Fowl Holiday

BED IT

Bind It 

bake it

WALLPAPER: GOLDEN AND CRISPY

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.. The bird is done and sundered. The neighbors are pleased and, we'll compensate with a steak tomorrow.

Frugal Repast By Picasso

.. For us this day is about stock taking.We are alive and in relatively good health - (age considered.) We can share a not too frugal repast with friends and other neighbors. The snow has held off long enough for us to properly put the garden to bed and to prep the vehicles for he cold period of our calendar.
.. Our taste for football has diminished as time has passed and the game has changed. The names are mysterious and the penalties are strangely bizarre.
.. In our day we wore aluminum cleats screwed into the soles of split cowhide high top shoes. We remember the introduction of light weight kangaroo low top shoes - my my.
.. Time was when kickers had flat toed shoes and punters could drop kick for 40 yards. The single wing was viable and blocking used no hands, Grass was nurtured to reduce the bare ground that expanded throughout the season. The Super Bowl was an after thought and the Rose Bowl usually hosted the best game on the radio.
.. Those were the days. Thanksgiving often seemed a chore - but a pleasant one. Turkey was mandated and the marshmallows were the worst part. The golden fog of time has not erased the memories of sneaking down to the pond at the park, With small safety pins and scraps of popcorn we would catch 3-inch long sunfish and bring them home to die in a used paper cup.

HEADED DOWN THE BLOCK

.. No "fish pole" was necessary. A bit of precious kite string or some of grandma's floss would work just fine. On rare occasion the fish lasted until we could put them in the sink in the bathroom. They quickly succumbed and did the back stroke in their final minutes.
.. Today we mix beer and, wine and, lies and, laughter. It's just about as pleasant as the past and, our sensibilities are not even ruffled by the use of paper plates.
.. Preparation is less formal, now, in our neighborhood. No lemon juice and baking soda to polish the silver. No fancy napkins to fold. No crocheted table dressing over the white linen tablecloth. No pass the whatever or eat the thirds in the kitchen.
.. Now we just cram cubes of dried bread in the anal orifice of a turkey and call it good. We pretend that this is a holiday for the family and not the beginning of the Christmas season.  $$$$$$

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.. There's a gentle snow predicted for the next few days. We will fish some and visit a pub to catch up. Rumors are rife this time of year - there being so few fish stories and  such. The town has had the Christmas lights up for a full three weeks already. The parade and merchant stroll is making headlines in the local rag. High school football is done and "vacation" looms. 'Tis a fully modern little village that we inhabit. We're thankful.

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WALLPAPER: THREE THIRDS LOAF - RYE, WHEAT, WHITE

Truss It ??

THANKFUL IS GOOD

And . . .

so is history

..

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.. The bare historic bones of the first Thanksgiving are simple enough. A traditional puritan harvest celebration with neighbors. It took 250 years for it to become a national holiday - end of bare bones!
.. Beyond that bare bones history there comes a pile of erroneous mythology and contemporary historiography that amounts to the worst sort of revisionist history - just ask a 6th grader about it.
.. Three historical facts that must be kept in mind: 1) Thanksgiving was not the beginning of a long friendship between the Pilgrims and the indigenous people, 2) The settlers did not respected the indigenous peoples' unique culture or religion, 3) The interlopers learned successful agricultural practices from the indigenous people.

IT'S A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

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.. We are thankful, today, about our present situation in this veil of mortal tears. We are also aware of the ramifications of Europeans entering he Americas.
.. The blood lust for riches and, the myriad underpinnings of competing religiosity swept through the two continents more rapidly and more thoroughly than any wildfire.
.. All told: hundreds of indigenous cultures were destroyed. Over 100,000,000 native Americans were killed in a matter of less than 200 years, -- (it continues to this day.)
.. As a nation we are righteously indignant about the events of 9/11. Rightly so. We are less concerned about the genocide in our history: so much so that the frontier massacres are glorified.
.. We, indeed, are thankful for today. Yet, today we are sad, embarrassed, revolted and, unhappily aware of the dark history of genocide and slavery that our thanksgiving is based on. We can not fix our nation's past sins. We can, on the other hand,  be thankful that we can make our current life one that is informed by the past.

EXCELLENT RESOURCE

>> Teaching a Lot of Misconceptions

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..  For the first time in over a decade we are doing a turkey for Thanksgiving. We really prefer ham or a rib roast. But the pressure of the neighborhood and it's residents have prevailed upon our oven. We have all the implements of destruction for the task. We even have a 50 year old speckled porcelain roasting pan. 
.. As the fowl thaws we are in the throes of a crucial debate -- to truss or not to truss, that is the question. More to come.

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THE  SIMPLE ALCHEMY OF TIME AND TECHNIQUE

Special Interests

THAT'S US

That's You

madison river spotlight

WALLPAPER:  ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE

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.. The common phrase "follow the science" is insidious in it's pretense that science is somehow a magic arbitrator of decision making.

COINCIDENT INTERESTS

.. Science is as political as any other human endeavor. Is medicine political? Ask the AMA! Are refereed scientific papers political? Ask the referees! Is particle physics political? Ask Einstein! (oops - Franklin D. Roosevelt.)
.. Special interests of all stripes influence the human existence at all levels. From the personal level, family level, neighborhood level, town level, state level, national level, and international level - all are influenced by competing interests.

SOCIAL FISHING

.. Special interests need not be organized into formal groups of people. In all the the world the success of special interests is directly proportional to the political power and money of the interest. Deny it if you choose but it's how we do things.
.. Politics can be based on personal or,  religious or,  magical or,  transcendental or,  artistic or,  any other internalized human belief system. Alliances with other like minded individuals for political parties: Democrat, Republican, Baptist, Islamist, Dental, Medical, etc. are associations of interests that can and do form political groups.

SOLITARY  FISHING

.. Right now there is a political morality play dancing before our eyes. The concerns, (real or imagined,) about the use of the Madison River are being litigated politically in the press, the state house, the DFWP, and pubs in our neighborhood. Special interest groups, (including the supposed professionals of fish,) are jostling each other for priority positions in rule making about river usage.
.. So far the political clamor has centered around fish and fishing issues. Groups of fishers, guides, outfitters, and such have become amalgamated and disbanded for personal, cultural, social, economic and even religious parameters.

YAK-YAKERS

.. The 'United Kayak Paddlers' have not been heard from - yet! Nor indeed, have the beaver lovers, alfalfa irrigators, tube bobbers, bathers, been heard from in any organized fashion. Probably not enough religiosity or money.
.. We will continue to watch the hi-jinx as the most interested political group, (the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks.) tries to herd the cats into the corral.
.. Our state has agencies and departments that could realistically address the supposed concerns of the interests involved in this business, (LINK.)

MADISON DOG DAY

.. Some of these could probably do a better job than the politically motivated localized one that is trying to tame the current cage of lions. We would suggest the following would do a better job and allow the FWP to be a competing voice rather than a politically vested special interest:
>  Department of Natural Resources and Conservation,
>  Department of Environmental Quality,
>  Department of Labor and Industry.
.. It's time for the locally owned FWP personnel be removed from their pseudo-role of arbitrator. It's time for them to get in line with the other special interests and submit to a more politically sane process to deal with Madison River public usage.

FAMILY FISHING

.. There are more stakeholders in this matter than just a few hundred guides and outfitters. There are more stakeholders than the few thousand local fisher folks. There are more stakeholders than the land owners along this publicly owned water resource. There are more stakeholders than the boaters and tubers. There are more stakeholders than the many thousands of tourists that use the river.
.. The most important stakeholders  in the Madison River are the residents of the State of Montana. These are the folks that pay taxes for the state agencies. These are the folks that matter most. These are our neighbors and they treasure this and all of our waters. These are the people that own the water. It's the law. It is written into the constitution. It's use does not belong to a single interest group - no matter how well organized or, well funded.
.. The Madison River is a Montana treasure. This is the "Treasure State" and the treasure of the Madison River is in its multiple uses and, it's attractive setting: no matter what the fisher folk believe. There may even be room for some science  -- as well as sociology, conservation, visitation,etc.

ON RIVER INSTRUCTION

.. Although the manifestations of competing usage are delivered locally, the real problems are impacting all of the treasures of our state. Our state has the opportunity to address the current situation with a view to the future. The population of Montana is growing. The visitation of folks from around the world is constantly increasing.
.. Broad principles of inclusive use need to be applied. Neither private nor state agency interests should be given priority in the decisions or rule making. It's time for the Governors office and the State Legislature to step in and provide the leadership necessary. All of our state treasures deserve no less.
.. We suggest that the situation be evaluated in the broadest of terms. We take this opportunity to thank MOLDY CHUM, (LINK,) for highlighting an article in the Missoulian, (LINK.)

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WALLPAPER:   BUTTER/GARLIC SHRIMP ON PAPRIKA BROWN RICE

.

Old Tech

VINTAGE ROTISSERIE

Going Strong

just like a perfect leica

WALLPAPER:   BRINED AND SPIT ROASTED

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FRY AS BAIT

 .. If it ain't broke - don't fix it. At our age being trapped in a past century is not all bad. The rotisserie still roasts and the old Hardy reels still catch fish. What's not to like?

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.. The cool, (not cold,) weather continues and the lowland Madison River is a perfect destination for catchers of the streamer stripe.
.. Bright overcast and even blue skies yield good fun on both sides of the river. Watch the sun and switch as the shadows move.
.. We like the early afternoon on the west side of the river just as the fish have settled in.

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WALLPAPER:  OLD FRIEND  --  A WORKHORSE

WALLPAPER:  A PAIR OF NEW FRIENDS

In Fact

NOT 3-DAY NORMAL

We Honor Them All

pause for a moment now

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WALLPAPER:  COLORS OF FALL

Palate Pleaser

WALLPAPER:  SHORT RIBS AND ZUCCHINI

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.. The neighbors, feeling sorry for our primitive cooking habits, gifted us a pressure cooker. We've tried it a couple of times.
.. The jury is out on the results. Still working on how to do the perfect rib steak!

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WALLPAPER:  BREAKFAST

Innocuous ?

TARNISHED !

Rolling News Flash

all that gitters . . .

Marie Yovanovitch

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.. The contemporary fact of the matter is: our public "news" sources are so cross fertilized with opinion, quackery, and lies that it may take more than a single source to glean the actuality of a reported event.
.. We recently noted that Marie Yovanovitch was brave and deserved notice for that bravery in her testimony before a congressional committee {LINK.}
.. We herein note that there is some question about the completeness of her testimony - as the full transcript of that testimony has come out.
.. She seems to have been less than forthcoming about a small item of her testimonial  behavior that may be of significance in this matter. Perhaps she did, in fact, contact a congressional staffer when she said that she did not.
.. There is a bit of reporting does shed some light on the matter {Link.}

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WALLPAPER:  LARD,  FLOUR,  SALT, SODA AND, BUTTERMILK

The End Of . . .

PARK FISHING

Onions

sex starved fish

WALLPAPER:  PULLED FROM THE SNOW

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.. We got a head start on our winter productivity. We're two dozen shy of our first gross of  flies for others. It passes the time!

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STANDARD MATUKA

.. There are a couple of sympathetic guides who have taken pity on us and scheduled some lowland river fishing.
.. The upcoming 10 days should prove to be warm enough and bright enough for some streamer tugging down on the Madison River.
.. With our day light saving switch and, sleeping in to hit the active fish time, we should be ready for anything. Seldom a skunk this time of year.
.. Dark under banks and crisp shadow lines are good for the soul in the late fall. Splash, pause, swing, tug, swing, tug, swing, tug,  slam-bam thank you ma'am.

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TRAILING SHUCK

.. Habits are hard to break. One that has stood us in good stead is the use of the simple Matuka. We've tied and used the latest and greatest on and off each year. But, just can't break the habit.
.. With a little luck the deep side of the boat should provide excellent big nymph dunking. If the sun plays peek-a-boo there may still be some dinky baetids bopping around. We're pleased to visit those foreign lowlands a couple of times each year.
.. The old truism about "smaller through the season," seems to hold value. So, we take advantage of the neighbors' kindness. They tie some 14's and 16's on short leader bits for us.
.. The other truism about stillborn flies in late season seems to bear some truth as well. Ugly flies seem to be worthwhile during this time of year - on the right day.

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.. The best thing about a good an exceptional river guide is their selfless energy in response to the client's needs. We're very needy. There are so many things we do poorly that can be compensated for by a good guide. There are only a couple of guides that put up with our deficiencies. Happily they are willing to indulge us. Off we go.

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WALLPAPER: HONEY WHEAT LOAF

Forget Me Not

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