This tiny, wearable patch makes you invisible to mosquitos

These guys could come to South Louisiana to test this!


This tiny, wearable patch makes you invisible to mosquitos: 'via Blog this'

Fishing Trip, Pt. II

As soon as the thunder boomer passed, I launched the boat & headed out to throw the line.

The wind was still blowing hard, so I avoided any of the larger bays & lakes, staying in the smaller canals. I decided to try a spot at a washed-out weir structure. The tide was very high, so the whole structure was underwater. I tied the boat to a 2x4 someone had planted against the submerged weir and put a couple of shrimp on my shad rig.

I caught a small black drum (+/- 12 inches...too small) on the very first cast. I missed a couple of strikes, then finally hooked what had been taking my bait...a hard head catfish. As I was lifting it into the boat, the words "...a gon-gonk!" popped into my head. It was a term that one of my relatives made up to label hardheads back when I was a kid. I hadn't thought of that in years!

As I laid the catfish on the floor of the boat so I could get a glove on to remove it from the hook, it started making it's signature noise: "gon-gonk, gon-gonk", hence the term remembered above.

After I removed it from the hook, I noticed the next wave of thunderstorms approaching fast, so I packed up and hauled ass back to the launch to head for home.

Do You Have an Evacuation Plan?

June 1st is just around the corner...we have already experienced our first named Atlantic storm...time to brush up on your evacuation plan. The link below has some general evacuation tips, plus links to other recommendations.

Code Name Insight: Your 5 Step Evacuation Plan:

'via Blog this'

We generally have a go/no go decision based on the predicted storm path and storm intensity. If a storm looks to land anywhere east of our location and is not a monster storm, we plan to ride it out at home. I have a propane burner (practically who doesn't in South Louisiana?), a propane BBQ pit, a generator capable of running my freezer and refrigerator, plus some fans & lights, and a bunch of food, so we will be moderately comfortable. Keep lots of bottled water and non-perishable food items on hand. Experience dictates that if the power goes out, and it will, it takes up to at least a week to restore it. Also make sure to have a couple of weeks reserve of any maintenance medication that you need whether you ride it out or evacuate.

If the storm is passing nearby to the west of here or if it is a really big one, we evacuate. Our evacuation destination depends on where the storm is projected to make landfall. If it is going to Southwest Louisiana, then we can opt to bug out well enough ahead to travel to the Houston area or travel back east towards Alabama or Florida. If it gets really bad across the whole Gulf Coast, then directly north is the plan of action. It is also good to travel on alternate routes, since most people will be trying to use the main routes such as Interstates and likely to have them clogged up.

Be Safe. Be Prepared.

Code Name Insight: Challenge: Get your Bug Out Bag Together

I have been reading the CNI blog for a few months now and have been wondering what a BOB was. It comes up a lot in the posts.

Finally, I got to see what it is and what it should contain.

So, I figured that the three of you who read my blog might want to know also!

This list also can double as your hurricane kit for a quick evacuation.


Code Name Insight: Challenge: Get your Bug Out Bag Together:

'via Blog this'

American Carbon Registry Initiates Approval of World’s First Carbon Offset Methodology for Deltaic Wetland Restoration | Ecosystem Commons

This is a pretty cool deal!

I don't normally care for the idea of carbon credits, but this group has developed a methodology for using marsh creation as a basis to sell credits for carbon sequestration. And they are based in New Orleans. Hopefully they will be able to finance coastal restoration projects with funds from the sale of carbon credits.

American Carbon Registry Initiates Approval of World’s First Carbon Offset Methodology for Deltaic Wetland Restoration | Ecosystem Commons:

'via Blog this'

Organic Hot House for Germinating Pumpkin Seeds

We planted some pumpkin seeds last year to try to make a Jack-O-Lantern. We only had one pumpkin grow out after Mel pollinated the flowers. The problem was that it didn't grow out until mid-November.

It has been sitting on our back porch until I could get around to cutting it for the seeds. I decided to do that today since I had a little time before Veronica's birthday party.

What I found was that about half of the seeds had germinated and were either sprouting or starting to sprout, INSIDE the pumpkin. I know that this is normal for seeds to do that, but it is weird because it has been fairly chilly around here the last couple of months. Not really cold, but cooler than I would expect pumpkin seeds to start growing in.

The only thing I can figure out is that because of the sun shining on my back porch in the afternoon, it must have made conditions just right for the seeds to start growing.

Go Figure...

Decline of SoLa

I think it is here...something that a couple of hundred years of wars, floods, hurricanes, and coastal erosion have not been able to bring about...the end of South Louisiana.

President Obama has reiterated his stance on the deepwater drilling moratorium while spending as much or more time pushing "Cap & Trade", or as I saw someone put it, "Smash Knee Cap & Tax", than talking about cleanup efforts. This does not bode well. Whether he knows it or not, he is forcing people to either A.) Move away to work somewhere else or B.) Lose their jobs and go on welfare...***Epiphany*** What better way to garner more support? Get a whole region dependent on him for survival! This is how demo-don'ts keep getting re-elected. This is also how dictators do it. Very scary.

I hope and pray that the people of the United States of America wake up to what's going on and don't let our country be turned into a powerless socialist has-been. Is it that everyone is OK with losing our freedom and sovereignty? I have heard a lot of people say that they would like to the US to be more like European countries...Have they seen the European countries lately? They are struggling! The EU is not quite working out like they had planned. The UK was wise to fully embrace the EU.

Enough of my ranting. I have gone from lamenting the decline of south Louisiana to complaining about the far left. I hope to make my next post about something positive in the oil and gas industry!