Some of My Pics

November 13, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

Bourbeuse River near Union, MO

Bourbeuse River near Union, MO

This shot I took early one morning and temps were around 42 degrees and the fog was rising.

My childhood friend David Tripp

David and I have known each other since the second grade. Dr. Tripp is a retired educator who claims two passions, painting and fly-fishing. He is a very talented artist and writer. You can see some of both at davidtripp.wordpress.com.

A little dock diving.

Amazing what one can do with the photo software out there.

New addition to the farm, EJ our little cow bred filly.

Eros and Kate

I have bored you long enough. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed. Spread the love.

Monsanto Lake

September 20, 2017September 20, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

Lake Monsanto – St. Joe Park -Park Hills, MO

St. Joe Park is located in the old “lead Belt” area and is made up of 8,238 acres that was donated to Missouri in 1976 by the St. Joe Minerals Corp after ceasing operations in 1972. It has an off-road vehicle area, two campgrounds, equestrian camping and trails, hiking and bicycling trail, picnic sites and lakes for swimming and fishing.

The historic mill buildings still stand on the site and it has been designated as Missouri Mines State Historic Site. They also have a museum that houses some of the old mining equipment along with an impressive collection of geological specimens.

Lake Monsanto

There are four stocked lakes in St. Joe. Monsanto is the largest that is 30 feet at the deepest point and around 25 acres. Then there is Apollo Lake, JoLee Lake and Pim Lake which is the smallest. Boats can be used in all four but only electric motors are allowed. They do rent kayaks and canoes. One drawback to me, that definitely keeps me from getting too attached to this place, is the hours of operation. From April – September the lake opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 8 a.m.; October – March 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.. I really wish they would reconsider their hours.

If you want to fish Apollo or JoLee lakes, you must obtain a fishing pass from the park office. There are no launch fees. One can catch bass, crappie, catfish and an assortment of pan fish or perch. The park uses a “slot limit” of 12 inches to 15 inches for bass. You can keep anything under 12 and over 15 but you can’t keep fish that fall in the slot. One practice they do that I do like is that they pass a card so you can record your catch of the day so that they can have an idea of what is being caught. It is done anonymously.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” – John Muir

Lake Monsanto

I have fished Lake Monsanto three times. It is a peaceful place through the week however on the weekend it can draw a crowd. The lake has a lot of mill foil in it and a lot of standing timber and a multitude of objects to get your line hung up on.

Largemouth bass caught

Channel Cat I caught a couple of weeks ago.

I prefer to use a Rapala floating minnow. If you watch what you are doing you don’t get hung up as bad. I also use the live bait mode also: night crawlers. If I am out there just to relax I just use an empty hook. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give Lake Monsanto a 5. If the state would change the fishing hours to allow early and late evening hours I could learn to like it a little more. (Hint, hint) Maybe even issue a special permit if a person wanted to do some late night catfishing.

Lake Monsanto

Someone asked me the other day if I ever get tired of fishing. For the record, “no”. I can never get enough fishing. When I am fishing I can feel my spirit feeding off the positive energy of Mother Nature. I sleep better when I have had a full day of fishing.

Monsanto Lake

Thanks for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to spread the love.

Life Is What You Make It! Be Happy

August 31, 2017August 31, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

Equine Activities

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it is at your work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” – Earl Nightingale

Henry David Thoreau told us in Walden, “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.”

Now what an idea. It seems we want our children to participate in every sport there is. I think it is kind of sad that these young people do not really get a chance to really enjoy life going on around them. They don’t have the time to watch a simple sunset or sunrise. Do they ever get the chance to participate in a family meal?

Then there are those who become workaholics and get so wrapped up in their work that they really never learn how fun life can be. They miss out on so much in their family life and all because “they want their children to have it better than they did.” Really? Then start eating together and discussing each other’s day, start taking vacations in the great outdoors. Hug your children and tell them you love them. Most importantly teach them to love themselves and have confidence in themselves.

Photography

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn

So many people look at happiness is a thing of the future, after Johnny graduates, when I get the time, when I get some bills paid off, etc.. Ok, when you get up in the morning, if happiness doesn’t exist in your life then I want you to look in the mirror and say, ” Today is going to be filled with happiness and the only way that can change is I HAVE to let someone change it.” There are so many things you can fill your life with to nurture the happiness in your life. I have posted some of those things under my pics.

528173_10151703870623041_1191926841_n (2)

Kayaking

Fishing

Cooking

These are a few examples of what I do. Believe in yourself and assign yourself a dream. A dream that will fill your heart, soul and spirit with pure joy. Live for that happiness now and not for 20 years in the future. You are your own boss and you are in charge of your happiness. Surround yourself with people who are genuinely happy and will lift you up and not pull you down. For those of you that suffer from no happiness in your life don’t give up. Find it. Nurture it. Discover the healing power of happiness.

Thanks for reading my blog. It means a lot. To those of you who take the time to make comments, thank you so much for taking the time to do so. Spread the love!

Loyalty Has Left the Building

July 10, 2017July 15, 2017 / doubledacres / Leave a comment

“Many of the qualities that come so effortlessly to dogs, loyalty, devotion, selflessness, unflagging optimism, unqualified love – can be elusive to humans.” – John Grogan. My dog Kate has all of the above qualities. I am one of those people that when you come to my house and you tell me you don’t like my dog, I immediately show you to the door. We could learn a lot from dogs.

When I was a child a handshake was better than a signed contract because both parties were loyal to the agreement. Today a so called friend will go behind your back and steal the promotion you were trying to get or if you get it, they will do everything they can to make you look bad.

“Honesty and loyalty are key. If two people can be honest with each other about everything, that’s probably the biggest key to success.” – Taylor Lautner

So many friendships and relationships now days are void of loyalty. I see it all the time. Do we blame it on social media? Do we blame it on the way we bring our children up? What do we blame it on? Ourselves?

Loyalty binds a friendship, and is responsible for us to endure hardship with that person. Loyal friends see us as someone special to them so therefore they won’t abandon us. Loyalty is a choice. A true friend will go with us into the unknown.

15940394_10154329380003041_4873173871950467678_n

Both of my dogs are loyal and perfect examples of unconditional love. Not everyone likes dogs so they won’t understand what I am talking about. Those of you that own dogs know exactly what I am talking about and know how loyal they are.

So let me ask you. Are you a loyal friend? Do you know what loyalty is?

Thank you for reading. Remember to be kind to each other, don’t squat with your spurs on and spread the love.