SKEET MANIA! SKEET MANIA!

FISHING ON A HOT JUNE DAY

2009-06-27T21:18:00.003-05:00

Today I got my fly rod out for the first time this year. I went down to the pond at the back of the pasture. I wasn't sure what I would catch (if anything at all). Last year when there was such a bad drought in the area.....we had a big fish kill. The water in the pond got so low and stagnant that I knew that most of the fish were dead. Anyways....I thought I would at least practice casting my rod. I did catch a fish....a little bluegill.....about 5 inches long.

So I was pretty surprised....and pleased. I studied the water for a little while and noticed that the fish are spawning.....I saw many minnows and tadpoles too. That good to know....that the pond is in good shape. Normally when the Swindall family gets together the guys go fishing down at the Coosa......whatever we catch (as far as bluegill, crappie, catfish and shellcracker) we keep in a 5 gallon buck and release in the pond. Must be working. Anyways......anyone interested in fly fishing or fishing locally get in touch with me and we'll get together.

CHARLIE BROWN METAL

2009-05-03T10:41:00.000-05:00

CHARLIE BROWN

2009-05-03T10:37:00.001-05:00

GUNS? THINK ABOUT THIS.....

2009-04-19T09:12:00.002-05:00

Benjamin Franklin: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." (Nov 11 1755, from the Pennsylvania Assembly's reply to the Governor of Pennsylvania.)

Samual Adams: "The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." (Convention of the Commonwealth of Mass., 86-87, date still being sought)

Diane Feinstein: "US Senator, If I could have banned them all- 'Mr. and Mrs. America turn in your guns' -I would have!" (Statement on TV program 69 Minutes, Feb 5 1995)

Adof Hitler: "The most foolish mistake we could make would be to allow the subject peoples to possess arms. So let's not have any talk about native militias." (Hitler's Secret Conversations, 1941-44, Farrar, Strauss and Young, 1953)

Adolf Hitler: "This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead." (Chancelor's Speech, 1935)

George Washington: "Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the people's liberty teeth (and) keystone... the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable... more than 99% of them [guns] by their silence indicate that they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference [crime]. When firearms go, all goes, we need them every hour." (Address to 1st session of Congress)

Noah Webster: "Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe." (1787, Pamphlets on the Constitution of the US)

George Washington: "A free people ought to be armed." (Jan 14 1790, Boston Independent Chronicle.)

James Madison: "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed, unlike the people of other countries, whose people are afraid to trust them with arms." (Federalist Paper #46)

Mahatma Gandhi: "Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest." ("Gandhi, an Autobiography," M.K. Gandhi, 446)

Bill Clinton: (US President, has sworn an oath to defend the US Constitution, (not to violate it, criticize it, and belittle it)) "When we got organized as a country, [and] wrote a fairly radical Constitution, with a radical Bill of Rights, giving radical amounts of freedom to Americans, it was assumed that Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly...When personal freedom is being abused, you have to move to limit it." (April 19 1994, on MTV)

"Now there was no metal smith found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "Lest the Hebrews make for themselves swords or spears"...But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, each man to sharpen his plow blade, his coulter, his ax and his maddock. So it came to pass on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul or Johnathan; but with Saul and Jaohnathan there was found [other lethal weapons] 1 Samuel 13:19-22)

HOW TO GIVE BACK!

2008-12-24T11:42:00.000-06:00

David Spade helps Phoenix police buy rifles
Dec. 22, 2008, 5:48 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Phoenix Police Department has gotten some high-powered goodies courtesy of actor David Spade.
The one-time Phoenix resident donated $100,000 so that the department can buy approximately 50 AR-15 rifles.
Spade said he wanted to make the donation after seeing a TV news report about Phoenix officers having to buy their own rifles. Spade grew up in the Phoenix area and graduated from Arizona State University.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Alan Hill says the rifles will be given to patrol officers and that the agency was grateful for the gifts.
"These guys need to be able to do their jobs and I am just happy I could help," Spade said in a statement released by his publicist.

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS.....

2008-07-25T23:31:00.003-05:00

You know....you never know what tomorrow holds. If you're a follower of Jesus then He tells you not to worry about tomorrow. Why is that?

I guess (to me) if you worry about tomorrow you miss out on today. My experience is that I don't enjoy what's right in front of me and I'm usually pretty grouchy. Plus, what can I do about tomorrow. I'm talking about a responsible person here. I mean....if you don't work (because of laziness) then pretty soon you'll run out of money and be forced to go without. I'm not talking about that situation. I'm talking about the person who worries about things that they don't have control over. "What does tomorrow hold for me?" is a typical thing to worry about. People worry about being sick.....about dying.....things we have no control over. People stress out.

I talked with a friend of mine earlier today and I can sum up our conversation in this adage..... 'When life gives you lemons.....make lemonade'. I have never met anyone who has been through so much in their life before as this man. To me.....he is a walking miracle. And he has the best attitude towards life. But I believe that his brush with death changed him. His Faith and his love for life comes out of him without having to say a word. To me that speaks volumes.

I'll admit....it's easy for me to lose sight of what's important. What has worked for me is searching for God. It's humbling. It works. Don't get me wrong....I'm still searching.....just scratching the surface....but it works. My search has changed me. God promises in the bible that if you search for Him with your whole heart....then you'll find Him. Because of my search, I've grown to love people more. Especially my wife. I love her more now than when we first married.

Talking to my friend today really encouraged me. An excellent reminder of what's really important. Honestly....you've heard this before too.....'You can't take it with you'........know what I mean?

CUSTOMIZED RUGER 10/22

2008-05-03T08:59:00.006-05:00

A while back I bought a beat up Ruger 10/22 from a guy for practically nothing. I took it to Owl's Hollow and found out why. It jammed every other shot ( I was lucky to get that!). So I set it aside for a while then decided to see what was offered on Ebay. Blew my mind! You could make this rifle look like a futuristic commando weapon. There was anything and everything to change the look and upgrade the performance of this gun. But I like things simple.

I found a new stock for 10 bucks......a scope and mount for 20......and a new titanium ejector for 20 bucks. You should have seen the gun.....when I got it that stock was painted purple with glitter accents. NOT PRETTY AT ALL! You know....after I changed out the stock and added the scope it was pretty nice. A feature that I loved about the gun was that it's barrel and components were made of stainless steel. I liked that! Don't have to worry about rust. Easy to take care of. So anyways....I went ahead and changed out the stock...added the mount and scope....and even added a butt plate (just for looks). I still had not tackled the extractor. The only reason I knew that I had to change out the extractor was because of the advice of a friend of mine. He's very gun savvy and very familiar with the Ruger 10/22. I basically sat down one day and began to take the gun apart. I was surprised at how easy it was to break it down. Take out a few pins and the firing mechanism comes right out. Take out the buffer bolt and the rest comes right out. I managed to change out the extractor in a matter of 20 minutes. Of course...I had to refer to the gun manufacturers schematics several times. But it was easy.

After all of that.... I was searching Ebay for other products and found a customized bolt buffer. It was made out of high grade plastic. I bought it.....it was about 5 bucks. By this time I was a pro at taking the gun apart. All in all.....I've really enjoyed working on this gun. Oh yea.....I took the gun out to Owl's Hollow again and it shot perfectly......after 200 rounds......no jams! I highly recommend the Ruger 10/22.

-JGR

‘‘Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.’’
— Mahatma Ghandi, "Gandhi, An Autobiography", page 446

‘‘The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subjected people to carry arms. History shows that all conquerors who have allowed their subjected peoples to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by so doing. Indeed, I would go so far as to say that the underdog is a sine qua non ["something essential" lit. "without which not"] for the overthrow of any sovereignty. So let's not have any native militia or police.’’
-- Adolph Hitler, Edict of March 18, 1938

‘‘Four out of five politicians surveyed prefer unarmed, ignorant peasants.’’
— Unknown

"You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone."

-Al Capone

FLY FISHING

2008-03-30T11:31:00.005-05:00

Eventually I knew that I would be at this place in my quest to improve myself as a Fly Fisherman. But I never knew there was so much out there about tying your own flies. Blows my mind!

This is an excellent book....I did my Google research on it......it's highly recommended. Now that I've had some time to go through the book....I've decided that there's way more to this than I could conceive of. But that's OK.......I know that I don't have to do it all. I have my limits. Plus, I also know that I don't live in an area where salmon and trout are readily available (other than the grocery store!). My joy has always been fishing with poppers. They are called 'surface bugs' in this book. But 'surface bugs' includes much more than the popper. The name describes it all. Pretty much any bug that is on the surface or just above the surface of the water. This includes: grasshoppers, spiders, dragon flies, ants, moths and butterflies (to name a few).

Even though I'm drastically narrowing down my scope of 'flies'.....this revelation greatly broadens up my repertoire of fishing lures. Most of what I fish for are bass, blue gill, brim and crappie. Sunfish in general. I don't claim to be an expert in fish nomenclature. So what I've discovered that there are 'surface bugs' that are made in the likeness of spider, moths, ants, dragon flies and grass hoppers. And they work! I've made most of my purchases off of Ebay. I've been really impressed with the selection of fishing flies available there as well as the quality of craftsman ship. All of the flies that I've gotten have been hand made and very inexpensive.

I look forward to making my own surface bugs. I know it will take time to master. I figure that I'll have lots of 'trial and error' creations......but it's all good. To me....creating my own bugs is taking fly fishing to a whole new level. To be a fly fisherman ( I believe ) there has to be a certain level of skill, some patience, balance, poise and gracefulness. In a world where most of our stuff comes from continents away at our local Wal-mart......how wonderful would it be to get a little closer to home......to be creative......to do things the way they did them centuries ago. -JR

"Some go to church and think about fishing, others go fishing and think about God."
~by Tony Blake~

http://rbcflyfishing.tripod.com/index.html

RAINBOW CITY AUCTION in Rainbow City, Alabama
The most comprehensive collection of fly fishing gear and materials in the area! PLUS......they are very friendly and helpful. The prices are excellent!

OLD SONGS : NEW MESSAGE

2008-03-20T07:11:00.005-05:00

Back in the day (for me) I liked to listen to Cinderella. That was my middle school era. Rock was still 'BIG HAIR' and 'LOUD GUITARS'. Toughness was epitomized by eye liner and spandex. What a time that was! Anyways.....Cinderella (Google them if you don't know them) had a song with a chorus that went......' you don't know what you got....until it's gone'. How true that is.

Here lately I've taken my eye off the prize. I've been distracted. I didn't even realize it. Let me just say this first. I'm not trying to be 'preachy'. I'm just going to say it like it is (to me). My focus for so long has been on work. Money. Things. Events. Politics. People around me. And not on the things that are important (really important). You know...money comes and goes (at least for me it does)......people come in and out of my life......things are just things.....politics, well they're anybodies guess. These things change so much. If I build my life on these things....it's like building a house on unstable ground. I'm easily tossed back and forth like a little boat on a big ocean. And you know what?.....all these things are OK.

???HUH!???

I've discovered that God is good. I've known this. But I had forgotten it. I have tasted it, but forgot what it tasted like. God has a way of shaking things up. These things are OK......if my life isn't built on them. I need something more stable than money to build my life on. Something to keep me grounded and focused. You see....plainly.....my life has been shaken up here lately by something unforeseen. It had nothing to do with any of these 'things' I was so focused on. It got my attention. My heart had gotten hard. It had to be softened. I'm very thankful for God shaking my life.

You see........every good thing comes from God. Your wife is a gift from God. Children are a gift from God. Your salvation is a gift from God. Even your friends. All of these things are eternal. Money will burn up.....so will politics....homes...... work......food....cars..... EBay...... movies..... etc.... etc....etc. I mean, these things don't last forever. They change. God is the only thing that doesn't change. He was here before me....and will be after me. I mean...He made it all......made me....set things in motion. He's THE MAN! He's the one I need to get to know. Find out everything I can about Him. If you ever thought you needed to know someone to get somewhere in this life.......He's the one! When you feel your life shaking.....don't just look around...look up too! -JR

ALL CAUGHT UP

2008-03-09T13:45:00.002-05:00

I really have to watch myself. It's easy for me to get all caught up. Especially when I find something new that I really like. I'll go out and buy this and that.......thinking of new things that I need to make my new obsession complete. Fly fishing....for example.....there's always a new fly out there to try....new line......a case....a vest.....waders......new rod....new reel. It never ends. Then there's Ebay. Makes it all easier to obsess. I know this might sound a bit extreme. But it's what I do. I am thankful that I do have a bit of restraint. I have to remind myself....that I don't really need it. Before long...I'll talk myself out of buying something that I don't really need. It's all about being grounded. What grounds me?

I think what grounds me is a sense of responsibility. First of all....you have to have money before you can even think of buying stuff. I have to work to earn money. Even before that....you have to make sure all of your needs and necessities are met. Then there's my wife to think of....does she need anything? These are the things that normally go through my mind when I think of buying 'stuff'. Then I ask myself....do I really need it? Can I make do with what I've got? I find myself taking 'stuff' for granted and the ability to buy 'stuff'. The ability to buy is such a luxury. I remember times in my life when 10 dollars was a lot. I thought I was in good shape if I had that much in my wallet. I guess I had much more of an appreciation for money. Times do change......but I hope I never lose my ability to be thankful and to stay grounded. Above all.......I have to remember that the ability to make money and have resources all comes from God. After all.....He does cause the rain to fall on the just and unjust. He's good that way. -JR

WHAT DID YOU DO TODAY?

2008-03-01T23:27:00.004-06:00

Boy is it easy to lose track of time.....let the day get away from you! I know with our hectic schedules and 'to-do' lists......it seems that our time is stretched and our days seem to blur together. The horror of it all is.......how much time will go by before this is realized? Weeks? Months? Years? I don't want my life to be like that! I don't want to miss out on life. Life is happening all around us.

One of my everyday joys is to go down to the barn and shovel horse poop. I'm not joking.....it's true. I love being around the horses......the goats......the cats....dogs and the lone duck. How does this tie into life? I enjoy watching them as they interact with one another. Even from species to species. There is a respect for one another...and at times a healthy fear. My horse...Rosie....loves the new green grass that's growing up in the field. It's probably not even an inch tall....yet she loves eating it. It's worth it for her to invest so much time. I feed her plenty of corn...hay...and other feed....but she loves that little green grass. My question is....what do you love?

I love to fish. Especially fly fishing. I love it! Yesterday and today I managed to sneak in a few minutes here and there while down at the barn. At the other end of the pasture is a pond. It's my favorite place to practice my casting. It was a joy to just throw my line back and forth in and out of the water. It was relaxing. It was well worth the effort to make time to do what I love. Because....it is an effort to make time to enjoy life. It is something that we must do. We're humans......not machines. Find your green grass.....and enjoy it! -JR

WELCOME

2008-01-11T19:42:00.000-06:00

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

SKEET MANIA