and some words I won't repeat and I dropped it. It was floating on it's back, as I picked myself up from the mud, and we just stared at it. Of course, since we had now cleared the culvert, a very large vortex now formed and guess what? The turtle was sucked back into it. We stared at each other as now the culvert was plugged again, AND, we knew what was in it. I looked at Charkles and said, "Are you sure that turtle was dead?" He "thought so"...
Well, once the water cleared a bit, I saw the tail and started to yank on it. When it broke free, Charles grabbed it by the back of the shell and we pulled it out of the water. We flung it to keep it out of the wonderful vortex we had once again created. As I pulled myself out of the muck, Charles hollered "it's alive!" Sure enough, it was swimming around. I had Charles push it to shore so it wouldn't get sucked into the ^&**(^%$% culvert again, and there we were.... So, we picked it up with the shovel, walked it across the road, and deposited it into the neighboring lake.
I then went home and poured a giant highball. The next day, the good old boys at work said I was lucky to have all my fingers....
Next time the culvert is plugged, I ain't stoppin'
The crappies started to come in this weekend so fishing should be good next weekend for DeweyFest. But first, I gotta go and try and get another turkey.....

Another season is upon us

Well, I hired a young guy that works for me, and his buddy, to help me and "The Great Indoorsman" put everything in the lake this weekend. The new dock is easier to put in but I should have had the front poles made longer. Hope the lake keeps going down. But, what the heck, it looks nicer and isn't that what counts?

Glenda heads for Wisconsin this week so Sam and I will be on our own.The Opener will be kinda different as for the first time in probably 30 years, I will fish alone. Although I do have this 105 lb four legged friend laying on the floor by me snoring as I type this. He always likes to ride in the boat.

One more week and it's off to Wisconsin in search of another turkey. Al says we are also going to look for morel mushrooms. That's gonna be interesting cuz I don't know the difference between poisonous and non-poisonous ones. Think I'll let him to the pickin' Two days of hunting and then it's a mad dash back home for "DeweyFest"

Hey Walker, good luck on your surgery tomorrow.....

Wisconsin

We spent the weekend checking out our land as Glenda haad never seen it without snow. The first shot is me standing in an 8 or so acre meadow looking back on the 40 we walked thru to get to this area. I did not get lost finding this spot!!! I don't care what Glenda says!! We jumped two large deer feeding out there and one grouse. We heard anoth 15-20 grouse drumming. If the spring doesn't get too wet, it could be another good year for grouse.

The second shot was taken a third of a mile East of the first shot. It's right off the main gravel road and is where we someday hope to put our house. In the lower right of the shot is some of the wood I brought up to create more monuments to the gods (deer stands). Oh, and I found 30 or so old tires in this meadow. Anybody need a free tire???

The ticks were out in full force, but that's part of woods living.

This week I gotta pick up my boat as the dock and lift get put into the lake this next weekend. Crappie season is upon us and then it's back to Wisconsin for more turkey hunting.

Turkey Hunting - 2009

We had a great hunt this last week. I nailed this 22 1/2 pounder opening morning using the "modified Johnny stalking method". I can bore anybody who's interested some other time. Heck, I can even bore anyone who's not interested. Never stopped me before. But, once again, I digress...

Johnny got this nice jake on the third morning. He made a nice shot. I was with him just hanging out as once I shot my bird, I put my gun away. It was fun just sitting there, behind a deadfall, whispering back and forth. Well...I guess you just had to be there.

Kurt passed on a couple of jakes so went home turkeyless. (Is that a word)??

Sammy took a tumble following his brother Hank in pursuit of a squirrel. He could hardly walk for two days but seems to be getting a little better. I don't know how those battered joints hold up. He's a tough dog but I get worried sometimes......

Next weekend it's up to Wisconsin to see our friends and show Glenda our land as she's never seen it without snow on it and hasn't walked it at all. I'll bring up some wood in anticipation of more new deer stands for this fall.

Then in three weeks it's off to Wisconsin again to hunt turkeys with Al. AND, then back home for DeweyFest. BTW, "Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume 1" is complete and I am busy burning copies. I hope everyone likes it.

Oh, and "Real Texas Fish", a copy will be in the mail this week!

April 1st 2009?

Well, we got hammered last week. 14+ inches of snow and we were stranded for 1 1/2 days. My snow plow guy even got stuck in my driveway.
Glenda slid off the road, went through a ditch and ended up in a farmer's field. She said she was just holding onto the wheel, was heading towards the ditch sideways and thought she would flip the truck. She said the wheel suddenly turned, saving her from flipping the truck. She doesn't know how that wheel turned. I guess Pvt. Malone rides with her as well. The Trailblazer is pretty well crunched and is in the shop for repairs but she's ok and that's all that matters.
Speaking of Pvt. Malone, Walker is heading up this way next Sunday and will help me put "Dewey's Greatest Hits, Volume 1" onto a cd. The play list is a secret but you can probably guess one song that will be on there....
We hunt turkeys in less than two weeks and will probably still have some snow to contend with. I took a 3 mile walk down the road this morning to check out those big birds. A lot of gobbling was going on and I've been seeing a lot of birds of late. I'm looking forward to that hunt and hanging out with Johnny and Kurt. That reminds me, I probably should pick up a bottle of champagne. Let's not wait until the last day to get our birds this year. Ok guys?
I'll probably try and get over to Wisconsin in the next few weeks. Need to get some tree stand wood over there and start some scouting before the leaves start to emerge. Then it's off to southern Wisconsin for some more turkey hunting, then I gotta get the new dock and the lift in the lake in preparation for "DeweyFest"!
Finally, some things to do......

March 27th, 2001

Eric, I don't run as fast as I used to and I get tired much easier. I don't know how much of that is age and how much of it is because of the weight I have been carrying these past eight years. A weight that, I guess, will never go away.
I think about you all the time and wish I could have been more like you. I am so proud of you and your brother. Two finer sons a man could never have asked for.
You were, and are, and always will be my hero..... Love, your dad

Walking with an old friend....

Though it was cold and windy this morning, I wanted to walk down the road to see if I could hear any gobblers. Of course, Sammy wanted to go along. We used to walk all the way to the mailboxes but lately he can only make it to the bend in the road. He still likes to check out all the interesting smells of the critters that wander around after dark. The heart is still strong, the desire is still there but the legs are starting to fail him. When he stops, I know it is time to turn around. I let him make that decision.
I hope before all is said and done, I can take him up to our land in Wisconsin. I know he won't be able to go far but I know he would like it. Walking in the woods, he'd be hunting. Gun or not, he has never forgotten even though it's been seven years since he had the legs to be able to hunt.
And then, his spirit would always be there.....

Dewey Gets a New Computer!!!

Ok, Ok, So I've had it for a week. Stayed home today cuz of the blizzard so have been trying to fill my day with meaningful stuff.....Like I just discovered I could print in different colors. How come no one ever told me I could do that???
Anyway, while watching videos on TV today I got the idea that maybe I could watch them on my computer. Well, yes I can so I blew the next two hours pulling up cool videos - like I'd watch any other kind....
I pulled up some from "Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume 1". Some weren't available. I guess they didn't have videos back in the stone ages when some of my songs were played - or color for that matter.
I finished my book on John Lennon and went out and worked out to "Double Fantasy"
"Life is what happens while you are making other plans" - J.L.

February Should Be Outlawed.....

Not much has been going on but I'm getting tired of that picture of me baking cookies. Oh, and by the way, they're long gone.
My neighbor Dave came up and fished this weekend. He was all over the lake and was out in my walleye hole last night after dark. It was cold so I watched his light from the comfort of my porch. Had a highball and was glad to be warm. He didn't have any luck at all so I felt vindicated wimping out.
I got drawn for turkey hunting in two states so decided to go out and buy some new turkey calls. That was required as my "significant other" decided that sticking the same call in my mouth over 20 years was not healthy. At any rate, I went shopping for calls and discovered that now one has about 50 options on mouth calls. After looking through most all of them I finally decided on one only to discover that it was a "junior size for small mouths". Well, that ain't gonna work for me. I finally did purchase a couple and have been blowing them around the house much to the dismay of my "significant other" and my dog. Ahh, but it's like riding a bike. The turkeys, hopefully, will be in trouble.
Since there isn't much going on I did my taxes AND pretty much compiled my list for "Dewey's Greatest Hits Volume 1". I've got 18 songs and am not sure if they will all fit on one cd. I guess the other problem is that I have no idea how to put them on a cd. I'm gonna have to work on that.....
On a much brighter note, it's less than 3 months to "DeweyFest"!!!

The Voodoo Lounge, The Fat Lady and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts

Well, this title should be self explanatory. I decided it was time to launch the Voodoo Lounge so I got me some minnows, hoisted the lounge onto my atv trailer and headed down to the west end for some crappie action. I spent 3 hours last night staring at my Vexilar with nary a fish echo to be seen. Driving in I heard the fat lady singin' away so that made my plans for this morning real easy...I slept in. When I got up, I took Sammy for a walk and dumped the minnows in the woods.
The best part of makin' cookies is eating the raw dough. I'm not supposed to do that but I'm pretty sneaky and usually get away with eating my fair share, Of course now I've got a stomach ache, feel guilty and will have to hit the treadmill. It's the price you pay I guess.
Hey, we lost two more rockers this last week. Billy Powell, keyboardist for Lynryd Skynyrd and Dewey Martin, drummer for The Buffalo Springfield. Where has the time gone.......

40 Years Together.....

It was 18 below 40 years ago tonight when Glenda and I were married. I was, and still am, a very lucky man. It's hard to imagine anybody putting up with me that long, but through all the good times and some very bad ones, we've always been a team. Yeah I know that's a cliche but that's the way it is.
So, to celebrate, Johnny threw us a little party and invited 15 or so of our very good friends. It was so cold but everybody came. From all over the cities to some very good friends who drove down from northern Wisconsin just to spend a couple of hours with us.
When we got home, there was an email card from our good friends in Texas.
Like I said, I'm a lucky man..... Thanks guys...

Ice, Ice, Ice, Ice Baby!!

No, I haven't decided to become "The Norwegian Rapper" though I'm sure I'd be quite good at it. It's just that I've had ice on the brain this past week.
"The Great Indoorsman" and I got The Hotel California off the ice Monday night. Things had froze up real good so I was able to yank her out with my ATV. I walked away from her and only went back this weekend to see what was inside. Well, there was a couple of ice covered splitting malls, a cribbage board and cards, assorted pieces of ice covered wood, seat cushions, chairs, tackle, a frozen beer and an open bag of Skittles. You notice I used the word "open". There were green ones, red ones, yellow ones, purple ones and god only knows how many more colors of the little buggers all over the floor. It took forever to pick up all those little ^*(*(@#^%$#$* guys. I did try a couple, however, and they are quite good... But I digress.
Once I dragged all this stuff home to unthaw I noticed that the underside of my ATV was totally incased in ice. I had been told that is not good so decided to unthaw the green machine. I got a little electric heater and it took me about an hour to get the back side unfroze. I took a break and went in the house to warm up and eat some fresh, warm banana bread that I knew was a cookin'
I told Glenda what I was up to and she suggested a hair dryer. I thought that was a wonderful idea, so armed with one I headed back to the garage. Actually it worked quite well and when I was done I decided to blow comb my hair. Yes I do have hair left under my baseball cap!
So now everything is unthawed. We did walk down to the boat landing early this morning. Heck it was 10 degrees and no wind. It seemed almost balmy. But once again I digress. Dang I gotta quit doing that...
At any rate, I wanted to check out the landing and any plowed roads leading west. After all, there are still crappies to catch and I do have "The Voodoo Lounge" all ready to go.....

Livin' it up at "The Hotel California"??

Ah, once again the intrepid walleye fishermen hit the ice. We actually caught four this year. Stone and Uwe stepped up and caught two each. Nothing big, but better than our last couple of years. Of course, the weather cooperated and dumped a bunch of snow on us Saturday when this picture was taken.
Sunday morning when I first headed out to start chipping the hotel loose it was 17 below. Three hours later we dang near got it to shore before getting hopelessly stuck. Later Glenda, Conley and I shoveled a path from the lake to his driveway so we could get my atv unstuck. We had our plow guy plow a bigger swath to the lakes edge (he got stuck too), so we can try to winch the hotel off the lake tomorrow night. I'm still not sure how that is gonna go.... We just gotta try.
This will be the last year I launch "The Hotel California". It's getting to be too much work for me and Glenda and I can't, and won't, rely on our friends to kill themselves hauling my stuff on and off the lake. It's been a good ride with the hotel but all things must pass.
Thanks to Johnny, Stone, Uwe, Tommy B. Brian and Conley. Of course, a special thanks to Glenda for putting up with all of us. It's been a good ride.....