G'Day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe!

Going to do a blog here while waiting for the temps to warm up.. Saw these two doves out on the fence yesterday

love is in the air and I thought of this song.. Sooooooooooo everyone get on board, pull up a chair and visit a spell..

got a picture of this young dove yesterday before the sleet storms…

and speaking of sleet storms…

going to talk a little about “Turkey shoots” today.. One doesn’t actually shoot turkeys.. One shoots at clay targets and in the good old days when it was first started a turkey (already butchered) would be given out as the prize for the winner.. Today it is usually used for charity events, everyone pays a fee.. The competitors compete for bragging rights and some charity or someone in need gets money, food certificates, etc.. Everyone gets something out of this and no one gets hurt.. Here is a picture of a clay target.. It is a little larger than a hockey puck…

these are used as targets… each target has a degree of difficulty.. And some are timed.. One of the difficulties is the plexiglas obstacle..

I have to apologize for my art work or lack of.. The idea, of course, is to put a projectile through the hole and hit the clay target, attached to a wood pin behind it without hitting the plexiglas.. It can either be stationary or swinging like a pendulum, hence it’s shape.. Most of the time firearms are used but of late to make it more of a challenge, archery has come into play.. Now in the past, I used what is known as a compound bow.. Here is a picture of mine..

I made my own arrows, the ones in the quiver are Port Orford cedar.. I have the equipment to do that.. And the fletching (feathers) are manufactured plastic.. Real ones do not last and are not allowed anyway… well, do to arthritis I can no longer pull the bowstring safely … so the compound is put away… the choice of weapon in it’s place, you ask… give them a hint, Giocchino Rossini, conductor.. Those that remember the Lone Ranger would say it is his theme.. actually it’s the William Tell Overture.. hint hint..

that’s right folks, the crossbow.. here is mine…

the object; to stand 15 paces (45 feet) away from the target and in the offhand position.. Picture below

put the bolt cleanly through the hole and hit the clay target behind it, the result; some needy person or persons will be helped in some manner and I will not only have helped but will have bragging rights.. Everyone is a winner..

Well better get some things done and finish the day.. Here is a recipe if anyone is interested…

Soooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise....

and me and Mr. Stevens agree on this…

G'Day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe!

Getting ready to get the day started so thought I would post a short blog so you folks didn’t think I got lost or something.. going to have Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong start the show with “Summer Time”, a laid back easy listening song that’s pleasant to listen to in the evenings of summer..

Sooooooooooooooooo put your troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell…

Have been busy these past few days with the pleasant weather slowly helping bring the yard and garden back to life… this will explain why I’m not on here as much.. that and walking and fishing.. Here is a picture of the tulip bed that is coming to life…

and here is a close up picture of some early tulips.. There are a number of different varieties there….

I dig them up about every 3 years, thin and replant… there is 1 ornamental goldfish pond and 3 “bog” ponds.. The fish pond it between 1 foot and 3 feet deep and has live fish in it (as you have seen in previous blogs) the bog ponds are around 10 to 12 inches deep overall with a 18 inch hole for the water lilies… here is a picture of one starting to come up.. these are hardy lilies and stay in the pond year around..

going over to the veggie garden briefly here is a before and after picture of the onion bed that I have been working on for the past couple of days…

I use raised beds in all my gardening because it is easier for me to maintain and I can get a better soil mixture… here is a before and after picture of the potato bed.. You can see the little green stakes that mark the locations of the “hills” so I don’t happen to pull one while weeding when the plant is quite small…

pressing on here is a update photo of the tomato plants I started from seed..

been getting the plants use to the great outdoors before planting them.. That plus the weather we have been having the last 3 days or so is warming than normal… and it will get cold again, after this weekend.. People get in a big hurry to plant because it is warm only for it to get cold and then they have to go to great lengths to protect delicate plants until the warm weather comes back and stays.. There are more plants than I will use so I usually give the left over plants to Shirley, John or someone who wants them… will plant cucumbers and green peppers in about a week, green beans in May.. I will also plant cayenne peppers where I plant my beans, potatoes and tomatoes and the peppers while help keep harmful insects and other creatures away and I don’t have to use pesticides.. I never eat them, too hot for this ole Marine…

here is a picture of a pair of yellow finches at the feeder.. they just showed up the other day..

here is a picture of a cardinal taking it’s turn at the feeder.. There is a red finch and another yellow finch waiting for their turn…

and of course the ground feeders doves, sparrows and other birds right below waiting for the spilled seed to fall to the ground..

Well, I had better scoot.. have things to do before 4 PM when my day is over, all is quiet and I can entertain thoughts and ideas about the past, present and future… Soooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise....

and I disagree with Pat Boone that April Love is for the very young.... I think love is ageless and for anyone… but it is April and love is in the air…

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you folks know about the earthquake this morning and what I know.. At 4:36 AM while I was making coffee I heard a rumble and a viabration that lasted about 5-6 seconds... with the forecast being what it was I assumed it was thunder and being a observer noted the time to turn in later.. once the coffee was made, I went outside and didn't see anything, checked the radar and nothing there... it never occured to me it was a quake/tremor... a short while later when it was confirmed there was a quake I then turned it into the NWS..

Here is the latest as I have it at this time;

An earthquake was felt early this morning (4:37 AM CDT) across Illinois. A report from the USGS indicates that a magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred 5 miles NNE of Bellmont, IL (38.450°N, 87.890°W) in Wabash County...or approximately 22 miles SSE of Olney.

At 10:14 AM CDT another earthquake occurred from the after shock. A report from the USGS indicates that a magnitude 4.6 earthquake/aftershock occurred 7 miles ESE of West Salem, IL (38.483°N, 87.891°W) in Wabash County... or abour 40 miles NNW of Evansville Indiana. This report is preliminary and subject to revision by the USGS.

For anyone interested in the epi-center here is a graphic...

my location is between Champaign and Danville.. appearently it was what they call the Wabash fault line which is an offshoot and connected to the New Madrid which is the fault line "the big quake" is suppose to come from... Anyway, just wanted to update everyone and all is well here.Soooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise....

G'Day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe!

taking a break in the activities to do a short blog here so you folks don’t think I disappeared… had a couple of days of decent weather and taking advantage to be outside….in the spirit of things gonna do a couple of marches today.. The first be the Colonel Bogey March (Bridge Over River Kwai) and the second a march made famous by John Philip Sousa, Semper Fidelis, which is played at graduation and other USMC events…

Sooooooooooooooo put your troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell….

not a whole lot to talk about at the moment, been outside working in the yard and getting the garden ready.. been snapping some photos as I go.. Here is one of a female of the Red Headed woodpecker species..

the activity has started picking up around here as the weather is getting better.. around 70 here today.. Here is another picture of a robin trying out the homemade birdbath…

I will post pictures and fill everyone in as time goes along rather than make one large monster blog… went out to put the flag back up yesterday and saw some early tulips….

the soil temps are starting to warm up and will purchase seed potatoes and onion sets this weekend… the soil temps are getting around 50F degs at the 4 inch level… our average last frost date for here is April 22nd.. will wait till the first part of May to set the tomato plants out.. here is the latest picture of them, you can see a 12 inch ruler inserted in the tray…

had Rolled Salisbury Steak for supper Monday… here is the recipe if anyone is interested…

here is a picture of them being “browned” in a skillet… you can put anything in the center you wish, I put a pinch of chedder and green onion in mine

Had pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy and asparagus for supper last night… here is the recipe for the pork roast in case anyone is interested…

Well, better get back outdoors and finish the day… Lettuce and Tomato ‘burgers and spaghetti for supper tonight… Soooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise....

Semper FI everyone…

G'Day everyone, Dutch here! Welcome to my little place in the Universe!

Gonna do a short blog today.. not gonna say much (is that cheering I hear????).. just some music and pictures.. gonna finish up my “growing up music” today and gonna start this show with Mr. “Little” Jimmy Dickens…

Soooooooooooooo put your troubles aside, pull up a chair and visit a spell….

Luckily the severe weather didn’t happen yesterday… a lot had to do with the timing of the front with the moisture… they didn’t collide.. my lunch yesterday was hot dogs with fried sauerkraut, pork & beans and chips… eat your heart out, all you chefs out there..

saw a dove perched by the finch feeder waiting on the finches to come back..

had a little rumble of thunder yesterday.. had winds all day around 30-40 mph… Miss Daisy was making sure nothing happened to her favorite ball…

ready for a break.. here is Mr. Jack Scott and a song he made famous in the ‘50’s…danced a few to this one….

pressing on… saw another sign that spring was here finally… a nightcrawler moving across the street…

Robins, whose natural food is berries, will start to feed on the nightcrawlers when they have young…. in the picture below you can see Miss Daisy trying to help make the bed...

the bump in the covers just to the left of Daisy is Bree… she wasn’t ready to get up yet… she finally did about the time Kathy and Miss Daisy was leaving for work… that’s usually when we have some quality time playing chase the light…

Can’t do a oldie blog without Grandpa Jones…

Well, have errands to do, Gordyville is this weekend and some projects to tidy up so probably won’t be in here at all this weekend.. Sooooooooooooooooooooo taking this time to tell everyone I hope you have a

gonna be a little cool around here and maybe some snow but gonna enjoy it anyway…. gotta scoot...Soooooooooooooo everyone have a smilin' gooooooooooooooooood day full of Peace Love and Happiness and I'll see you next time if the good Lord's willing and the creeks don't rise....

and finally a song made famous by Hank Snow and something this ole Marine is getting ready to do…