We'll give it our best shot ...

I was going to start this article by saying that unless you live in North Carolina or south of there, you know this winter has been pretty cold up North.  But it appears that the South is really getting pelted by snow and cold temps. I have seen pictures of several inches of snow on the beaches of the Outer Banks near the Kitty Hawk area, and my son sent pictures of the snow at their house in Raleigh.  They got over 6" of the white stuff -- which is great for the kids being able to ride sleds, saucers and cardboard box sleds in the back yard area.  But it isn't too good for the drivers of the area who have absolutely little or no experience driving is this snow and ice.  But my son also told me that the stuff is melting quickly and they are expecting temperatures in the 60s this weekend.

But all of that doesn't play too well back here in Ohio.  It's winter, and it's cold.  In fact, it has been so cold, that the pond has been pretty much frozen over for weeks -- pretty much since just before Christmas.  Soooooo, not wanting to have another fish kill this year, I figured I had better open up some holes so they could get some oxygen and sunlight.

I got the chain saw out of the basement and did some maintenance on it (my old military commanders would be proud of me pulling the maintenance first).  I mixed the gas and oil, put a new chain on it (it seems that cutting ice really wears down a chain saw) and checked the oil levels.  Everything was good to go so I went out to the pond -- hearing my wife telling me all the while to "be careful, do you really need to do that?"

Normally the first thing I do is start walking and jumping up and down in the shallow end of the beach area so if, by some chance, it is not as think as I think, I will only fall through up to my knees.  That step accomplished, I then cut my first "line" in the ice to get an idea of how thick it really is.  Seems this particular day, the ice was at 7 1/2 " thick.  Wow!

So, feeling pretty secure that this was going to go well, I moved out by the end of the dock and started to cut away.  The object here is to cut out a few 2 foot by 2 foot squares, push the ice block down under the top layer in order to expose the water to the air.  Then I turn on the air bubbler so as it pumps "warmer air" into the water, it will also cause some of the "warmer water" at the bottom of the pond to rise up and open up the holes a bit more.  That's the theory behind all of this.  And actually, it works pretty well.  Before I had the bubbler, I would cut holes with an axe, and then graduated to the chain saw. But the only trouble was the holes would freeze back over almost as fast as I could cut them. So anyhow, you get the picture.  At first the neighbors who would drive up the road and just shake their heads when they saw me out there.  Couldn't figure out why I was so determined to ruin a good cutting chain on the saw!

It was funny -- my wife posted a picture of this on Facebook and the comments she got ranged from "be careful" to "why are you worried - they're only fish!"  You can kinda tell pretty quickly who has ever wetted a line before and who has only known a fish that comes from a market and a frozen foods box or maybe a restaurant.

Sometimes doing something like this is what you have to do when you take on the responsibility of having a pond, especially one where so many of the neighborhood kids learned to fish.  Besides, it kinda reinvigorates me and brings back memories of my childhood when we did the same thing (with the axe) on farm ponds during the winter when we were growing up in Zanesville.

I kinda, sorta also think the fish appreciate it (may be a stretch, huh?).  I know when the ice melts and the spring temperatures ignite my fishing spark, I am glad there are decent sized fish here and they are not just little 6" fingerlings that I had to put in because the winter killed all the rest of them.

BTW, I plan to redo the dock this year.  The decking is getting a bit worn and splintery and I don't want to be picking them out of my feet.  Besides, I think if I lower it a bit, I can sit there with my feet in the water. Doesn't that sound like fun!!

So here is a picture of this morning's efforts at opening the hole up.  The bubbler did a pretty good job -- but then again, it's up to 33 degrees this morning here. Hmmmmmmm -- getting close to golf weather, 'er, I mean, fishing weather.

And that reminds me -- it's time to clean up all my fishing gear and check the lines to see if they need replaced.  Nothing worse than having a line snap in the middle of the fight because it was old or frayed.  This can get really expensive too when I have to replace line on my fly rods.  That stuff sin't cheap.

My Biggest worry is that when I'm dead and gone, my wife will sell my fishing gear (and golf clubs !!!) for what I said I paid for it. (Koos Brandt)

Hooah

Second year for Wreaths Across America at Graceland Cemetery ...

On December 16 of this past year (2017), the Vets to DC Organization sponsored the Second placing of wreaths at the Graceland Cemetery in Sidney as part of the nation wide Wreaths Across America program.  Our first effort at this in 2016 saw us put out 166 wreaths.  This time, we did a much better job and ended up with 413 wreaths being placed.  The day was very nice -- no ice storm such as we had in 2016.  This day came with temperatures in the upper 50s and lots of sunshine. 

With the warmer weather came lots more volunteers to put the wreaths out.  The Color Guards from the VFW Post 4239, AMVETS Post 1986 and the American Legion Post 217 all presented their colors.  Also present was the Firing Squad from Post 217 under the command of Mr. Weldon Oakley. 

The ceremonial wreaths (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and the POW-MIA) were all posted at the main flagpole by service Veterans, uniformed military service members and Scouts from Troop 97.  There were quite a few citizens from the Sidney/Shelby County area present to help with the placements too.  This turned out to be a great tribute to the Veterans of our county.  Just a small way in which we can pay them back some for the sacrifices they made for us.

Below are just some of the pictures from that day.

The Vets to DC is planning to participate again in 2018 in this project.  Anyone who wishes to assist in the activities by placing a wreath or sponsoring one or several wreaths can visit the web site for this at Wreaths Across America and go to the Graceland Cemetery, Sidney, OH site to donate or sign up to assist.

We are bound to them even though we cannot look into their eyes or hear their voices.  

We honor their history; we cherish their lives.  

We will tell their story.  

We will remember them.   

Hooah

Sure do miss this ...

Well, just finished running the snow blower up and down the drive.  Didn't get a whole lot of snow -- only about 3", but, you know, when you're bored, you need something to do.  Besides, a snow blower with heated handles is almost like cheating.

So now, I'm back at the computer catching up on some of my articles.  It's either this or working on my Morse Code paddles, trying to get up some sending and receiving speed so I will be able to work CW (Morse Code for all of you non-amateur radio people) at our Ohio State Parks on the Air Contest which is coming up in September (gotta give myself lots of time!).  Besides, this article deals with the Outer Banks beaches and our trip there this past fall.  Lots of sunshine and warm temperatures.

On our last trip to the OBX (that's what all the "regulars" call it), we stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn and had a side view from our balcony.  We could see the ocean, but it wasn't post card worthy.  So this year, we decided to go all out and get an ocean-front room.  Boy what a difference.  Got a pretty good price too because there were bad storms off the coast and the beach work was going on now for a while -- and add to that it was the end of the tourist season.  Well, the storms never hit (big waves though), the beach work moved on down the way some, and the end of tourist season is a pretty good time to be there is you just want a beach vacation and are not worried about water slides and go-kart tracks, and all that kind of stuff.

Speaking of the waves, these looked like some of the ones you might see in the big surfing states. We didn't get out in the waves too much because they really were pretty tough.  When they would break, kinda sounded like a small car crash.  The kids didn't mind though.  They would break out the boogie boards and make a day of it. 

On one day we had a huge tide along with the big waves and the beach actually flooded -- water came up over the area where the tourists were usually spread out.  Got up to a foot deep and it was kinda fun chasing the little crabs around.  They're pretty quick.

One other nice thing about an ocean-front room is that we could get pretty good views and pictures of the sunrises each morning (well, at least Pam could.  It's hard to take pictures through your eyelids).

Oh, by the way, we did do a touristy thing one evening -- we went to a miniature golf place and played a round of putt-putt.  We drove by that place at least a dozen times and it looked like it was abandoned -- no players.  So this one night we decided to see what's up with it and don't you know -- that night a couple of hundred people decided to do the same thing. Go figure. 



You know, I've read some reviews of the OBX by people who have said that it is not a very good place for a vacation, nothing to see and nothing to do.  I heartily disagree -- there are plenty of light houses, golf courses, beaches, the Wright Brothers area and exhibits (might have to use your imagination a bit), other towns and plenty of places to take walks, eat, watch people, and enjoy a slower pace.  Might take a little effort, but it is there and we'll probably be back a few more times.

To go out with the rising sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace your inner soul.
Hooah

Now this isn't something you see everyday ...

Looking back at some of my pictures from the past year, I came across something which, at the time, seemed like a bid deal.  Pam and I had planned a return trip to the Outer Banks, NC this past fall and were really looking forward to it.  Mother Nature, however, had something different in mind.  It seems that earlier in the year, they had that big storm that came up the East Coast associated with the hurricane that really tore things up all along that area.

In response to all the damage to the beach areas, the towns along there (Nag's Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, etc.) all decided they needed to "renew" the beaches.  Apparently this is a somewhat common, albeit expensive, thing for that area.  But, if you want the tourism dollars, you have to have the beaches.  They also serve as buffers to the waves and high water from storms, kinda sheltering the houses and businesses that are built along shoreline.  So, the work is expensive and time-consuming -- but it is a spectacle for tourists to take in (at least once).

The process involves ships (large dredges) and tugs, rather large floating pipes, and gigantic sand moving graders and earth movers constantly moving up and down the beach.  Sections of the beach are often closed off to tourists for days and weeks at a time, really throwing a monkey wrench into vacation plans, especially if you rented a house on the beach that now has no access to the water right in front of your four- and five-figure retreat.  There are lots of workarounds and other beach access areas, but that's not the point.  The pictures of these ships were taken from the balcony of our hotel room, four floors up and right on the beach.  I was using a telephoto lens, but they do not do justice to the actual size of the operation and the ships.  I would call them "boats" but some of my old Navy friends would be texting me to highlight the difference between a ship and a boat.

 
Anyway, Pam and I found it very fascinating.  Well, at least Pam did as she was on the beach "watching" every day.  It was a little less fascinating to me from the golf course, but they had plenty of "sand" there to contend with and it wasn't nearly as expensive as what they were doing.



I did find some of the equipment fascinating.  There was one tall thing that looked like some sort of "earth walker" from the Star Wars movies.  It would literally roll around on the beach, go out into the ocean (20-30 feet deep or so) and move sand around.  Someone said it was building breakers of some sort out there for waves (I don't know -- could be true). Anyway, they really looked cool.

They finished the section right in front of our hotel, and were in the process of moving to another section of the beach.  In order to do this, they have to "blow" the pipe that was used to move sand and "float it."  I am sure they have way more technical terms for it, but that is what it looked like.  In order to do this, they blow the water and sand out of the pipe back towards the beach.  It was quite a sight -- all I could think of is "there she blows" and out came huge water showers.  Some of these "blow-outs" had to be at least 40-50 high. 

So, all in all, it was really pretty cool to watch, and it really didn't ruin our vacation in any way.   There was plenty to do and besides, there is nothing that can beat a relaxing day just sitting with my wife in lounge chairs, under an umbrella, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean... especially when I look out my window today at the snow coming down (about 4 inches or so today) and the National Weather Service calling for winter weather advisories and wind chills back in the negative numbers.  Oh, well, it's Ohio -- what do you expect.

As I mentioned earlier, once they were finished blowing out the pipes and they were ready to move on to another part of the beach, they had one of the giant earth movers come and lift the pipe up on to some large metal floating object, they then wrapped some very large steel cables around the whole thing and when finished, a tug would pull and the earth mover would push the whole contraption out into the ocean to  be pulled off to their new work site a few miles down the coast. 

This was a several million dollar project and, watching it every day for a week, you could tell that they really knew what they were doing.  The logistics of moving ships into position every day, round the clock, 24-hour dredging operations, performing required maintenance on their equipment and scheduling personnel -- all of this told me that this wasn't their first rodeo.  And to do this according to a schedule that took into account ocean storms and foul weather -- pretty impressive.

Oh, one other thing ... all of this work scared off a lot of people so even with it being the end of the tourist schedule we really had a lot of the place to ourselves.  There was a lot less traffic and the eating places were way less crowded.  It was even easy to get a tee time (Yessssss!).  Needless to say, it won't always be this way.  Hopefully they won't be required to do this all the time, and I know we won't be this lucky on reservations and crowds -- but I am sure we will be back a few more times.  Great place.

The Beach -- the only place I know of where salt (water, air, etc.) actually lowers my blood pressure.

Hooah

A couple of family gatherings ...

We recently had two family gatherings and I wanted to bring you all up to date.First there was the Thanksgiving celebration at our house.  It was a very nice day and I managed to remember how to set the timer on the camera so we could get this picture.

A long time ago we gave up trying to get "all" of the family together for the holidays.  It seems that there are just too many other obligations pulling people away, so we take what we can get and have a good time.  I think everyone kinda looks forward to me fumbling with the camera, running around to get in the picture (complete with a resounding chorus of "Run, Forrest, Run!" from the members of the peanut gallery), only to find out that I didn't set it correctly and we have to go thru it all again (and again, maybe).

The tables were set just right.

 And the "cook" is caught in a mid-sneeze moment as she is reacting to an overdose of pepper to some stuffing.

Of course, no get-together would be complete without a friendly game of after-dinner pool.  Luke and Pam are having at it.

The nice thing is that we got to do it all over again at Christmas... and guess what -- I managed to get there in the picture just in time.  Guess I still got it!

 

So that brings you up to date on our celebration pictures and family gatherings.  It's an ageing group, but we're still doing pretty well.  This year saw some medical issues, stress producers like moving, redecorating, renovating, and just "getting older" things, but we made it through them all and dare I say, they are not invited to come back!!

What greater blessing to give thanks for at a family gathering than the family and the gathering.(Robert Breault)

 Hooah

Something different this year...

For the past few years, Pam and I have tried to do some different things when decorating the house and grounds for Christmas.  It is such a nice place and I really like being able to put up festive lights and other decorations.  I think it really helps spark the Spirit.

I put most of the lights on timers so they will come on at different times.  I especially like having the lights on at 7:00 a.m. for an hour or two so the kids who are going by on the school bus and the neighbors going up and down the road on their way to work will see them and  maybe have a little nicer start to their day.  I don't know, they might just see it as the old retired guy rubbing it in, but I choose to take the high ground and brighten their day.

So here is the newest set of decorations I put up.  Last year I put up these wreaths on the fence posts, but kinda thought it was missing something.  I didn't want blow-up Santas or lights that looked like reindeer or snow flakes on steroids.  Something nice and simple would do just fine.  So, I thought lights along the rails and around the wreaths might look good.  See what you think.

 I took these pictures shortly after putting them up, and just before sunset.  This was also before any snow came our way.  Unfortunately I never got around to taking a picture with the snow.

Snow came late to McCartyville Road so for about a month, this was what people would see as they drove by during the day. 

All in all, I thought it turned out pretty well.  In fact, we didn't take them down until well into the second week of January -- partly because the temperatures for the first two and a half weeks after Christmas never got above single digits and often hit negative numbers on the weather machine (just too dag-gone cold to be out there -- I could wait until the January thaw came...), and partly because I still liked the look of them.

I think I might go with this again next year.  I guess I'm kinda old school that way.

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness. (Bob Hope)


Hooah