Is Mother Nature Trying to Tell Us Something?

July 28, 2018 / doubledacres / 5 Comments

“Sooner or later, we will have to recognize that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.” –Evo Morales

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The calm before the storm hit Monsanto Lake.

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” – Willa Cather

It seems lately that Mother Nature has lost her mind. Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and other destruction has been in the news lately.

Ice and Snow in Florida- Early January brought snowflakes to the Florida panhandle for the first time since 1989 ( since 1885 if you are talking about January)

Snow in the Sahara- Algeria received 15 inches of snow.

Coldest April followed by hottest May

Four nor’easters in a row- Northeast US was hit with four winter storms in one month

Fires are destroying thousands of acres in California while parts of Hawaii battles with the destructive forces of a volcano. What does it mean? Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Is Mother Earth crying out for help?

tornado on body of water during golden hour

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“It also called upon traditional people in the Four Directions to strengthen the healing ceremonies and asked people to heed the warnings of Mother Earth.” – Dennis Banks

Most folks are going to say I am crazy but I am a firm believer that Mother Nature is trying to warn us that unless we quit destroying Mother Earth things are only going to get worse.

We can’t keep pumping chemicals into our rivers and streams and air. Mother Nature’s filtration system is getting plugged up. Think of it as the air filter in your furnace. It traps all the bad stuff that would hurt the furnace and when it gets full you take it out, throw it away and put in a new one. Mother Nature can’t do that.

The only way we can help is to get our heads out of our asses and get serious about a plan to heal this planet. Hell folks, according to Steven Solomon, author of “Water: The Epic Struggle For Wealth, Power and Civilization” , “Water is overtaking oil as our scarcest natural resource in the world.” We need to desperately change our way of thinking. We need to realize that we can’t keep depleting our resources without a plan to replenish them. Trees have a big job in the ecosystem. Some countries are completely destroying the jungles and not replanting. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and other poisonous gases and emit oxygen. Don’t know if it is true or not but I once heard that one large tree can supply a day’s worth of oxygen for four people. What happens if we keep cutting the trees without replanting and suddenly there aren’t enough plants to produce the amount of oxygen needed to sustain life on Mother Earth?

I want everyone to think about something for a minute. Yeah maybe I am crazy however, what if Mars once looked like Mother Earth. Oceans, rivers, mountain streams, vast forest land, occupied by some greedy, uncaring inhabitants.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It is deeply appreciated. Remember to spread the love.

A Much Needed Night on the River

June 26, 2018June 26, 2018 / doubledacres / 5 Comments

Smallmouth Bass caught on the Big River. (13 and 3/4 inches long.)

Finally on June 23, I was finally able to feed my addiction, I spent the night on Big River near Leadwood, Mo. They were calling for rain both days however I only got sprinkled on a couple of times. To top things off the night sky was sporting an almost full moon.

My adventure started around 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon. I put the yak in the water and headed up river. I fished as I went along, looking for places to set my limb lines and a place to set up camp. I had opted not to take a tent and was looking for a place sheltered from the west in case a storm blew up. I finally found a perfect gravel bar that had a 10 foot bank sheltering me from the west winds so I continued up river so that I could let the current bring me back down the river. That would make it easier to fish that stretch of the river.

As I fished my way back to the camp site it started out a little disheartening. Fish didn’t seem interested in anything I had to offer. Then I caught a rock bass and even though it wasn’t very big it was a start. I ended up catching several panfish and 8 smallmouth bass under 8 inches. Then I hooked something of size and the fight was on. When using an ultralight with 4 pound test line you can’t rush things. I had no idea what it was then it came straight up out of the water and did a tail walk. It was a largemouth bass. We went back and forth for around 10 minutes and then it did its fifth tail walk, gave me a big grin and spit the lure out of his mouth and I am pretty sure he was laughing at me as he hit the water and disappeared. Damn the luck.

I made it back to the camp site, unloaded the yak and got a fire going. Now f you have never started a fire with wet wood you probably have no idea how frustrating that can be. With no fish, Vienna Sausages were on the menu. I had 7 limb lines out so I rigged up a line to fish tight line from the bank, baited with nightcrawlers. I ran my lines at 11 p.m. and all the bait was gone and no fish.

I ran the lines again and still no fish so I went back to camp. Around 15 minutes after I got in camp I heard a growl come from up on the bank. Now there are many different kinds of growls. There is the I don’t like you growl, stay away growl and the I am going to scare this old man. This growl wasn’t any of those. It was more a kick arse and take names kind of growl. I slipped over and got my 45 out of the water tight box and stood real still. After around 5 minutes, but it seemed like 5 hours, it moved on. I let out a sigh of relief and went back to fishing.

Around 3 a.m. I heard something making a racket in the direction of one of my limb lines so I shove off and head in that direction. I shine the limb that my line is tied too and the limb is shaking up and down and going in all directions. I ease up and grab the line and start pulling it in and on the either is a huge snapping turtle. It decides it wants to come aboard my yak and the fight is on. Only problem was I didn’t have room for a 30 pound snapper. I finally got him loose and headed back to camp.

As the darkness started retreating and the light started to flood the morning sky I heated up some water to pour into my MRE and made some coffee. Around 5:30 a.m. I began breaking camp and loaded the yak and headed back up the river for some fishing action. At 9:30 I heard the awfullest racket coming from downstream around a bend in the river. Finally I see several cows making their way up the river crossing the river and heading up the hill on the other side.

That was pretty much my weekend in a nutshell and what an enjoyable night it was. I needed to recharge my spirit and the adventure in nature was what I needed. I can’t wait to see what the next river adventure brings.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did my river adventure. Stay safe and spread the love.

It’s Your Life; Who’s In Charge

June 2, 2018June 2, 2018 / doubledacres / 7 Comments

“Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination.” – David B Wirthlin

In the picture above the river represents your life and the dam represents control. Who/what controls your life.

Old cowboy saying, “A woman finds her a man she wants and says I can change him. A cowboy finds a woman he wants and says I hope she never changes.”

So many things can control your life and you may not even know. Drugs, alcohol, gambling, and sex can all become a control issue. Most of the time they are pretty obvious to your friends and family and garner a lot of attention sometimes resulting in one getting help.

There is one form of control that literally breaks my heart. Low self esteem. It can make you a prisoner in your own world. Some people don’t even realize they have it. If you were bullied in school, had abusive parents, always ridiculed and never complimented or parents that never interacted or did things with you, then you probably battle with low self esteem. Good news is that if you are, you don’t have to. With the help of some family members, friends and YOU, YOU can heal yourself.

These wildflowers are representative of a new beginning.

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you are one that suffers from low self esteem, to beat it you have to restore your self confidence. You have to quit listening to others and believe in yourself. You are somebody. You are beautiful. You are a good person.

It’s not gong to be an easy row to hoe. You are going to have to be strong and unwavering. Create yourself a negative free environment and begin a healing process. Surround yourself with positive friends and family and seek out a good counselor. All these people will be good for you. Again I stress you have to believe in yourself and take control of your life.

For those of you that have an addiction, you will have to use a little different approach but you can get control of your life back. Surround yourself with positive people and again, find yourself a good counselor. Set realistic goals and don’t lose sight of them and don’t ever give up.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Share the love.

Memorial Day

May 27, 2018May 27, 2018 / doubledacres / 4 Comments

This grave is located in the Masonic Cemetery in Farmington, MO.

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D Roosevelt

Memorial Day is upon us. I know some of you out there aren’t going to believe this but there is a real purpose and reason for Memorial Day other than going out and seeing how hard you can party for three days. It is a holiday with true meaning and really shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Memorial day was first observed on May 30, 1868 and in 1971 by an act of Congress it was declared a national holiday. The day of observance was also changed from May 30 to the last Monday in May. It is also referred to as “Decoration Day”. The practice of decorating soldiers graves has been a custom for some time even before the Civil War.

In 1868 Memorial Day ceremonies began at Gettysburg National Park but wasn’t known nationally until 1913. That year veterans of the United States Army and Confederate Army converged on Gettysburg to commemorate the most famous and bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

Picture taken by me in the Masonic Cemetery located in Farmington, MO.

There will be a special ceremony at this Revolutionary Soldier’s grave tomorrow but I am sorry I don’t know the time.

“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” – James A. Garfield

My office at K of P Cemetery located in Farmington, Mo.

As I sit here writing my mind is taken back many years ago when I was a child and we would go camping upon the banks of the St. Francois River at a place we dubbed “sandy banks” located just below the Lake Wappapello dam. There are a lot of great memories on those banks. It has been at least 45 years since I have been there but it just seems just like yesterday.

War brings so many casualties and adds to the populations of the cemeteries. This is the day that was designated by Congress to remember those that lost their lives while serving in the military. To all you party revelers out there, you have had two days to play and party hard. I ask that you take one minute of your time today and have a moment of silence for those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price with their lives.

I mow three cemeteries and know for a fact that a lot of graves never receive flowers or visitors. I would like to see a movement in this country where folks adopt one of those soldiers graves and decorate it with flowers. You don’t have to know them to place flowers on their graves.

My great grandparents headstone located in Arkansas.

Many areas of the country also decorate the graves of their family members regardless of them not being a vet.

In closing I want to wish everyone a safe holiday and if you are traveling be careful. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.

Joy of Friendship

May 22, 2018 / doubledacres / 5 Comments

=-“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.” –

Ralph Waldo Emerson

My story begins in a small second grade classroom located in the High Ridge Elementary school in the year 1961. That is when David Tripp and I became friends. I begin writing about our friendship on the eve our next adventure. I hope you find it entertaining.

My house for the weekend

David’s home for the weekend.

As I have stated in the beginning David and I met in second grade. We went on to become graduates of Northwest High School in House Springs, MO. We went our separate ways and were actually reunited through social media. In 2010 our ole buddy Tommy Parton planned a fishing day and we saw each other face to face for the first time in over 35 years. After that reunion David and I started getting together once a year to do some fishing and reminiscing. The subject of this blog is our 2018 trip.

David is quite an accomplished artist and is quite busy with art shows so it is hard for him to get free. We finally got it pinned down for this year and we decided on Silver Mines. I did a blog on Silver Mines in the fall 0f 2017. I used to visit the area when I was a teenager.

Trail leading to the old dam.

We arrived around 11:30 am and began setting up camp. The weather forecast called for rain and wouldn’t you know it, they actually got it right. Now I am here to tell you when two 64 year old men go tent camping there can be some humorous moments.

The first one was getting our lean, athletic (yeah right LOL) into those tents. Now let me tell you that is no easy feat. The best way I found was to just drop to the ground like you are on fire then do the worm through the tent entrance. Ahh, I am safely with in the cocoon. Oh crap! At sometime I have to leave the cocoon. When the time came I once again did the worm through the entrance and there I lay on my belly. A grown man who looks like he has fallen and can’t get up. I finally muster enough energy and coordination to get up and it sounded like somebody poured milk over a bowl of Rice Krispies, snap, crackle, pop.

David in his element.

Now I have to tell on my friend David. The ground was causing David some problems. so to help him sleep we went to town and he bought him an air mattress. Now David’s tent wasn’t 2,000 square feet. So David sets about placing this spacious mattress within the confines of his tent. I now know what it looks like when someone tries to put a size 38 waist into a pair of 34 jeans. However I do now know it can be done!

The old dam. You can see we did get some rain.

Well the weather more than PPed on our parade. It poured. I lost track but I think we survived four typhoons and a hurricane. Both our tents were one man tents. David had a Magellan and I had a Bushnell. I can say they both were fantastic through the storms. Only tense moment with my tent happened at 3:05 am. My bladder woke me from a deep sleep and when I tried to get out, the zipper was stuck. When you are 64 years old you just don’t have the holding power and knowing this I began to panic. Finally I was able to get it unstuck and I found I could get out of the tent easier than I thought I could.

Old overflow at the damn.

Path to dam.

Near Turkey Creek.

Part of the dam that is left.

Bridge across Turkey Creek.

“Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.” – Epicurus

Friendship is the greatest gift someone can give you. Don’t take it for granted.

Thank you reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it. Spread the love.

(All pictures were taken by me and are the property of Double D Acres LLC and can not be used without my permission.)

Bonne Terre, Mo Vacation

May 17, 2018 / doubledacres / 7 Comments

St. Francois River in Silver Mines Recreation Area

Vacation time is upon us. Do you like small towns? If you do, don’t look any further than Bonne Terre, MO located in St. Francois County about 60 miles south of St. Louis, MO.. Population is a little over seven thousand and it is located in the lead belt of Missouri. The French settled here in 1720 after the discovery of iron ore. It was platted as a town in 1880.

Bonne Terre Dragstrip

National Geographic calls Bonne Terre Mine “One of America’s Top 10 Greatest adventures. Take a walking tour of the old mine and take a boat ride on the Billion Gallon underground lake. They also have scuba diving classes. You can find out more at http://www.bonneterremine.com.

A turtle sunning at Bismark Lake

There are many near by attractions one can also enjoy. If you are a fisherman you are in luck. Big river is near by and Bismark Lake. Bonne Terre has its own city lake. Then there is Monsanto Lake located in beautiful St. Joe Park. You can also ride your four wheeler or dirt bike in the off road park inside St. Joe Park.

Monsanto Lake

Bonne Terre is only 32 miles from the Arcadia Valley. In the valley you will find the towns of Arcadia, Ironton and Pilot Knob. A significant battle of the Civil War happened in the valley at Fort Davidson in Pilot Knob. Just up the road from there you can find Johnson’s Shut-Ins, Elephant Rocks and Taum Sauk State Parks.

A building inside St. Joe Park

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. It is much appreciated. You get a chance check out Bonne Terre. Be safe out there. Spread the love!!!!!

Life Suggestions

April 30, 2018 / doubledacres / 9 Comments

“Life is but a dream for the dead.” – Gerard Way

Have you ever thought, who am I? What am I doing here? Is there a purpose for me to be here? If you are like me you have thought of these and several more.

I think most of us have seen the movie “Its A Wonderful Life“. George Bailey is shown the lives he had touched and what would have happened if he had not been born. “A Christmas Carol” depicted a miser with no compassion, who is visited by three spirits and shown the error of his ways.

Now back to real life. You pretty much don’t have any control of your birth, so the beginning of your life is pretty much controlled by where the birth canal you come out of resides and the owners outlook on life. Until you leave home your parents are pretty much in control of your life. Your parents are a crucial part of your road to adulthood.

“The anguish of death hangs over and leads the human spirit to wonder about the mysteries of existence, man’s destiny, life, the world.” E. Morin

So you finally make it to adulthood. Your prize: work your arse off to make ends meet. Now you are going to spend the next 40 to 50 years of your life going to work and dreaming about retirement. Life is grand. Really it is.

There you stand at the beginning of the road of life with some big decisions. May I make some suggestions? First off I am not a psychologist, or the owner of any big degree title for that matter, but I have graduated from the school of hard knocks.

Are you happy with your life?
Are you harboring any grudges or bad feelings toward anyone.
Do you love yourself?
Do you keep a journal?
Do you take me time?

If you aren’t happy with your life take a step back and figure out why. Once you have figured that out then devise a plan to fix it.

If you are holding a grudge or any ill feelings toward anyone, STOP! Drop it! Forget about it. FORGIVE them. As long as you are holding a grudge, that negative energy is holding you back keeping you from being what you are capable of being.

You can be the type of person that loves everyone but don’t love yourself. Why don’t you love yourself? Do you not think you are worthy of your own love? You have to figure this one out. I am a firm believer that life holds those back that don’t love themselves. This is a very toxic negative energy.

If you don’t keep a journal may I suggest you keep one. You don’t have to write a book. Just keep track of your thoughts for a day and 6 months later go back and read it. You may learn a lot more about yourself.

If you don’t take time for yourself then please start doing so in the very near future say, like yesterday. There is so many ways you can enjoy “me time”. Yoga, meditation, reading, fishing, drawing/painting etc. Just find something that you enjoy, love doing, something that oozes of positive energy. Take this time to clear you mind, body and soul of the negative energy that has hitched a ride with you, trying to bring you down.

Don’t get caught up in it. Focus on the positive energy. The only one who will hold you back in life is you! Have fun and enjoy life.

I hope you enjoyed my blog. Thanks for taking the time to read it. I appreciate it very much. Make the world a better place and spread the love.

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” – Norman Cousins

Change; Good or Bad?

April 22, 2018April 22, 2018 / doubledacres / 9 Comments

“Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… the power to choose, to respond, to change.” Stephen Covey

Once we squeeze through the birth canal and leave the warmth of the womb and take that first breath there is no turning back. Our “life clock” has began ticking and we have so much to learn and everything we learn is subject to change. Sometimes change is good and sometimes it isn’t.

Life experiences are responsible for defining our character and preparing us for adulthood. The leaders of life experiences are parenting and schooling. One prime example of change is parenting. Parenting of the 50s and 60s was a whole lot different than the parenting of today. My life clock began in 1954 and I have seen parenting change for the worse in my opinion. Schooling has changed immensely also and all I have to say is I am glad I was a child of the 50s and 60s.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

Unfortunately as we are rolling along down life’s highway with adulthood in our sights, we can pick up something like “bigotry” or other negative energies and they pollute our hearts and minds and if we let it, it will pollute everything around us. Therefore we need some kind of filtration system and be smart enough to identify these negative energies.

My filtration system is Mother Nature. It might be camping out along the river, kayaking the river or sitting on a high spot on a ridge watching the sun set or rise. Mother Nature does a good job of absorbing those negative energies that have hitched a ride with me. It doesn’t have to be Mother Nature but should be something you love doing. Shedding those negative energies is a positive change.

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

I don’t think we understand that “egos” cause a lot of problems and changes. I call it the “hungry beast” because it seems like it needs to be fed a lot. I know some people who are constantly feeding their egos without realizing how much damage that massive ego can do. It can be a person’s worse nightmare. It can completely change a person from well liked to a person who can clear a room by just walking into it.

Sometimes society goes head first in the world trying to change things. A lot of times they do this without thinking it through and not taking the time to envision what these changes are going to do in the long run. What impact is this change going to have on the highway of life? Is it going to be full of speed bumps or is it going to be like gliding down a toll road? We really need to start looking at the full impact of changing something before we do it. Just this humble bloggers opinion for what it is worth.

“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.” – Hugh Prather

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It is deeply appreciated. A big shout out to all of you who follow me and read my posts. I finally broke 200 and I thank everyone of you who made it possible. Remember, spread the love. It will make the world a better place.

Experience/University of Life

April 7, 2018 / doubledacres / 4 Comments

“No one is the same, and we all have different life experiences. It’s not my place to judge them or for them to judge me. We should all be accountable for own lives.” – Joanna Krupa

Experience can be a direct observation of or participation events as a basis of knowledge. It can be practical knowledge, skill, or practice derived from direct observation or participation, or the length of time of such participation, something personally encountered or lived through. It can also be defined as the conscious events that you have lived through.

Our lives are a collection of experiences that starts as soon as we are pushed from the warmth and darkness of our mother’s womb into the bright light. We live a life full of different experiences and there are those who have had near death experiences that say they were drawn toward a bright light.

There are good and bad experiences. Experience builds character and can give you an edge in making some decisions. I have always said that experience is life’s education system. Book learning is good but when you learn something from experience you tend not to forget it. Experience has a way of etching a lesson in your mind permanently.

“We are all born with a unique genetic blue print, which lays out the basic characteristics of our personality as well as our physical health and appearance…And yet, we all know that life experiences do change us.” – Joan D. Vinge

Unfortunately we can’t choose our experiences. We have to take them as they come. Parenthood is quite an experience. We experienced childhood and went through many changes. The day comes we find out we are going to be parents and we say we are going to use a different approach of rearing our children than our parents because we think we can give our children a better experience. Then that fateful day arrives, you turn into your mom and say “If you don’t stop crying I am going to give you something to cry about!”

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” – Helen Keller

Thank you for reading my post. Spread the love.

My Thoughts on Fishing

April 6, 2018 / doubledacres / 8 Comments

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau

I have been fishing for a lot of years. I had the big bass boat with the big gas guzzling motor on it. I fished bass tournaments, mostly held on lakes. Then one day I was diagnosed with melanoma and had to have it cut off. They didn’t get all of the cancer cells so they cut some more and this time got it all.

Growing up we always fished the rivers. So I decided to sell the bass boat and head back to the river where I had learned to fish and I have no regrets. I bought a kayak and started fishing with ultra-light gear. I prefer a spinning reel loaded with 4 pound test line. I like a medium action rod. If you catch an eight ounce fish on this rig it feels like it weighs five pounds. I have a lot of fun with this set up on the rivers.

Two of my favorite crankbaits, Wee Craws by Rebel.

“Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed, turning back into yourself in a good way. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self.” – Ted Hughes

My favorite way of fishing is with a fly rod and reel. set up. Personally I have a difficult time trying to cast from the kayak.

Minnow and shad look- a-likes that I love to use on the river.

There are all kinds of different artificial baits one can pick from. There are soft baits, jigs, crank baits, spinner baits, top water lures, just to name a few. For those of you who would prefer using real bait there are worms, crawdads, minnows and crickets.

Here in Missouri I would say the 4 most sought after fish are large mouth bass, small mouth bass, crappie and the catfish. In Missouri we are blessed with some great places to fish. I fish the Big River and the Missouri Department of Conservation has designated several miles of the upper part as a Small Mouth Trophy area.

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Large mouth bass

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small mouth bass

“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.” – Steven Wright

I hope this post helped inspire some of you to pick up some fishing equipment and head out to the river or lake. It was short so feel free to ask me any question you might have.

I hope you enjoyed my post and thank you for taking the time to read it. Remember to share the love.