Fishing Again...

We did not quite wreck the havoc on the ecosystem as we did yesterday but we still wound up with 19 cats. I had first fish and big fish with this blue cat. 











Cathy waits for a bite. Really a rich area for all kinds of wild life. The past two days we have seen more blue herons than you can count and a few fish eagles. On Cathy's right side is the area we killed all our ducks this past season. Morgan also saw a deer come down to the water to drink while he waited for ducks. We often see a family of otters here too. 









We had high hopes for big numbers today. Our friend GW joined us in case we needed help with the limit. Nice job with the tub GW! 

Limited out...

I guess these catfish heard that our deep freeze went out, that we have a new one and that the catfish supply at the Wallace household has been at a dangerously low level. Me and Cathy brought in a two man limit of nice fat channel cats yesterday. 





No great size to the fish but there is some good eating. That's 50 cats in that tub. 










Fifteen pounds of fillet meat. we ate about two plus pounds of grilled and sauteed cats last night. That's together, not apiece. To roughly paraphrase what Ray Wylie Hubbard said "Young people ask me what makes my kind. It's fried catfish, all the time."  

A Little New Orleans History...

There's a lot of folks in New Orleans for Jazz Fest this week. Sadly, I am not one of them but that's ok. I made a recent trip there and am happy to report new music is not the only thing you can learn on your visit. 

We were walking through the Treme neighborhood on the way to visit the N.O. African American Museum and the Back Street Cultural Museum when I spotted this Shrine outside St. Augustine Catholic Church. I think you can click the picture of the plaque and read the history for yourself. May our brothers rest in peace and we continue to work so nothing, physical or spiritual enslaves anyone again. 

Note at the bottom the plaque is donated by the Danny Barker Estate. Danny was a great guitarist and Banjo player from New Orleans. Me and Cathy saw him play at Jazz Fest one time. The performance stuck in my mind and though it was pre digital age and I took no pictures to blog about I can still see Danny with the banjo. If we keep our history in mind we know where to go.    

I Get Cards, Letters, Email...

I get them all the time. Most ask why I don't get punched in the nose more often. For once and for all I tell you guys my wife is really nice to me. 

The latest request came by email and wanted me to give the blog treatment to the Late Country Singer George Jones who passed this weekend. I had to study about that a bit. I play a bunch of George Jones with the Back Porch Band. I had a guy in the audience for a Strat Kat Gig hollering he would whip us if we did not play George but that turned out ok. He was out of breath by the time he got to the stage. The kind of gigs I play and probably the kind George has been playing for the past few years are like that with people getting out of breath.

Anyway as I pondered George to the universe I walked out and took a look in the garden. The was a tomato on the vine. George goes. A tomato appears. Maybe he is back again.  

Anyone Ever Seen Miguel and King Khan in the Same Room?...

A quick run  down to Houston allowed us to catch a band we have been following at Fitzgerald's. The band was calling themselves King Khan and the BBQ. The cd we have is called King Khan and the Shrines. Cathy and the KIng hang before the show. 

Of course there were costumes. The guy sitting down whose name best I guess is BBQ is playing guitar and drums with his feet. 

King Khan. Cathy says she thinks they got these costumes at a Mardi Gras store she knows about in N.O. As for the music think "punk do-wop" if you can. 
















Had trouble getting a good shot of BBQ. He was a busy boy moving around a lot. King Khan was kind of a screaming singer but this guy had a quality voice. I think my favoirite bands are the ones doing unusual stuff like this. 


BBQ's set up. I think he borrowed most of this gear from the opening band, the bass drum and the small Acoustic Bass amp. I think that says something about this band, that particular bass amp. Not something you see in a typical pro set up but something that gets the job done.    

Some Junk is Treasure...

Here's some photos I made in Greg's Antiques on Decatur Street in New Orleans. Greg's is a cool place that brings in antique furniture from Belgium, France and Germany. He also has old windows, door frames and wrought iron. Geneva bought some dishes there once. I make pictures of his junky stuff. 

Greg's a place that will make you dream of having a house with a small front yard bordered by rusting ancient iron fencing with old furniture inside and funky stained glass windows. I think maybe my house was like that once but I don't need a fence, I am too fat to sit in old chairs and am really pleased with cool clean lines of the energy efficient double pane windows that were installed a couple of years ago when I could still reap the tax benefit rewards of being a good responsible old hippie and saving the Earth. 

I went in Greg's a few years ago and there was a guy set up in his courtyard with a lot of broken unplayable (a humbling moment, I couldn't id some of the items he had) brass instruments. It was during Jazz Fest time. (People ask me all the time are you going to jazz fest? It starts this week and no not this year.) What the junk instrument seller man told me was that when tourist comes to town for Jazz fest they see old horns decorating cafes and clubs in New Orleans and when they see him selling his wares at Greg's they think, "hey I'll buy one and hang on the wall at my house." Make it look like New Orleans. He makes a living doing this and I bet he's setting up shop somewhere today in the French Quarter. 

Now I am not making fun of people hanging old horns on the wall. I do the same thing except the horns I hang on my wall are ones I broke myself. The broken instrument man probably tells his mom "I do use my music degree. I am making a living off music." I am not making fun of him either because when people say "Mudbelly you sure play good tonight" if I really feel like my playing was good and not too junky I tell them "you know, in antique times I almost got a music degree."     

Attention NASA...

 I have your moon. It's ok though because it's Friday for me and I am gonna howl...

Vintage Gear...

The Back Porch Band played the sawmill supper at Falvey Methodist Church in Wells Texas. It's an annual event. They feed you beans and greens. It was good grub. The event honors the old saw mill days of East Texas. 

It looks like from a quick history search that the roots of the Falvey Church were established in 1888 when the Mt. Hope congregation moved to Wells. When the band asked for a chair to set a P.A speaker on the pastor produced two chairs of a matched set which he claimed to be 100 years old. Given the history and the fact that there were old pictures and stuff around I have no doubt this was an accurate age. Nice that they brought out the good stuff for us. 

In case you don't know vintage musical gear is a great asset in producing the old school "hard country" tone that the Back Porch Band is famous for. Nice to have vintage chairs to match. Too bad we can't take them on every gig. 

  

I Think We Have Detected Him...

"Our roof mounted scanners have isolated his DNA in the crowd. As if we really need it. He's carrying a tuba. We hear him. We see him. We smell him."

You can run but you can't hide. Some how I am relieved. Makes the world a lot simpler. Now that everyone knows who I am and where I am I can get down to business.   

See That My Grave is Kept Clean...

That's the title of an old blues song by Blind Lemon Jefferson. That's a real guy. I did not make it up. He was from East Texas near Fairfield. Maybe they could get some tips from him down in New Orleans where you see Lafayette Cemetery No. 2 has fallen into some disrepair.

I was going for the art photo on my recent visit to New Orleans as we walked by this cemetery on the way to see the Indians parade in A.L. Davis Park. When Lafayette No. 1 got full somewhere around 1850 they started burying folks here in the above ground vaults that are required because of the low water table in the Crescent City.

It was a popular place with many "society tombs" for members of the Butchers Association, the French Society of Jefferson, the Coachman Benevolent Association and the Cotton Yard Men. It also had a section that at the time was called the "colored" section.

It is not much maintained anymore. It's pretty easy to read that fact as I looked up info about this place as well as notice the condition of things when you walk through. Don't walk through at night. I don't believe in ghosts and I also don't believe that security is much maintained after dark in this isolated, lonely place. 

That's ok. We can still do things for the folks in these old lost tombs. We can pray for their souls. Their earthly remains may be here but the soul has an everlasting journey.     

Birds...

Seems like the birds have had an active spring. Here's a photo from the lake. It's an osprey or a fish eagle and it's nest. Ospreys eat fish 99% of the time. This nest stands on a tall dead tree standing in the water. There are two other nest close by. That means a lot of fish nearby to support 3 pairs of birds and their young. 

This is from the backyard. This guy, looks like a common sparrow was singing away. He's the Pavarotti of birds. From his voice you would think he weighted 10 pounds.  



A dove sits illuminated by late after noon sunlight in the back yard. He was mostly sleeping. I took several pictures and this is the only one where the eyes are open. I think he weighs 10 pounds. 

Mary and Miguel Take a Shower...

A wedding shower that is. It was quite a festive occasion 







If you sent a present, thanks. They opened it. 








Of course there was cake. 












Lots of friends and family. Mary's friends and roommates really did a great job of putting this event on. 

New Blog Character...

This man and woman came cruising by as we fished the spot we call "the place" the other day. They stopped and asked if the fish were shallow or deep. I said shallow. We netted a 5 pound blue as he watched. He asked if he could fish nearby and pulled off a respectable distance. Soon returned and said:
"That water is only two feet deep!" 

I said, "They are shallow," for the second time. We netted another 5 pound blue. 

Yesterday the fish were slow. We were in the place. This guy returns. Says after we left he caught 10 but the next day, a day we did not fish, he caught 5. He's not hurting my place. I have caught 500 catfish over the few couple of years by this particular cyprus tree. It is the first time some one has noticed me doing it though. These folks must not be locals. Locals pass you by and keep going to their own secret places. May be in a few days his vacation will end and we will not be bothered  

The fishing is probably only good for another month at this spot. The fish will move on to other patterns of behavior with warmer weather. I certainly did not fish the near by spot we call n"old reliable" with this guy in the area.    

Camp Catfish...

I think it's a secret because they are hiding out, but Bill and Geneva are down at Hank's Creek in the travel trailer. With catches like these it won't be a secret long. 

We started out the morning noodle floating. Took I think four fish, but two were good ones. 











Here's one Cathy took on a noodle. 








Pop takes this one on rod and reel. 







Another good rod and reel fish. 









Cathy and her dad and a fine catch of quality size fish. Three weighed between 4 and 5 pounds. The one on the right with the big belly poking had three 6 inch long channel cats for breakfast. 

Some of these were cooked up by Geneva for lunch about an hour after this phot was made.