Mushroom Hunt part #3, Remembering Mt Saint Helen 31 years later...

Another miserable day of rain and colder than normal conditions, that have plagued this part of the world, yesterday in Ohio.  So bad that a front is spinning all the way off the Atlantic Ocean, and bringing rain bands from east to west, something you seldom see, at least not to the extent that it is happening this week.  I have not seen the sun since last Thursday when we left for upper Michigan....and with the exception of Friday and the daylight hours on Saturday, the rain is predicted to continue unabated through the end of the month of May....."Un-Freaking Believable".  This may be worse than that long, cold, wet, Spring of 1981...it is however predicted to warm up into the 70s by Friday.   Needless to say the fields are not planted, the flowers are slow in coming up, the lawns are not getting mowed, and baseball tournament time, and the completion of the regular league season, are getting canceled or, at least in the tournament case, set back.  Miserable is not an overused word in this case.

Michigan Mushroom Hunt...epilogue___

After our encounter with the Eastern Hog Nosed snake, we all thought was a Timber Rattler, we headed out on our quest for the Morel Mushooms...more like Mushroom in this case...I think the gang found maybe 3 on this trip out of camp...I got shutout...again.  In fact I found my entire stash near Cousin Moe's place around Alanson, earlier that afternoon.

After getting back to camp, we threw a few logs on the fire, and began to cook the nightly meal, drink some beer, and fire up a few hand-rolled cigars.   As we sat around the campfire and grill, we noticed a Jeep Wrangler, much like mine, pull up near where we found the snake....Rick and Clint went over to greet the lone occupant of the Jeep, to warn him about our "Rattlesnake", and offer him a bite to eat and a beer.  This guy, named Jimmy, in turn offered us a "Cocktail" of Vodka and Club Soda...all but Clint declined, preferring to stick with the barley brew.  Talking with Jimmy, we discovered that in addition to the two bags filled with Morels he had, it seems he was a 40 year old law student from Jackson, Michigan(via Seattle), that usually spent the entire month of May in Northern Michigan, hunting and selling the various eatable Mushrooms.  Jimmy sat around telling us how he went about his month long adventure.  The guy kept logs, pay books, and charts...he was into it.

Drowning My Camera___

About that time, I decided to grab a couple of beers from their resting place in our adjacent stream...at 38 degrees in the water, we figured it was a great place to keep the beer cold.  So we placed those in a large Grapefruit sack, which we also used to collect our Morels.  As I bent over the stream, plucked out a couple of cans, I slipped a bit, dropping one can in the shallow stream, as I reached for that, my Fuji Camera came out of it's carrying case, which was hooked to my belt(Note photo with me and Moe at top, you can see the case with camera on my belt line)...the camera plunked into the frigid water...it took me two grabs to pull it out, by that time it was submerged and pretty much done for the duration of the trip, if not forever.  Jimmy rescued the 75 cent beer, but my $100 Fuji was soaked to the core.  I took the SD Chip out and dried if off...the camera and batteries were not working.  It's been 2 days since I pulled it out of the dry rice to absorb the moister...I manage to take one grainy photo with it on Monday, but nothing that I will be able to use...I have had it back in the rice for the past 48 hours...I will pluck it out this afternoon, if it doesn't work like I think it should, I will make plans on buying a new one.  At least the chip, with the snake other other photos was waterproof, and I saved those photos.

At 12.2 Mega Pixels and easy to use(plus usually great photos) I hate to lose the Fuji, but I see that there are some 14 MPs out there in the same price range...so that might be my next option.  I am not going back to my old Sony 1MPs from a dozen or more years ago...I remember those suckers cost upwards of a thousand buck, and although convenient, don't have the quality of today's smaller digital.  Time has certainly been kind to the folks that like digital cameras.  On a related note, my XM Radio has also gone south...I have a spare that fits into the car...not sure whether I will activate that, or dump the entire system.  At $15 a month, it's not bad, and I have had if for about 4 years....but not sure if I use it as much as I should for the money...something to mull over in the next two weeks, before they post June's payment.

Finishing Up the Trip____

Lite but persistent rains came to the campsite, as we retired for the night.....it was still with us, along with colder temperatures, when we climbed out of the tents on Saturday morning....

We packed up and headed south for Mesick, the old stomping grounds of years past....the rains picked up, and Rick's boys, Clay and Guy, headed south for Indiana.  Clay had a Purdue graduation to attend, and Guy had to work on Sunday.  Clint, Rick, and I, took the Quad Cab Ford 150 and headed for the woods...as we drove the muddy back service roads, the rains increased.....we found a spot that Jimmy had told us about, and donning our rain gear we headed out.  A hour later, soaked to the bone, with no new Morel finds, we decided to end the trip right then and there.   5 hours later we were sitting in Rick's garage, smoking cigars, drinking a few final beers, discussing what had went wrong with the hunt.

As it turned out, Rick and wife Toni, had found more Morels on their 17 acres in one hour than we collected in Michigan in 48 hours, and hundreds miles driven and hundreds of dollars spent.  Don't get me wrong, the main point of our annual Mushroom Hunting is to get away from it all....but we would like to come back with a thousand Mushrooms, or even 500 one of these years.....as they say in Cubs Baseball..."Wait Until Next Year"!!

May 18, 1980...Where were you when Mt Saint Helen's blew her top?

One half my life ago...I'm now 62, when I was 31 back in the spring of 1980, I was spending my final few months in Dodge City, Kansas, as radio News Director for stations KGNO and KDCK...Dodge City Broadcasting.

The news that May had been awash with stories of a possible large explosion at a thought dormant volcano in the great northwest.  That morning while preparing for the next newscast...I heard the bells ringing on my AP Wire machine....Mount St. Helens had indeed exploded:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/mount_st_helens_30_years_ago.html 

The above link is from last year, the 30th Anniversary of the event....I still remember as the ash plume backed up towards the vast prairie that houses Dodge City and the Kansas Plains...more than a thousand miles to the east of explosion, the skies darkened for several days...that is what I was doing on this day in 1980....are you old enough to remember that?

back later>>>> 

Photos-top...Mt Saint Helens several hours after the eruption...My Fuji Camera, not in working order anymore...The lack of finding hundreds of Morels did dampen, but did not ruin our annual Michigan trip...Mt Saint Helens at the moment it erpupted on May 18, 1981, leaving the side and surrounding area destroyed, and at least 57 people dead.

Below:  Final photos of our trip and campsite around Boyne Falls, Michigan, this past weekend:  Double Click for larger views....

Mushrooms, Meeting Cousin Moe, Rain, and Hog Nosed Snakes...Part #2/Snakes from my past, Venice, Florida...

Since returning from Northern Lower Michigan, the one thing that has not changed around these parts is the miserable, wet, cold, weather this spring has brought....the only good news is that the Summer months ahead are expected to be below normal, temperature wise...maybe we will get a break from the heat and humidity, which is sure to be around, considering the record rains that continue to fall.  My game at Lima Central Catholic yesterday was canceled, giving me a chance to mow both our lawn and Mom's....just Anissa's to go, and then probably back at it over the weekend.  The equally bad news concerning the rains...they are, this morning, backing up from the east coast, and now appear they will be around until at least Thursday...the extended forecast until the early days of June, don't look much dryer...warmer, yes, dryer?, not this year.

A Michigan Hog Nose and Snakes from my past_____

After leaving Cousin Moe's part of Michigan and returning the 30 miles south to the Boyne Falls area, we re-started the campfire...being in a damp, open location, we did not need to worry about starting any wildfires from our site....so we left the logs on the fire and kept the campsite warm, even while we were gone, and we had plenty of neighboring campers to keep an eye on things while we wandered off in search of the elusive Morels.  As we headed out towards the hills and woods to the north, some 50 yards from the campfire, I hear Rick say "Hey, what is this thing"?...I look over and can see what can only be described as a pile of dog dung....until Rick poked it with his walking stick.  That's when it came alive and headed away from the our walking path...until Clint, our 58 year old college buddy, decided to grab this snake by it's tail!  They come in all ages folks....lol!

By this time I was convince it was a Massasauga or Northern Michigan Timber Rattlesnake...although by the time Clint dropped it, it looked more like a Viper of some sort...whatever I thought, the damn thing looked poisonous to me.  Rick and the boys headed north, away from the action, while Clint and I decided to screw around with the snake...whatever it might be.  Clint was looking for a "Pet" to take to his house aquarium back in Kenton.  I wanted to get some good photos of the thing, so I could figure out just what the Hell we had come upon.

I grew up in South Florida back in the wild days of that area...the 1950s and 60s, long before the mass Blue Hair and Northern Snowbird Migration period.... and before the developers decided to pave the damn state from end to end, except for a few beaches.  My brother Mike and I had robbed Alligator nests, collecting small young gators, and keeping them until their teeth and bites got too dangerous for our fingers.  We also had a variety of snakes for pets... Rat Snakes, Black Racers, etc, to go with the Gopher Turtles and Toads we kept for varying lengths of time, until we got bored and let them go, or they took off and escaped on their own.  On two notable occasions I had face to face encounters with a couple of Florida's deadly snakes...and even a albino Wild Bore(which I wrote about on this blog a few moons ago).  But the snakes are today's subjects...

While living in South Venice, Florida, in the early and mid 50s...our home was a old trailer camp, where we rented a cottage at Alston's.  Our neighbors were the Ellis family...a family of good ol' boys and girls from the south.  Billy was the oldest son, and at about a year older than Mike(who at 2+ years older than me was the oldest sibling of our small tribe)...we boys constructed a "club house".  It was made of plywood, and we had candles and blankets in the interior, a dangerous combination in itself...but not nearly so dangerous as the one afternoon when we returned from an outing and decided to hang out in our little house.

After setting in BSing for a few minutes, we heard Billy cry out:  "SNAKE!!!!!"...and he wasn't bullshitting.  I looked towards the north and saw a large slithering beast heading under the old army blankets that covered the dirt floor.  Billy grabbed the forked stick, as he did, he knocked out the candle that dimly lit the club house.  Mike bolted towards the hinged door, opened that, giving us some light, and I, quicker than I had ever been before, or would ever be since, was right on his heels...leaving Billy and the Snake.  Billy had that sucker pinned down with his forked walking stick, as we ran to get dad and Billy's old man...Dad came running with his shotgun, as we watched Billy back out of the plywood house, still holding the snake down with stick.  As he back off, Dad took care of the snake with one well place shot with the 12 gauge....as it turned out, it was a 5 foot Diamondback Rattler....the two fathers made quick work of our Club House...pushing it over, and after adding gas, burned that sucker down.

The next notable encounter was a few years later, when my childhood friend, Mike Graff, and I used to prowl the streets and surrounding wooded areas of our Edgewood Section of the eastern side of Venice.  One day while exploring the area to the south, which today is a city recreational park, we came across a small stream that had become swollen and deeper, because of the summer rains of 1961...at 2 or 3 feet deep, we decided to walk across to get to some climbing trees on the other side....as we sunk down to neck levels and cruised across, I looked to my right, and not 3 feet away, was a adult Water Moccasin....looking me right in the eyes.  Needless to say, I was assholes, legs, and elbows, getting out of that ditch....Mike Graff was quicker than me, and led the way to the tree stand to the south, we didn't look back.   After our day of activity in the woods, we took the long way back....just so we would not have to cross that damn "ditch" again.  Snakes were a part of living in South Florida...our Red Bone Hound, "Brandy" killed one in our yard..sadly she paid the price as the snake sunk it's fangs into her neck, and she died as well...a few hours later at the vets.  I don't hate snakes, and am not afraid of them...but I do respect them, and unlike our friend Clint, I'm not picking one up without knowing just what kind it is.

So I know a little about snakes...but was puzzled by this one...it looked mean, looked to be poisionis, but had no rattles and never showed a fang....even while Clint was screwing with it, and I was snapping photos with my soon to be wet camera.  I finally told Clint to leave it alone...rattler or not, this thing had to be a protected variety, besides, I am not into killing wildlife just for the sake of killing....this thing was in a hurry to leave, and wasn't going to bother anybody.  After we returned from another not-so-successful try at mushrooming, I called Cousin Moe, and asked him if he knew what if might be.....

Moe, wasn't sure from my description, but guessed that, since it had no rattles, it was probably a young Timber Rattlesnake.  I wasn't sure, because it was somewhere between 18 inches and two feet long...but that was as good a guess as I had.  I would not find out until returning home on Sunday night, that we were wrong about the type of snake and the dangers.   After researching our "Rattlesnake" online for a few hours Sunday night, I was convinced that our deadly snake was just a scared Eastern Hog-Nose, that was more frightened of us, than we were of him(or her).....but it sure made for good photos and some stories to tell around the campfires of future trips.

For more on the Eastern Hog-Nose Snake check out this link:
 
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12201-61207--,00.html 

As you can tell by the second photo...this is the snake we encountered....guess we didn't really have to check our sleeping bags and boots before we next used them...but I wasn't taking any chances.

Tomorrow, The Mushroom Hunting Goes South_____

Shortly after our Snake encounter and mushroom walk, which netted another 3 or 4 blacks...we headed back to camp, to eat supper, which was to be followed by some serious Cigar Smoking and beer drinking....we would get some unexpected advice from a Veteran Mushroom Hunter, from Jackson, Michigan.  That and the final part of my trip story coming up tomorrow....

back later>>>>

Photos-top left, my best shot, as the Hog Nose appears to be smiling at me...then as he looked as we came across it...looks dangerous to me, but he was just hiding out.  Our campfire and the small Trout filled stream we camped beside..which I also drowned my Fuji Camera in....at least the chip was waterproof, the camera?  Not so much...more on that tomorrow....Alston's Cottages in South Venice, the "X" is where we called home from 1954 until the Summer of 1957...brother Mike, me, and the various Poling cousins, and Ellis clam, spent many hours hiking and avoiding getting bitten or eaten in the swampy area to the east(right looking at the photo)..and finally a top view of our Hog Nose...looking much like the one on the attached link:
--------------------

REMEMBER CLICK OR DOUBLE CLICK TO ENLARGE ALL PHOTOS FOR A BETTER VIEW.....

Mushrooms, Meeting Cousin Moe, Rain, and Hog Nosed Snakes...Part #1

Made it back from Michigan, not so high, and not dry either.....

We gathered just a few Mushrooms...gotta believe we were in between the black Morels, the Greys, and the Yellows the pop out and various times of May....at least that's what we were telling ourselves.  Those "gung-ho" hunters were bringing back bags of 600-700 blacks....they were selling for about $50 a pound at the area gas stations in and around Boyne Falls, and Mesick.  We had our best luck near cousin Moe Houseworth's place in Alanson, in the far reaches of the northern lower peninsula.  In retrospect we probably should have stayed up that way...went out with Moe to a local fish fry and got drunk....instead we headed back to the campsite near Boyne Falls, and ran into a dangerous looking("dangerous looking" being the keywords after some research) snake, and month long mushroom hunter with a bottle of Vodka, and a handful of Morels.

Cousin Moe, Hog Nosed Snake, and then the rains came____

We headed out of Rick's Acres in northern Indiana about Noon on Thursday for the far north country...it was unusually hot and humid for the season, especially considering just how cold and wet it had been around these parts for the entire spring thus far....it was 88 degrees when we arrived at our location, which is some 15 miles east of Boyne City, Michigan, at 5pm....things would cool down, and the rains would arrive by the time we packed up and headed south for Mesick on Saturday Morning.....

After setting up camp next to a small stream, that turns out to be home, despite it's shallow depth, to a collection of Brown Trout...albeit, the ones we saw, were small in size.  Checking the temperature of the spring fed stream, it read 38 degrees on the thermometer...we would not be doing any swimming in this one, although later on, I would try, and my prized Fuji Film Camera, would take a dip....it may not recover...but the chip did, and I saved a few photos, some of those on here today....and more on tomorrow's blog post.

Caps,  aka Morel knockoffs, seemed to be the Mushroom of choice....not a particular good eating "schroom"....but Blacks and some Greys were being found...rather than tell of our failures in that department, it's best to say we were just a bit "in-between" on the season.  I(t appears it was bit early for Yellows, the Greys were south, and the Blacks and caps also were winding down.  Thursday night was spent around our campfire, drinking beer, eating snack, smoking good cigars, and bullshitting the boys with stories of our youth, which I'm sure they had heard from Rick, Clint, and me, a few times before.  Retiring for the night, it was warm but comfortable in the tent...the weather would cool off and go downhill from this point on....

Friday after a few walks in the woods and hills, where Clint, and Rick's youngest son, Guy, found the most Blacks, we decided to head north towards Petoskey and Cousin Moe Houseworth's place in Alanson.  I had "known" Moe for about a half dozen years, via e-mails, Genealogy Research, and phone conversations...but had never met the man in person.  We had a common ground...Houseworth Genes, Conservative( Far Right?) Politics, The Second Amendment...beer, and the outdoors, so I was sure we would hit it off...we did.

After all of us having a greeting and a beer at Moe's place, Moe and me, jumped into his Caddy, and with the rest following in the truck, we headed the back roads towards what we hoped would be a collection point of a handy supply of Mushrooms....we had our best finds on those hills, and in retrospect, probably should have stuck around longer...things Morel-wise went down hill after that.  We should have stayed the rest of the afternoon in the woods, and then went with Moe to the Friday Fish Fry in town.....as it was we headed back south to the camp, where we met a snake, a "gung-ho" mushroom hunter from Jackson, Michigan, and my camera got a bath, all in the name of saving a beer....

Those stories and more on Part #2...coming tomorrow...

back later>>>>

Photos-Moe Houseworth and Me....I stand about 5'11" and 185...so you can see, Cousin Moe, is a bit larger man than his older(by 3 years) 2nd cousin, PRH....The Creek where we camped...we watch some lady camping near us take a small Brown Trout of this spot....they were living in the shallows...and with no depth deeper than a foot or so, it was amazing to see these small Browns getting caught...some of the flowers near out site, and my buddy the Eastern Hog Nose, which at the time, I thought to be a North Michigan Timber Rattler....scary looking dude, ain't he...More photos of the Snake and the Mushroom Hunt tomorrow....

Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here...Spring HS Baseball winds down.

We started the regular season game at Elida at about 4:15 yesterday...visiting Paulding had a senior awards banquet scheduled for early evening and wanted to be sure to get back in plenty of time...lucky we got it going early.  As the final out was being made at Ed Sandy Field, a bolt of lightning came down somewhere to the south and west.  This would have meant an automatic 30 minute delay, at least....but we finished up the 9-6 Elida win, just ahead of the storm, which ironically moved to the south of town and near the Allen/Auglaize County Line. 

As I headed south to the local BP station on Lima's southwest corner, where I filled the van, at $4.09, thank you Master Obammy, you sorry son of a bitch, or are you still blaming the evil George Bush for the economic collapse you are fostering?  That filling took $55, the beer I purchase for the evening, another $7...making a grand total of $62 dollars spent, my fee for the Varsity baseball game was $60....damn boys, we be getting rich doing these games.  As I pulled out and headed towards Wapak Road, I called Patricia, who informed me Celina was in a major downpour, and they were reporting hail, large and heavy hail, to the north near Mercer and Neptune...the second town being right on my rural route home. 

After hanging up(do you "hang up" a cell phone?)...I approached the intersection of Wapak Road and State Rt 117....the hail mixed with rain was coming down pretty heavy, real heavy...the ice was about dime size...and rather than continuing my trip on Wapak, I cut to the west on 117 towards Spencerville and Kossuth....a mile or so down that road, the rain ceased and the hail was gone...I had lucked out.  The rest of the trip, as I picked up State Route 197 through Neptune into Celina, was uneventful...it had rained and there was hail, but that all was heading east.  Walking into the house the air was heavy....and I decided to fire up the Central A/C for the first time of the season....drawing the humidity out of the air, I kicked back and watched the Reds defeat the Astros...and then Detroit's Red Wings, once down 3 games to none, come from behind once again, and even that best of 7 series with San Jose at 3 games a piece.

Baseball, where did the season go?

Yesterday's unneeded and unwelcome rain storm, was just another fly in the ointment of the long, wet, and up until the past couple of days, cold spring.  The farmers have yet to touch the fields, and are running a month late in most cases...they have to be getting antsy....and with the extended forecast, it appears that they won't be getting anything planted in the foreseeable future, maybe early June?

The high school baseball season, usually my favorite time of the year to work sports, has fared somewhat better.  Despite the rains, which occur on a almost daily basis, I have so far I have gotten in 30 of 46 scheduled games...frankly about average.  I usually expect to get 2/3rd of my scheduled number in...and we are close to that so far.  Despite not getting the number of Tournament game assignments as the past few years...I am happy with the schedule, just not so much with the weather.  The past 2 games have marked just the fourth and fifth time that I wore short sleeve shirts, without a jacket...and that is a rarity for the season, despite the weather's usual ups and downs.

I have at least one game scheduled for next week, after my return from Michigan...then my Spring season is finished, and the ACME and American Legion season will begin in late May and last through June and much of July....by that time, I am sure we will see plenty of hot weather games...with short sleeve shirts.

That will finish this blogging thing for the next few days...I will return late Sunday or Monday, and hopefully with Mushrooms and plenty of good photos from the trip to Boyne, Michigan....time now to get things in order for the trip....

back later>>>>>

The Great Michigan Mushoom Hunt 2011

Got our game in at Delphos Jefferson yesterday, sunny and pleasant...only the 4th time I've worn a short sleeve shirt in over 30 games umpired this season.  I did the plate(as usual) as Jefferson came from behind to defeat visiting Kenton 3-2.  Tonight, if the rain/storms hold off, I will be over at Elida for a game between the Bulldogs and Paulding Panthers.   Tomorrow afternoon off to Bellefontaine for a game before the Michigan trip....some make-up league games scheduled when I get back.  No Regional or State game this year, marking the first time in the past 3 years I have not been involved past District level.   That's OK...I just wish they would give some younger guys, who are worthy, some Regional and State games, instead of some of these recycled old farts my age...who can neither see or move well enough to work a high level.  The politics has been old for years, and it just doesn't change...if being honest, causes me to get clipped out of future final weekend games, so be it.  The truth is the truth, and the state powers that be, wonder why younger officials and umpires drop out or move onto college officiating?....it's called the "Good Ol' Boy" system, and it is stinks...being around a long time doesn't make you worthy or qualified to do a Regional or State Final.  It shouldn't disqualify you either...if you keep yourself in good shape, and actually move around the diamond to get into position to make a correct call.... but enough of that rant!

Michigan Mushroom Hunting____

Thursday morning Rick, his sons, Clay and Guy, and our old college buddy Clint, take off for Michigan...Boyne City is the location, and the annual Mushroom hunt and Boyne City Mushroom Festival are on the agenda....we should return Sunday or Monday.....

I have missed the last two trips, because of District Baseball...this year I blocked out this weekend and days leading to it...plus we are leaving about a week or 10 days earlier...hopeful of some better luck.  2007 and 2008 were great, when we camped in Mesick, the past 2 years have been dry, and we have now moved the camp some 35 miles north.  The weather looks wet, but seasonable for upper lower Michigan in mid-May....will have photos and details/results when I return.  I also will finally get to meet my cousin Moe Houseworth in person, if all goes well...Moe, who I met through Genealogy Research, lives not far from Boyne City, and will be there for the weekend festival...so we plan on a little "family reunion"....


Yesterday, after our MRSI Board Meeting, I finally got out and planted a number of Sunflower and other seeds....with the wet weather and the cold, I held off, but the results, hopefully we equal the past two season...or perhaps be even better....time will tell.

Chores to take care of....one more blog post tomorrow before I head north...

back later>>>>

Photos-Michigan Morel Mushrooms...and Rick, Clint, and PRH, on our last hunt that all 3 of us attended, 2008 near Mesick...now being 30 pound less, maybe I can outrun the younger guys in finding the elusive Morels....maybe?

 

Spring Springs for a Day or Two....The Leftist Lies of the Vietnam War...,

After I last posted on Friday morning, the weather again turned nasty...the late morning sunshine became dotted with storms on the Radar....as I drove towards Lima Central Catholic High School, one menacing dark cloud appeared to the north and west...by the time I arrived at the game site, that cloud produced a couple of bolts of lightning and some lite rain....but as luck would have it, we started the LCC vs Wayne Trace contest just 20 minutes late, after allowing the allotted 30 minutes for lightning delays.  It began to rain again in the 5th inning, but we finished up a 12-4 home team win, and as I headed back towards Celina, the rains came down harder...it continued to rain for most of the evening. Prospects for Saturday's tournament openers did not look good....

As I woke up and began to get ready for my double header at Convoy Crestview, the skies were a mix of clouds and sun....as game time approached, the clouds became more prevalent, but the rains held off.  I took the plate for game #1 between Antwerp and Lincolnview, my partner, Jim Runneals would work game #2 which featured Ottoville and Spencerville.  Both games would be close and competitive.

Antwerp, which came into the tournament with just 1 win against 11 loses, jumped out to a 3-0 over the Lancers...and held on for a 3-2 win, to move on with a date with top seeded Crestview on Wednesday.  Game one lasted just 1 hour and 35 minutes...I was pleased with my performance...not sure everybody else was, but you have to please yourself first.  Game #2 was just as close, but was not going to be played as quick.

Ottoville cruised to a 2-0 lead heading into the 7th and scheduled final inning....the game had began with a few lite rain showers, but things would clear off enough for us to finish the 10 inning, 3 hour marathon.  Last season in the same location, I had umpired(behind the plate) a 14 inning first round game, the longest of my long career. This one, time wise, would go longer, but the innings would fall short.  Spencerville was down to it's last strike on two occasions in the 7th...but managed to battle back to tie the contest a 2.  If not for a spectacular catch by the Ottoville right fielder, the Bearcats would have jumped on top.  The game moved into extra innings, finally Spencerville scored three in the top of the 10th...The Big Green battled back with a run in the bottom of the inning, but left the typing runs on, and the game ended with Spencerville on top 5-3.  They will play the winner of the Wayne Trace/Fort Jennings contest....that game will begin tonight in the 4th inning with Trace up 3-1.  It was called after the rains began to come down hard around 5pm....Garry Mosier and Ryan Thompson had that game...which, if not for the length of our second game, probably would have been completed.

At this hour I am scheduled for Delphos Jefferson tonight, but I'm not sure what the exact schedule might be, due to the rain on Saturday which disrupted some of the tournament sites.

Mothers Day Sun____

After a foggy and cloudy start to Sunday, things cleared off for the afternoon...and I managed to get our lawn and mom's yard mowed...good thing too, because by tomorrow another round of rain is scheduled to hit the western Ohio area....and the next 10 days, like the last month, look to be wetter than normal.

After the MRSI Board meeting at Noon today, I plan on getting my sunflowers planted...Patricia got her flower beds worked and planted yesterday...not complete but far enough along for some progress to be seen.

The lies of Vietnam_____

While the left wing press and politicians continue to spew there lies about the Vietnam War, the troops who served and fought there, and the reasons and outcome...it is obvious that some folks that never served in Vietnam continue to claim they did.  I guess this must be the new "Cause Celeb" ...to claim you did something you didn't.  For all the hate from the young folks who either didn't have to go, or who jumped the Canadian Border, the press, and Hollywood, that was thrown at us when we returned...it amazes me that anyone would want to claim to be a "baby killing Vietnam Veteran(insert sarcasm)".  I guess absence makes the heart grow founder...not only for the veterans that were there, but for the cause as well.  At least the traitors on the far left, who hated us for our service, should continue to do so...after all, we still despise them for their treason.
 
As far as serving in Vietnam...it's really pretty simple to prove or disprove...drag out your separation papers the DD 214....the proof should be right there...Mine Is: "Vietnam Yes" says it all.  As we all know the lies about Vietnam and the lies about those who served there will continue as long as the left wing morons control the vast majority of the media, and the sheep and lemmings continue to believe the likes of the NY Times and CBS:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36110

I don't have a problem with Veterans stretching the truth a bit...what I have a problem with are the useless bastards that protested us during the 1960s and 70s, and now either claim to embrace us, or worse yet, claim to be one of us.... screw them and the lies they spew.

The entire subject makes me want to puke....

Time to get out and breath some fresh air....



Photos-Hopefully this years variety of Sunflowers and size are equal to, or better than last years great crop....Spring baseball winds down, but I still have a full schedule for Summer...and the DD214...all the proof you should need to dispel any doubts about your service record.

Post #1000, Classic Baseball Fields, Kalida, Ohio, a 24 hour rain respite...Cain/West For America 2012(and to drive the loony left nuts)

A Day in the Life Post #1000...Since starting this blog in July 2007...this marks post number 1000...thanks to all who have stopped by over the past approaching 4 years:

 Mark it down..12 Midnight until 12 Midnight, Thursday, May 5, 2011...NO RAIN!  I honestly cannot say when the last time a complete 24 hour day was rain free....maybe one or two times this past month?  Anyway not to worry..this morning the rain, albeit lite so far, is back.  I've pretty much given up worrying about what the forecast is.  I figure they are calling for rain, if we get little or none, great...expect the worst, anything less is a good day.

A Classic Baseball Diamond___

Yesterday I was scheduled to umpire some 50 north of here, in Putnam County...a PCL game between host Kalida and visiting Ottoville.  This would be my 3rd game with the visitors, and my first with Kalida, due to the fact I was rained out with them at Delphos St. Johns(big surprise!) earlier in the season.  I had not been to Kalida to work in a few years...only because of rainouts.  I really like going there, it's usually good baseball, and I like the feel of the stadium, which is older than me.  1949 was the year the Wildcats moved into this classic old style High School ball diamond, the same year I was born some 30 miles away in Van Wert.   It has the feel of the old minor league ballparks in the movies "Bull Durham", and "A League of their Own".
  
I donned the plate gear, my partner was running late coming from Findlay and work, but we started almost on time...the game was a good one for the 4 1/2 innings.  A pitchers duel.  My strike zone felt good(although some of the fans of course disagreed)..and Ottoville's Big Green was up 1-0...the Church Clock over the left-center field fence showed the game about an hour long at that time...6:05 it read.  That's when things changed....

Two close pitches, which I saw as a bit high for my strike zone, led to a walk for the Wildcats...then the bottom dropped out on the Big Green.  Kalida scored six in their half of the 5th to go up 6-1...Ottoville countered back with 4 runs, and it would have been more if not for a great leaping stab by the first baseman on a high line drive...that made the score 6-5.  Kalida plated another 7 in their 6th inning, and the game ended 13-5..the pitching duel ended with 18 runs, 17 of those in the last 4 half innings.  The game took 2 hours 25 minutes...I headed home, as usual taking the back roads, through Ottoville, Fort Jennings, Delphos, and the surrounding rural country through Van Wert and Mercer Counties.  It really is a peaceful time.  The back country after working a ball game...truly one of my life's small pleasures.

Tomorrow, if the rains hold off or are lite enough, the Sectionals begin.  Jim Runneals and I are at Crestview in Convoy. The first game will have Lincolnview and Antwerp doing battle...while we will see Ottoville in the second game, as they take on Spencerville...another team I was scheduled with on several occasions, but got them all rained out, or switched for league games.  Jim and I do the first two contests, Garry and another umpire will work game #3 to open this D4 Sectional, that will feature Fort Jennings and Wayne Trace.  Speaking of which, depending on the amount of rain, I have Wayne Trace at Lima Central Catholic tonight....I repeat, depending on the amount of rain.  While Kalida is one of the classic ball diamonds, with sand and clay as an infield, LCC is just a couple of years old, and one of the nicer "new" ballparks in the area.

Herman Cain/Allen West 2012____

It's still very early in the 2012 Presidential race to unseat the Kenyan Marxist that sits in the White House....but I have found a couple of GOP contenders that I would support...and to see them run together, would indeed be sweet.  Not only are corporate CEO Herman Cain and Congressman military veteran Allen West great Americans, they are both Conservative and Black...not half assed 50% black,  like the phony that sits in the Oval Office now.

These men are great American Patriots...not to mention can you imagine the cry and screams coming out of the liberal talking heads and press if these two guys ran against "Dear Ol' Bammy"?  You can imagine the filth and lies they would be throwing at these two men for daring to "Leave the Democrat Party Plantation".  I hope both run, and would like nothing better to see a Cain/West or West/Cain ticket.  And the crushing weight of the lies and the lousy economy would come crashing down on King Barry and his Queen, Michelle Antoinette Obama.  To watch the press melt down would be great theater.

On with the work of the day...too wet to mow, guess I'll have another cup of Joe!

back later, enjoy the coming weekend>>>>

Photos-3 views of the classic old ball diamond and stands at Kalida...62 years old and still working(just like me) on a seasonal basis for Wildcat Baseball....you don't see many like this anymore.  And Cain/West 2012...a couple of Patriots I could support for President or VP...or both!

Philadelphia Flyers..."We've Got Boston Right Where We Want Them"

A rare Orange Ball appeared in the sky at dawn this morning...it's a fact that I cannot remember the last time I saw the sun when waking up.  The past few weeks for sure, have either seen a leaden sky or rain when my usual wake up time of 7:30 rolls around.  I may not want to blink...because by tomorrow morning, at wake up time, the rain and clouds will have returned...and will probably stick around for at least another week, maybe more.  What a Spring!  Unless something changes, I will get a game in tonight at Kalida...a trip north to Putnam County...after that though, Friday and the weekend look "iffy" to say the least, and with the Sectional Tournaments set to begin Saturday(I'm at Crestview in Convoy for a double header at 10am), things could get dicey. 

The Flyers Fold____

Last year my favorite NHL team, the Philly Flyers, fell behind the Boston Bruins, 3 games to none.  The Broad Street Bullies battled back to tie the series at 3 games, then fell behind at Boston in game 7 by a 3-0 score...and battled back once again, to win that game and the series by 4-3 counts.  They then won the East and moved on to the finals, where they lost to Chicago 4 games to 2.   It was only the 3rd time in the more than 70 years of the Stanley Cup that a team down three to none, had came back to capture a series.  Chicago came close this year to doing the same thing, only to fall in overtime of game 7 to Vancouver in round #1.   The Flyers now get a chance to do it twice in two years against the same team.  Don't Bet On It happening.

After outplaying the Bruins, except for goal tender Tim Thomas, on Tuesday...when the Flyers fired 54 shots on goal only to lose in OT by a 3-2 count, Philadelphia came out flat last night...giving up 2 goals in the first 63 seconds at Boston, they never recovered, and lost 5-1.  The goal tending merry-go-round continued for Philly.  Back in action at the Bruins home tomorrow, I expect to see the Flyers season end....but I still can hope for a repeat of last season...only a team like Boston is capable of gagging like that two years in a row...but like I said, don't bet on it.

Meanwhile East regular season champs Washington were swept out of the playoffs by Tampa Bay 4 games to none...and out West, Detroit's Red Wings are about to become the Dead Wings...losing on a late goal, then in OT to San Jose.  Detroit is down 3-0, like the Flyers.  The only competitive series thus far in the second round has been upstart Nashville against the regular season overall champions, Vancouver's Canucks.  Vancouver leads that series 2-1, with game 4 in Nashville tonight.  I gotta believe NBC executives are gnashing their teeth.  While hoping for a Detroit vs Boston or Philadelphia finals..they are likely to get Vancouver or San Jose vs Tampa Bay...wouldn't that be a ratings disaster?

With my spring baseball winding down, and the Flyers on the verge of folding their tents until October...I can concentrate on getting my Sunflowers planted(if it ever dries out), enjoying the Michigan Mushroom hunt next week, and following the Reds, while sitting on the back steps enjoying a few cold stouts and some good cigars....come on sunshine and warm weather.

back later>>>>

Photos---It looks like the Stanley Cup will avoid the Flyers again this year...36 seasons and counting....and Mushroom, Beer, and Cigars, are on the schedule for our Michigan Mushroom outing starting next week....

Elections, Birthdays, and more Rains....

Cleared up for awhile yesterday afternoon, too late to save my game at Van Wert...but the partial clearing brought hope for today...NOT!  I awoke at 6:30 this morning to the sound of more heavy rain hitting the windows...how many days in a row, how many overnights in a row?  Too many to count it seems, as the Spring from Hell continues.  The weather gerbils called it "An Upper Air Disturbance"  I say it's another wrong prediction for those folks...not to worry though, one good day for tomorrow, then, back to another 4 or 5 days of downpours....

The rain might have canceled my game at Convoy Crestview tonight anyway...but that was already ditched because the opponent from Lima Bath has to make up a WBL league contest.  That is going to be a recurring theme for the next couple of weeks...trying to push league games into a few dry days(any?) while tournaments are in full swing, won't be easy.  Tomorrow a long trip to Kalida, then more rains for Friday, Saturday, and beyond....my Sectional Tournament double headed back at Crestview Saturday morning and afternoon are looking "iffy" to say the least.

 A Big Happy Birthday to my wife Patricia....we have been hanging around together since late 1973....I'm sure it hasn't been easy for her...but she seldom complains....numb to it all I guess?  Won't give her age, but suffice to say, she is a few years younger than me....

Her Birthday happens to fall on the same day of the year as the anniversary of the Kent State "Massacre".... Which occurred May 4, 1970  .I was in Vietnam, stationed for my final couple of months, working "C" Flight(Overnights) on Blue Patrol...where we guarded the inter compounds of Tan Son Nhut Air Base...seems we were protecting the base from thieves from both the civilian and military ranks, who had a case or two of "lite fingers".   It was a pretty easy way to finish off my war tour.  As far as Kent State,  I remember vaguely hearing the news of the shootings on ARVN Radio...and thinking to myself, "So?  Guys are dying here everyday, and I'm supposed to give a damn about college kids in my home state, protesting us, and getting shot?"  I didn't then...and really don't know.  I consider them a casualty of war....cold as it seems.  Those people didn't give a damn about us, the left still doesn't today...I found it then and find it now,  hard to worry or care about them.

Primary Elections____

Yesterday was primary election day in Ohio...School levies, local races, etc, were on the agenda....

A small turnout was reported locally.  I'm sure the lack of interest, and the lousy weather,  had much to do with that...the results, at least here in Mercer County were interesting, and telling.

In the race for Mayor of Celina...the Republican incumbent, Sharon LaRue, was challenged by her former Safety Director, Jeff Hazel...with the lies and BS, coming out of City Hall these days...the election wasn't close.  The ousted SD easily defeated the Mayor, by a 2 to 1 count for the GOP nomination.  He out polled all 3 candidates, including the two Democrats.  One Dem, my high school classmate, who was Mayor a few years back, as a Republican, easily won that primary.  Given the fact he not only changed party affiliations, but was a slave like worshiper of Barack Obama in the last Presidential Election...Mr Party Switcher, has about a snow balls chance in Hell of winning in this conservative town, come November.

Meanwhile in the GOP battle for City Law Director.  A young lawyer, George Erik Moore, challenged the sitting LD for the post....Kevin McKirnan has been in office since 1977...residents thought it was time for a change, as "Erik" won easily, by a 2-1 margin.  "Moore" was the only yard sings I had on my property...not so much for the dislike of McKirnan, but because in addition to wanting some new blood in city government, Moore's dad and I, the late George Moore Sr...coached baseball together for several years...and Erik and Sam were classmates, and I coached them both through Little League and Pony League years.  So, Congratulations to George "Erik" Moore...you done good.  He will be the next Law Director, as the Democrats didn't bother with a candidate.

On the levy side...The Celina School renewal "plus" levy passed by a couple hundred votes...I held my nose and voted "Yes"...property taxes will go up slightly as they revert back to 2006 levels.  The wife's school levy in St. Henry passed much easier....while the folks across Grand Lake in St. Marys, with brand new school just opened, said "NO" by a resounding 3-1 margin.  The Cheryl Ann Mental Retardation levy here in Mercer County, passed with 70% of the votes...daughter Anissa is served well by CA, and a yes vote was a given from this household.. 

All-in-all...one thing for sure, the voters in Celina are not happy with the tax increases and priorities of the current administration.  They want side streets and alleys repaired, and really don't care about $Million Firetrucks and making Main Street and the Lake Shore Pretty....if they don't wake up, more incumbents are going to be tossed out...and tax levies overturned.

Looking out the Window...still cloudy, still wet, what else is new?

back later>>>>

Photos-Voted Yesterday...at least I can say I did, not that much will change, either locally or come the next State and National Elections....Patrica turns  ___ today, back in 1976 on our wedding day in Wisconsin, and last year at the VSPA Mini-Reunion at the Air Force Museum with me in front of our VSPA/Defender Statue..and again the overnight rains plague western Ohio and the Midwest....when will this end?  Not anytime soon it appears....

The Spring From Hell Contiinues....and the Gas Keeps on Rising

They say when you have nothing to talk about, always talk about the weather to start the conversation....

Well it seems I have nothing much to say of late...because the weather has been in the forefront of my conversations.  The rains have been persistent and almost every overnight has been wet for the past 3 weeks, April was a disaster, and May is not starting out much better.  As predicted, my NWC game at Allen East was washed out last night...however after clearing my calender, I got a call from a umpiring buddy, Ron, from Lima...he was scheduled to work a game at nearby Coldwatet but had taken a foul ball off the throat/neck area in a college game over the weekend, and was in some pain.  He asked me to take his place, as Coldwater was still planning on playing their game.  So, I headed the 8 miles south and west, and worked the plate for the Cavs vs Waynesfield game...a steady light rain came down throughout most of the contest, but we finished up the 13 to1...4 1/2 inning run rule Coldwater win.  Soon after the game ended, the rains came down harder, and lasted throughout the night...causing the cancellation of tonight's WBL game at Van Wert vs St. Marys.  I doubt if any, or at least very few in this area, will get played tonight.

The rest of the week, as we head to the Saturday Sectional Tournament openers, looks iffy at best.  Tomorrow and Thursday look to be the best of a lousy lot....not only are the fields wet, there is little or no sunshine and/or wind to dry things out.  Regardless of  rain and make-up dates, I am heading for Michigan and the Boyne Mushroom Festival, on May 12th, with Rick and Sons, and whoever else is willing to make the trip.  I've missed the annual fun for the last 2 years because of District Tournaments...with no assignments past May 11th this year, I am heading out...and will reject anything offered over that five day span.

The Osama Aftermath?  The economy is still problem #1

While our Man-Child of a President gets the accolades and thumbs up from the adoring press(including Fox News) for bringing down Osama Bin Laden...the long term outlook remains unchanged.  Sure, as a country we are all giddy that this piece of crap is laying at the bottom of the sea as shark food...but we have much more pressing concerns.

As I drove to town this morning, I noted the fuel price for regular gas had risen to $4.19.9 a gallon.  It will continue to rise...and the question is, how long before the economy tanks in total?  The lying liars at the White House, in the media, and on Wall Street will continue to say we are in a "recovery"...we aren't!  They say there is no inflation, except for food and fuel...what do most average Americans spent their money on?  Good chance that most spend a good chunk of income on those items, along with the rising cost of utilities.   Make no mistake this economy is going to collapse....and Obama and Company are 100% responsible....forget blaming Bush, Big Oil, or Wall Street...the dirty laundry is right on the Kenyan's door step....at our White House, and the 53% of the gawd damn fools that put this piece of garbage in office, are to blame.

Obammy wants the economy to collapse, it's all part of his and his lemmings grand dream of a The Socialist States of America.  Those that think otherwise are blind to what is going on, or just plain stupid.   Gas in western Ohio is $4.20 a gallon...don't bet it won't be $5 by Memorial Day....and as it rises, the economy will continue to sink...Bank It!

So celebrate the death of the Islamic slug named Osama, but beware of his fellow Islamic evil doer, Obama....in the long run, he is far more dangerous....

back later>>>>

Liberal Icon Osama Bin Laden Assumes Room Temperature....

I had not decided what to lead off the week with on the rant...but the news from last night made it a bit easier....

I could have written/blogged about the stinking weather, which has shown just a few hours of sun over the past month...it has been the spring from Hell....as far as I can recollect, this is the worst I have seen since the spring of 1981...1974 was another that equaled this one in a long, cold, wet, season.  However, so far I have gotten 21 or 32 games during the regular season about average....but the remaining schedule looks pretty unsavory.  Tonight's game at Allen East in going to be shut down, and tomorrow is not looking good either, after that it's a crap shoot.
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I also could have mentioned or wrote about the "blown" call I made in Saturday's big NWC contest at LCC....I may write about that tomorrow.  The call did not have an affect on the outcome of the game, and for that I am glad....and frankly, if I had to made the same call during my next game, I would not change a thing...both the plate umpire, Garry, and I saw it the same way...in the end, I got it wrong...and feel bad about it, but the call was what it was, and fortunately didn't change the outcome.  More on that later.
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So that leaves Osama( or as Fox News now spells it Usama? WTF is with that?) as the story....

I was actually sitting watching the Tampa Bay/Washington Caps Stanley Cup game  when I got a text message from oldest son Sam, telling me that Bin Laden, the hero of the American hating left, was dead.....and their President, Barack Obama, was the man that gave the orders to the Navy Seals to take the bastard out.  I will give Barry credit for that, although I am sure he had to swallow hard to make the call...after all, taking out one of his soul mates of radical Islam had to be hard to do.

A group of Navy Seals...unit #6, the elite group of the elite group, took this scum out...nearly 10 years after the Twin Towers came down in New York City, on September 11, 2001.  It's been a long haul, and I'm sure the radicals among the Islamic community will be planning how to get even with the USA and our dwindling group of Allies.

So give Barack Obama credit for giving the OK to take out Bin Laden...give the American Patriots the credit for getting the job done....you done good.  Roast in Hell Obama or Usama, or however you spell your name...and enjoy those 72 stinking virgin camels your perverted religion says you'll get...have fun with them.

back later>>>>