Every time I look in the mirror! 😉

Seriously, I can look out over my back deck and see deer, numerous bird types, squirrels, rabbit and such, on a daily basis.

I also work in the wilderness of Ky. Lake. I see eagles, osprey, ducks, geese, deer, snakes (most of which I can easily identify,) loons, pelican, coots, heron, egret, gulls, kingfisher, cormorant, and probably a couple I can’t think of at the moment, all this just getting to where I’m going to dive.

Then when I hit the water, I see turtles, fish, mostly bass/bream/minnow/catfish/eel/and drum, mussel shells, asian shells, zebra shell, (both asian and zebra are invasive species,) unidentified larva hatches, worms, and jellies. Many fish are too concerned about their health to get close enough that I can get a good look at them. Bass are intelligent enough to be curious, they will come and check you out. I’ve had them look me right in the eye. Sometimes, as I’m stirring up the bottom, and little minnow type fish dash for new cover, the bass will use me to hunt by. I’ve even made friends with a bass or two in my day. When they investigate they will swim by in front of me slow, just at arms reach and I will put my hand out to see if I can touch them. The first time or two they won’t let me. Then they might let me touch them for just a moment. Then they get comfortable enough I can touch them as they swim by. Once they get comfortable enough with me, I’ve had them get right up next to my face, and look through my mask, into my eyes. One even rolled over a tad to get a better angle to see me. Bass are interesting if you will take a moment and let them investigate you.

Once I saw a small bass who was lethargic, slow moving. He was just piddling in front of me as I worked. I noticed one of his eyes was terribly cataract. Glazed over badly. I surmised the little guy was hungry. So I took a shell out of my sack, used my knife to cut it open, and I offered the mussel meat as a gift. That bass snatched it up so fast it startled me. That little guy was so happy, he started rubbing up against me like a happy puppy dog. Wiggling from side to side, if a fish could smile I swear he was smiling at me. I cut open two or three more shells and fed him till I could see his belly was stuffed. That bass followed me closely for the rest of my dive. I never saw him again. But I’ll never forget the experience. I was truly amazed that a fish could show an emotion of happiness/gratitude. Did not know it was even possible. But I experienced it. I’ve never really looked at fish the same since.

The jellies, I don’t even know what they are actually. They show up in the fall, and they are a gelatinous blob of unknown (by me,) origin. They range from as big as a half dollar to the size of a dinner plate and can be several inches 8-10″! thick. They tend to be circular, but not always perfectly so, and they feel really creepy when you accidentally grab hold of one.

Was walking the lake bank with the wife recently, and saw some jellies. This is what they look like. Sorry there’s nothing in the shot for perspective, but that large one was at least 6″ across. They can be anywhere out there on the bottom. These just happen to have washed up on the bank.

EDIT EDIT EDIT:

I learned something today, after decades of not knowing what these damn things are, I Googled it! To think, all of these years, I could have just freaking Googled it. The jellies are: “A colony of the freshwater bryozoan Pectinatella magnifica. Freshwater bryozoans are tiny colonial animals that can form jelly-like masses, which are often found attached to sticks or docks.  Bryozoan colonies can be as much as a foot (30 cm) in diameter.”

I have seen these things almost as big as a bowling ball. I talked to another diver once who told me he stuck his hand down in the middle of one like that, left there for a minute, and was rewarded with a very nasty sting. Whether there’s any truth to that I do not know. I decided then and there, not to try and reproduce the same result. 😉 I remain unknowledgeable in that department to this day.

More info, with links and a video here:

https://askanaturalist.com/jelly-like-blob-under-my-dock/

Daily writing prompt

Do you ever see wild animals?

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===

…would be me staying up till 2 in the morning, out in the yard with a telescope, and sleeping in till 10 the following morning.

This would also suit my other nightime musical pursuits.

…but my reality is more like, up at 5, to bed by 10. With any luck I’ll get a “dog nap,” early afternoon. A “dog nap,” is me lying down, and the boys, the 90 lb. Labradane, and the 100 lb Pit Bull, piling in with me. It’s a thing in my house lol. If I’m lucky I’ll get a 45 minute nap.

I’m not always lucky. It usually takes about a half a pot of coffee to get my gears moving in the morning, and on my unlucky “dog nap,” days, a cup of tea, for a bit of a kick in the afternoon.

My perfect world does not exist.

The only kind of suit I enjoy wearing is a wet suit! That means I’m about to jump in.

These days I prefer anything that’s not pants. Pants, and/or the belt to hold them up, restrict me to the point my chronic back pain gets worse real fast. So I’m preferable to sweat pants during colder months, or those “almost pajamas,” type of leg coverings the rest of the year. I’m just about to the point now, where if you see me wearing actual pants, consider yourself priviliged 😉

In the meantime, I await the return of the toga.

1. Bad Drivers. Most are too ding dang stoopid to know how bad they are. Turn signals well before brakes people! You cannot be oblivious to your surroundings when driving, gee, I’m sure glad you had your alone time with that cigarette you just threw out the window, think you can pay enough attention to getting your slow ass out of the way now? That stop sign is there for a reason, don’t make me have to take evasive action to keep from T-boning you! If you can’t do the posted speed limit, it might be time to just get a horse and buggy and one of those reflective triangles to hang off your backside! Use the shoulder when making a right turn, do not come nearly to a complete stop to make your turn from the highway! Blind hills, blind curves, try to understand them, and be on your damn side of the road! Stop putting those extra heavy duty, twice as bright as the sun, replacement bulbs in you vehicle! Blinding everyone on the highway so you can “see better” makes you a royal jackass! Gad, people are so annoying.
2. Annoying people. See # 1, and to some extent #3.
3. Low talkers. I love my wife, but she’s a low talker. She will start off a sentence loud enough I can hear her, but as the sentence winds down, so does her voice. Whaaat? Or, I’ll be in the kitchen which is right next to the utility room/furnace, with the water running in the sink, and the furnace is running, and the washer is in spin cycle, and she wonders why I can’t hear her from the next room. Arrrggghh! She thinks I’m half deaf, I think she’s a low talker. 😉

I think I have to go with boat here.

And the gear to go diving.

I got my current boat for $3400, just the boat. No motor, no steering console, no trailer. But it’s a GREAT boat. A SeaArk 1652, outstanding boat and quite an expensive boat new. This one is a 2012 model and looked like it had seen the water only a handful of times. It was a killer deal on a very well known, quality, tough as nails boat.

I had an aluminum console lying around from another boat, and I have a friend who is set up to weld aluminum. He welded it in exactly where I wanted it.

Then I lucked into a decent boat motor. It’s a 2013 Mercury 60 hp, four stoke. An old diving friend of mine upgraded to a bigger outboard, they didn’t offer him much on trade in value for his old low hours motor, so he offered it to me. One of those “you’d be stupid not to buy it at this price” deals. I bought it. (I may be 20 kinds of stupid, but not “that” stupid,) $1000. So far, so good. Been a good motor to date.

I have a pretty good boat trailer I’ve used for years. Just before I got the boat, I completely refurbished the trailer. New bunks, new side boards, new carpet, put in new bearings on the axles, and brand new radial tires. It may be an old trailer, but it’s still a good trailer. I hitched up, and pulled the trailer to Nashville to pick up the boat. The SeaArk fit like a glove. (whew!)

I have a metal “A” frame I built years ago. It was a swingset for my kids, but I knew they would outgrow it, and I built it stout enough to also serve as an engine puller. Using a chain hoist, I dropped the outboard on the new- to- me- boat, installed the control box, steering cable, automatic bilge pump, wired everything in, and took it for a test drive. “Excellent!”

My disability had gone through several years prior to all of this. A chronic pain condition, quite likely from have been a diver for 30+ years prior. I didn’t do jack for probably 7 years. Talking to someone one day, in converstaion they mentioned “you know, being disabled doesn’t mean you can’t make any money.” What? “Yeah, you can make $7000 a year profit, and it not affect your disability income in any way.”

Well damn!

I still had my old diving gear. So I made the decision, “I’m going to go get some of that $$$.”

Which was the catalyst for getting, and rigging up another boat.

I went through my old dive gear. Had to get some new things. My old regulator needed replacing, a new mask of course. The oilless compressor (knock on wood!) still makes my air. Had to get some new wet suit stuff. But I finally got it all ready to go, and installed in the boat.

…and I’ve been back making some money on the side ever since. I report it all, keep my reciepts, use an accountant, and stay square with the gov’t. Last thing I need is issues there.

After it’s all said and done, I got this rig put together for around 5.5K. If I had to buy all of this stuff new, it would be fairly expensive. The boat alone, with no steering console, would run 12-15K. A new 60 HP four stroke outboard, runs in the vicinity of 8-9K. All new gear to go diving ~3K I’d guess. A new boat trailer is probably closer to 2k than 1K these days. Conservatively, to replace all of it, at new prices, it would easily run ~25K. Probably closer to 30K with all the nuts and bolts, ready to go to work rig.

I’m good with that! It helps a lot to already have some of the things you need, and to have friends!

I have to say, I love diving, no matter how much it hurts. I’m good with that too. I do what I can, when I can. I don’t have, nor could work on a schedule. I go when I feel like I can do it. Rest up for a few days, and go do it again. I also have the luxury of quitting when I have need to, and I could lie down in the boat and take a nap if I chose too. I work within my limitations.

I have too. If I push myself very hard, it ain’t pretty when the muscle spasms start. The chronic pain is my constant friend whether I sit on my ass all day long, or go diving. I’m in pain either way. Might as well make a few bucks when I can. Just can’t push it.

So, my most expensive thing, I’ve bought just for me, allows me the occaisional opportunity to buy my wife nice things 😉 What do I get out of it? I get to go diving!

A bad day diving, is better than a good day at anything else! 🙂

Ya’ll stay safe out there.

Daily writing prompt

Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

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Yes.

Daily writing prompt

What would you do if you lost all your possessions?

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We are born without possessions. We don’t even understand possessions until we are a couple of years old, and then it’s “I want,” anything and everything in our surroundings. Now that I’ve just written that, it occurs to me, we don’t ever truly grow out of that do we?

I’m happy with my possessions, but there’s always a little something else I could justify as a want, or a need. There’s always some little something we’d like to have for multitudes of reasons, be it small, or be it large, or in between.

But to answer the question, the answer is simply, start over.

People lose everything all the time. Fires, hurricanes, floods, tornados, the tax man, or for some unlucky folks, prison. The only logical path is to start over. It is the natural way I think. We build from scratch and get back on our feet, no matter the reason.

It’s as inevitable as the sun rising tomorrow. It’s what we do.

I would know no other way. I might not get back to where I was, but I’d work to improve somehow, some way. Only having to actually do it, will determine how it pans out.

Just not right now ok? I’d like to enjoy what we have for a while yet.

Daily writing prompt

What would your life be like without music?

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I’d lose my mind without music. I grew up listening to the radio, spinning LP’s on the turntable, and of many topics discussed with friends, music was a priority. New album releases were a thing, and often compared to previous works.

I still play LP’s on the turntable.

When I was 16 I took up guitar. My aunt and uncle got me a beat up Fender Mustang. I had been learning on my aunt’s acoustic and progressing rapidly. I didn’t have an amp yet, but aunty did, so I used her amp when she wasn’t busy with it. Music sort of runs in the family. I have heard my grandpa was very musical, and my aunt had a country/bluegrass band for years.

I can remember sitting through their practices, taking it all all in, and loving every minute of it.

I’ve been to several mainstream act concerts. I also go to local/regional bars/clubs and check out the music scene. I know, and am known, by a lot of local musicians. Heck, Fri night I’m driving over 2 hours to see a band play at a chilli cook off.

I’ve been in cover bands for decades. I’m in a band now. Only this time we are doing original material. It’s been a lifelong passion, music. I would be a lost soul without it. Music encompasses my being, to the point where it just oozes out of me. I can’t stop it any more than I could stop a runaway train running 60 mph.

I have a music room! A P.A., a few amps, 6 guitars, microphones, recording devices, an electric drum kit (which belongs to my bassist,) cables, adapters, tuners, even the room itself has been deadened, to reduce echo, which drastically, and negatively, affects recordings.

I even have another 2000 watt PA in my shop*, that I turn on when I’m out there doing stuff, which is often. I run an old crappy receiver/radio through it, or plug my phone into it. My phone has 300 songs on it. I have my own personal radio station, for when I’m sick of the radio station.

I am a lot of things, but can safely say, to a great degree, I am music.

* My drummer had a P.A. head that did not work, and some old P.A. speakers he didn’t need or have room for. I was the lucky recipient. I fixed the P.A. head. I now have the capability to destroy the neighborhood! But with great power comes great responsibility. Nor do I care for visits from the county coppers.

Just about everyone these days are moving to independently powered P.A. speakers. Pretty much making the old P.A. gear obsolete. So you can pick that stuff up at bargain prices… Sometimes it’s even being given away.

Daily writing prompt

If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?

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My first thought was a swear word. Then I decided I like my swear words. Swear words should be included with our food groups, they are essential. What would I do when a bad driver crossed my path? (and eight in ten are horrible drivers here.) I need my swear words, so that’s a no go.

Well now what?

Maybe something profound, like profound? Nah.

Something deep? Like quantum? Well no, I need to be able to use that word when I make fun of Deepak Chopra. So that’s out.

How about a word I never use? Like “fahrvergnuegen?” Well now I’ve used it, and if anyone posts about it, I may have to use it again dammit!

You know what? I’ve decided to keep my words. 😉

Y’all decide what word you can give up!

Daily writing prompt

What TV shows did you watch as a kid?

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All the worst you can imagine.

I used to love Saturday morning cartoons. Back then the anvil could still hit the coyote, Popeye could give someone a good ass whuppin, Elmer Fudd could hunt wabbits with a shotgun, and Bugs was a crossdresser.

It was great! I wish I could still see those old cartoons now deemed “harmul to children.” I believe the cartoon police went a little too far with deeming the classic cartoons as “violent.” Shit man,watch the evening news if you want violent. Go to the movies if you want violent. Say hello to a cop while being the wrong color if you want violent. Those old cartoons are classic. An anvil landing on the coyote does not a violent child make.

As far as that goes, violence is pretty much baked into our existence, we are a violent species. The cartoons didn’t have anything to do with it…

I also watched a lot of Gilligans Island. Gilligan was on, right arount the time I got home from school. Hogans Heroes was on after supper, I remember watching that one too.

On Friday nights where I lived, we had a late night show called “Accri’s Creature Feature.” Accri was an aluminum siding company that sponsored the show. The Creature Feature had all of those old corny sci-fi monster movies we used to love to hate.*

When I got a little older I’d watch some Johnny Carson, and Saturday Night Live. Both TV show Icons. Both still running today.

So, what did you watch?

*Strangely enough I still enjoy those same movies on MST 3000. If you don’t know what Mystery Science Theater is, google it. Get your head straight right before you watch it 😉 FYI, Pluto (free TV!!) has its very own MST 3000 channel! I love me some MST 3000.

MST 3000 is still pretty funny even if you don’t umm, enjoy a little evening buzz.