Catch Up

Atley James Rogers
Our great grandson is growing like a weed. He’s always got a smile. We got a good visit in August when Mandy, Alex and Sylvia came for a visit. Here’s a few pictures.

Health Situation
I have been wearing a heart monitor the past few weeks (one more week to go). I saw the heart doctor a week ago and he told me I have Atrial Fibrillation. Now I have two more meds to take. The real danger of this condition is a stroke so I need to follow the doctors orders.

Fishing
The last two trips were not goo. One was bad and then the last trip was worse. We went to South Holston and only got 3 Lakers. So next week we decided to try Watauga lake and it was worse--No fish, not even a bite!

But before that we had some good days. On one trip I took Kevin and Zachary. We got our limit of 6 Lakers on South Holston and had a great day.

Then when Mandy and Alex visited in August we went fishing one day. Here’s the results:

Travel
We had a nice little trip to Kentucky to visit Beverly’s relatives (mine too) and attend at McBrayer family reunion.

Coming up soon is our annual church convention which we always enjoy because we need the spiritual guidance and help.

We are also planning a trip to New Jersey to visit our daughter, Bethany. We have not had the opportunity to visit her in the Asbury Park area since she moved there over two years ago. It’s about time for Mom and Dad to show up, don’t you think

 

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
Someone said smile, things could be worse. So sure enough, I smiled, and things got worse.

Just kidding!

~~~

Quote of the Day

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
Isaiah 51:6

(Note from Granddaddy:
See in above that the earth was planned to get old and get worn out. We are thankful for eternal salvation. Help me see things now as I will one day see.)

~~~
Joke of the Day

A man walked by a table in a hotel and noticed three men and a dog playing cards.

The dog, predictably, was losing.

"He would probably do better if he could read the cards," the man commented.

"Oh, he can read cards just fine," said one of the players. "But every time he gets a good hand he wags his tail."

~~~

For her 40th birthday, a wife told her husband, "I'd love to be 10 again."

So that Saturday, they had a heaping stack of chocolate-chip pancakes, her favorite childhood breakfast. Then they hit the playground and a merry-go-round. They finished the day with a banana split.

"So how did you enjoy being a kid for a day?" the husband asked.

"Great," the wife replied. "But when I said I wanted to be 10 again, I meant my dress size."

~~~

Seeing her friend Sally wearing a new locket, Meg asks if there is a memento of some sort inside.

"Yes," says Sally, "a lock of my husband's hair."

"But Larry's still alive."

"I know, but his hair is gone."

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Things Are Happening and It Keeps Raining

Rain, Rain and More Rain
We’ve really had the rain. It seems like every day we have a shower or thunderstorm. Sometimes it is a struggle to find a time to mow the lawn or go fishing. So far we have managed to accomplish both, but it has required some effort keeping up with weather reports, weather radar and checking the sky.

Fishing on South Holston Lake
Last week we made two fishing trips. On Thursday I went with a couple of my fishing buddies. We got our limit of lake trout and had a good day of fishing. Our 6 fish weighed a tad over 28 pounds and the largest was 6 lb. and 2 oz.

I returned to the lake on Saturday morning with Kevin and Zachary (son and grandson). We got the boat in the water early but then spent about an hour waiting out a thunderstorm that was threatening. I just don’t want to be on the water when there is lightening.

After the storm passed we began a short run to the magic fishing spot where we troll for the lake trout. We got our limit of 6 nice lake trout by around 1 PM. We all had a fun day of not only fishing but catching. Our 6 fish weighed a little over 28 pounds and our biggest fish was 6 1/2 pounds and was caught by Zachary!  The picture to the right shows Zachary holding his monster catch.

Here’s two more pictures. And if you look closely you will see there are only 5 fish. We caught the 6th fish after we had taken the pictures below. As we were cranking in our trolling lures to end the day of fishing we got a bite on the way in. It was another nice trout that added over 4-5 pounds to our stringer.

 

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says: 

A puzzle I received from a friend:

You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed.

On your right side is a sharp drop off.

And on your left side is an Elephant traveling at the same speed as you.

Directly in front of you is a galloping Kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it.

Behind you is a Lion running at the same speed as you and the Kangaroo.

What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

Answer: Get off the merry-go-round.

~~~

Quote of the Day

You must welcome change as the rule
but not as your ruler.
~Denis Waitley

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Joke of the Day

There's an old sea story about a ship's Captain who inspected his sailors, and afterward told the first mate that his men smelled bad.

The Captain suggested perhaps it would help if the sailors would change underwear occasionally.

The first mate responded, "Aye, aye sir, I'll see to it immediately!"

The first mate went straight to the sailors berth deck and announced, "The Captain thinks you guys smell bad and wants you to change your underwear."

He continued, "Pittman, you change with Jones, McCarthy, you change with Witkowski, and Brown, you change with Schultz."

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

Someone may come along and promise "Change", but don't count on things smelling any better.

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Happy Birthday Atley

Atley Is One Year Old Today

Picture by Mandy & Alex

Fishing Update for 2013

Spring Crappie
We have ended our trips to Douglas Lake for crappie fishing for this spring. Here’s a summary for the ten (10) trips we made down to Swann’s Marina.

Number of Fishing Trips	10
Total Number of Crappie Caught	1215
Total Number of “Throw Backs”	913
Total Number of Keepers	302
Percent Keepers	25%

Our last trip to Douglas was on June 20 where we caught 17 “keepers”, and had 34 “throw backs”. A “Keeper” is a crappie 10” or longer. The “Throw Backs” were returned to the lake to grow larger. Overall a good and enjoyable year for us. But it’s not over…

Lake Trout
When the water get hot on Douglas and the fish are hard to catch, we change lakes and our target fish. We can usually find fish in the deep waters of South Holston and Watauga Lakes. Just to make sure we had not lost our “touch” we made a trip to South Holston last Tuesday to try for the Lake Trout. Doug and I had our limit by 1:00 PM. We lost several big fish earlier but finally recovered the knack for catching these big fish.

Here’s a picture of our 4 keepers. The limit is only 2 per person per day and there is no size limit. The weights of the fish were 6 lb 3 oz, 5 lb 3 oz, 4 lb 7 oz and 2 lb 14 oz. That was a heavy stringer topping out at close to 19 pounds for 4 fish. Needless to say we were happy and smiling. Those are fun to catch. (You know, catching is  a little more fun that just fishing.)

NEWS FLASH
Just tonight, Kara and her partner, another Kara, won their tennis doubles championship match to win the girls double tournament at the Bristol Tennis and Racket Club. Here’s a picture of the victors who won in convincing fashion, 6-2, and 6-1.

 

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
It pays to keep busy.
Set goals.
Make a little progress each day.
Don’t let others discourage you.
Keep on, Keeping on.

~~~

Quote of the Day

A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer
~Author Unknown

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Joke of the Day

Every time the man next door headed toward Robinson's house, Robinson knew he was coming to borrow something. "He won't get away with it this time," muttered Robinson to his wife. "Watch this."

"Er, I wonder if you'd be using your power-saw this morning," the neighbor began.

"Gee, I'm awfully sorry," said Robinson with a smug look, "but the fact of the matter is, I'll be using it all day."

"In that case," said the neighbor, "You won't be using your golf clubs. Mind if I borrow them?"

(Sounds a little bit like Herb and Dagwood in the comics)

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Eagles, Proverbs and Fishing

What I Saw Was Amazing!
We were fishing this past Tuesday on Douglas Lake. It was about 3:30 pm and the lake was quiet. We were trolling at about 1 MPH. It was a beautiful day. We had just caught another fish but it was not a crappie. Instead we had just caught a freshwater drum that we call a trash fish. After getting it unhooked we threw it back into the lake. I was in rear of the boat checking some fishing rods and I saw that old drum float by in the rippling wake of our boat. Then the most amazing thing happened when the fish was about 10-15 yards from the boat. I saw something in the sky. A big bird? At first I could not identify it, but as it got closer I could see it was an American Bald Eagle. The majestic bird circled and them swooped to the water and picked up that fish that we had just returned to the water. I was awed as I watched the bird circle over the lake and then fly toward the shoreline with his catch. I sure it was used to feed some eaglets in the nest.

I turned to Doug and Ralph who also witnessed this event, and told them that if we had not caught a fish all day what we had just seen was worth the trip. I’m so thankful for what I saw and for the American Eagle.

Chinese Proverb and the Washington Way
Original Chinese Proverb:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
2012 White House Revision:
Give a man a welfare check, a free cell phone with unlimited free minutes, cash for his clunker, food
stamps, section 8 housing, free contraceptives,
Medicaid, ninety-nine weeks of unemployment, free
medicine, and he will vote for Democrats the rest of
his life; even after he's deceased.

The Crappie Fishing Summary for 2013
This has been an unbelievable year for our crappie fishing on Douglas Lake. We’ve had a full 2 months of good fishing. We’ve made 9 trips to the lake and not had a bad day of fishing.

Date	Keepers	Throw-backs	Total
4/9	19	23	42
4/16	45	206	251
4/18	30	156	186
4/23	45	117	162
5/10	33	110	143
5/13	30	73	103
5/21	34	100	134
5/28	26	62	88
6/11	23	31	54
Total	285	878	1,163

I’m not sure if we will go to Douglas again until this fall. My gut tells me it is time to put up the crappie rods and get ready to go to South Holston Lake and fish for the Lake Trout. We catch them very deep (40-70 feet) so the hot weather does not impact this type of fishing.

 

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
I have some advice for you today. It came from my own Dad. He told me once that if I ever thought I was indispensible to get a “glass of water”. Then put my finger down into the glass. Then he said pull out my finger and look at the glass. If it leaves a hole, then you truly are indispensible. I’ll never forget that important message.

He also used the “glass of water” to teach me another lesson. When teaching me to drive, he told me to pretend there was a glass of water mounted on the dashboard. He said not drive so you will not spill a drop of the water.

~~~

Quote of the Day

Earth and sky, woods and fields,
lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea,
are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
~John Lubbock

~~~
Joke of the Day

A six-year-old goes to the hospital with her mother to visit her Grandpa.

When they get to the hospital, she runs ahead of her mother and bursts into her Grandpa's room.

"Grandpa, Grandpa," she says excitedly, "as soon as my mother comes into the room, make a noise like a frog!"

"What?" said her Grandpa.

"Make a noise like a frog because my mom said that as soon as you croak, we're all going to Disney World!”

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A Good Year for Crappie

Douglas Lake Crappie Fishing 2013
As of this week we had caught over 1,100 crappie and had brought home 262 keepers (over 10”). It’s been the best year I can remember for catching fish even though the percent keepers has been only 24%. The table below shows the dates we went fishing the results. I can’t complain. It’s been lots of fun, we all have some good eating in our freezer. (Table Updated Through 5/28/13)

Date	Keepers	Throw-backs	Total
4/9	19	23	42
4/16	45	206	251
4/18	30	156	186
4/23	45	117	162
5/10	33	110	143
5/13	30	73	103
5/21	34	100	134
5/28	26	62	88
Total	262	847	1,109

Here’s a couple of pictures from our May 21st trip. The view from off the back of the boat shows 7 rods we are trolling. We also have 5 rods off of each side giving us a total of 17 rods that we try to keep in the water. We keep the speed between 0.8 and 1.0 MPH and wait for the bites.
Here I am holding the stringer of 34 crappie. I’m grinning!

Monday May 27, 2013 is Memorial Day!
Take a minute to be thankful for this great country and the men and women who made it great, free & safe.

~~~

Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught.  ~Author Unknown

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Quote of the Day

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people,
and the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:3

~~~
Joke of the Day

A fleeing Taliban terrorist, desperate for water, was plodding through the Afghan desert when he saw something far off in the distance.

Hoping to find water, he hurried toward the mirage, only to find a very frail little old Jewish man standing at a small makeshift display rack - selling ties.

The Taliban terrorist asked, "Do you have water?"

The Jewish man replied, "I have no water. Would you like to buy a tie? They are only $5."

The Taliban shouted hysterically, "Idiot Infidel! I do not need such an over-priced western adornment - I spit on your ties. I need water!”

"Sorry, I have none - just ties - pure silk - and only $5."

"Pahh! A curse on your ties, I should wrap one around your scrawny little neck and choke the life out of you but... I must conserve my energy and find water!"

"Okay," said   the little old Jewish man, “It does not matter that you do not want to buy a tie from me  or that you hate me, threaten my life and call me infidel. I will show you that I am bigger than any of that. If you continue over that hill to the east for about   two miles, you will find a restaurant. It has the finest food and all the ice-cold water you need... Go In Peace."

Cursing him again, the desperate Taliban staggered away over the hill.

Several hours later he crawled back, almost dead and gasped...

"They won't let me in without a tie!”

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Catching Up…

I’ve been negligent in posting. So I’ll try to catch up.

Mother’s Day
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Kevin invited us to a nice picnic at the Eastman Picnic Area. We had five mothers in attendance and a great meal. The food was BBQ from the world famous Original Ridgewood Barbeque in Bluff City, TN.

Cataracts
Beverly had cataract surgery on her right eye last Thursday. I have been amazed at her recovery and the results! She was noticing big differences in her vision on the afternoon after her surgery and on Friday morning she was reading the smallest type on her iPhone. Later Friday morning we went to the doctor for a checkup on her eye and everything was A-OK. The doctor gave us a CD with a movie of her complete cataract surgery. I watched it later that day, but Beverly has decided to wait until after her cataract surgery on her left eye on May 30.

Tennis
We enjoyed watching our granddaughter, Kara, play tennis this year. She’s a freshmen and plays on her high school tennis team. Her improvement this year has been very impressive. She won quite a few (6-7) singles matches in competition. I noticed a dramatic change from when grandmother and I took her for her first tennis lessons a couple of years ago. Way to Go, Kara!!!

Band Concert
Zachary’s band concert was on May 9. And what a great concert it was! Zachary plays the percussion instruments and you can easily see that he enjoys it very much. He as right when he told us the concert would be “Awesome!”.

Upcoming Events
May 23 – Zachary’s Birthday. He’ll be 12 years old!
June 8 – Jim & Beverly’s 52nd Wedding Anniversary

Fishing
It has been a good year for crappie fishing for us this year.Thus far we have made 5 fishing trips to Douglas Lake. In total we have caught 784 crappie and 172 have been keepers (over 10”). The Keeper Rate is about 22% or about 1 out of very 5 fish is a keeper. The “keepers” are put on ice a brought home for the filet knife and freezer bags. (The 612 non keepers were gently released back into the lake to continue to grow.)

Our most popular lure this year has been the 1/16 oz. white Roadrunner tipped with a Crappie Slider.

The White Roadrunner

3 Crappie Sliders

 

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
In the James 1:19 it gives us some good advice:

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be
swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

~~~

Quote of the Day

In the presence of eternity,
the mountains are as transient as the clouds.
~Robert Green Ingersoll

~~~
Joke of the Day

Walking into the bar, Mike said to Charlie the bartender, 'Pour me a stiff one - just had another fight with the little woman.'

'Oh yeah?' said Charlie, 'And how did this one end?'

'When it was over,' Mike replied, 'She came to me on her hands and knees.'

'Really,' said Charles, 'Now that's a switch!   What did she say?'

She said, 'Come out from under the bed, you little chicken.'

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