Big Cliff

After about 15 seconds I just wanted him to drown and get it over with!

I have driven down to Wellend in the winter to go smelt fishing a few times, about 3 1/2 hour drive each way for about 6 hours of fishing. It isn't so much about the fishing though as it is the company I get to spend the time with.

You really have to balance the time and cost of commuting with the income. Sometimes when you figure out what it is costing you to do the drive every day you'd be a lot better off working locally for less money! You should also factor in your time, it has value! If you are spending 2 hours a day driving back and forth to work that is 40 hours a month (one whole week) you have just spent for nothing. Add that to the cost of fuel, the cost to own and operate your car, and the stress involved in driving in bad weather. Then you can decide if it is worth the commute.

PM sent, I would love to learn how to do it! Thank you so much!

Will bring some clumps of roots up next time I come up to visit my daughter! Should be in a couple of weeks. You will want a raised bed if you can, lots of compost and patience, it will be two years before your first real harvest 3 or 4 years before you get a REALLY good one. Anyone else want horse radish or mint, let me know!

Wow, your garden looks amazing! The only wild mushrooms I know enough about to pick are puff balls, I try to find one or two every year and dehydrate them, they are so good in soups, stews or sauces. They are also amazing when pan fried in butter when fresh! They should be coming out anytime now! I wish I knew more about the other mushrooms that are available, I envy you! Some things you might want to consider adding to your gardens that I find very useful: asparagus, mint, and horse radish and rubarb. I can supply starters of each if you need them and would be happy to drop them off next time I visit my daughter. Thanks for starting the thread!

Does he use fuel stabilizer? Fuel Stabilizer will absorb water which can then condense and settle to the bottom of the tank. Running your boat on a hot humid day then parking it in a garage with a half full tank (the other half 80 or 90% humid air). You would be surprised at how much water comes out! I am a firm believer in fuel stabilizer but you should fill your tank after using and putting it away. I would however take Dan's suggestion also!

Beans, you wouldn't believe how nice it is turning out! I am going to do a proper post with pictures once it is all finished but suffice to say that Paul (manjo39) and Mike (wiskeywizard) have been so instrumental in this project, I hate to think of how it would have turned out if not for their help the last two days. We ended up with Paul, Mike, Dillon, Anthnony, Larry and myself which turned out to be a perfect number of people for the work that had to be done and the space that we had to work in. There is still a bit more to do but all the really tough stuff is done.

It's a good thing you didn't tell them they were full of "something else"

Yup, for once the weatherman was right, (for once) 12:00 almost on the dot the rain started. Now I am a sweet guy (or so I tell everyone) but I'm not made of sugar so I won't melt but those that know suggested it would be much easier to do the job if it wasn't raining. 2 of the people that were supposed to show up didn't but that's ok, turned out we had plenty of people. A few last minute revisions to the plan slowed things up as we had to do a bit more prep work but everything is graded, leveled (except for the sand) and compacted again, and watered and compacted again. Tomorrow comes the sand and then we start laying pavers.

I just started making my own spinner baits this year and love it. Nothing better than catching a fish on one of your own hand made baits. One thing I would suggest though is get a good pair of round nose pliars for bending your loops, they do a much nicer job. They are not easy to find, I tried a couple of places and finally ordered them from luremaking.com.

Well, for a base we have 6" of A gravel that has been in place for about a month now, it has been packed, rained on and packed again. One more packing again today with a heavy packer just to be sure. Going on top of that will be 1" of construction sand, I am told it is better than screenings because it will let water drain away. Seems everyone has a preferance and they are all different. For sealing the cracks I have polymetric sand. For the edges I have a very heavy gauge plastic strip desigined for that purpose and 10" spikes to anchor that in place. Just checked the weather forecast, yup, 100% chance of rain starting about noon, figures LOL. Well, we will do what we can and take it from there.

My post looking for help with this interlock project had a fantastic response. Thank you to all those that phoned, texted, and PMd me, if everyone showed up that offered to help we wouldn't have had room to move never mind work. Thank you all so very much! I think we have it to a very manageable size now, a couple of people with experience, a couple of people that want experience and a few support staff. I have been a member of this board for something like 15 years now. I try not to ask for anything, old age and pride sometimes get in the way of common sense. The times I have had to ask the response is always the same, above and beyond! I asked for help putting my dock in one year, 16 people showed up and it was the coldest, wetest, windyest day of the spring! Didn't matter within an hour the dock was in (it was a big dock, I have now down sized some what). My tackle box "went missing" last year, so many of you offered to help me put togther a new one that I could have started a tackle shop if I had accepted all the offers. I needed a heater for a fish hut, Lew very kindly donated one! If only the rest of the world could follow the OFC way of life...... Again, thank you one and all and please know that if you ever need me for anything I'll do my best to be there for you too! Big Cliff

Life skills are what it is all about, learn everything you can, experience can't be bought. I have never done interlock before and I am 68 but I am willing to learn! This job might not turn out as well as someone that has being doing it their whole life (although sometimes I find we set the standard higher for ourself than someone that does it every day) but it will turn out and when I am done I can add "doing interlock" to the list of many other things I have tried. Haven't succeded at everything (hang gliding was a disaster LOL) but I did try!

Thank you so much, I will let you know for sure. Just as a side note, you do know that you are always welcome to leave your boat here if you are going to be fishing a couple of days.

I hear you Johnny, most of my friends are in their mid to late 60s too, I am one of the lucky ones, I can still put in a good day of work, I might hurt like heck after but I can usually get it done. Can't handle the heavy stuff anymore, anything over about 25 kg is a real struggle for me. Oh well it is still better than most my age LOL, be thankful for the little things! One young local fellow called me up wanting work, I offered him $13.00 an hour, he told me he doesn't get out of bed for anything less than $18.00 an hour cash, I don't get paid that for driving truck LOL. Guess he can sleep in again this weekend!

Johnny, thank you for the kind words but it looks like we might be ok. One of my neighbors found out yesterday that I was having trouble finding helpers and he talked to a couple of other neighbors, he just dropped in on his way to work, looks like I might just have most of the people I need. Besides you'd spend more time driving here and back than the job would take, we only have about 250 sq ft and one small set of steps to put in. Most of the gravel is already in place, a few shovels for rough leveling and then the sand is all that is required now. Then it is laying the pavers and finishing. (mind you, a couple of strong young men wouldn't be turned away LOL there is going to be lots of heavy lifting involved).

I totally understand that it is short notice and some have to work, others have already made plans, it is a Saturday in the middle of Aug. after all! No worries, friends, we'll get it done! A couple of the neighbors have already offered to come by and lend a hand so I won't be without help. Mike (wiskeywizard) has offered to lend me his tractor and he is going to come for the day, he has experience in this kind of stuff so he is going to be my general. If we don't get it all done this weekend, there is always another LOL. My friend, thank you but please don't worry yourself about it. This isn't one of those things where if it doesn't get done my house is going to fall down or something, it is just some interlock.

Bruce, next time we get together, reserve one of the small jars of that relish for me would you. Just PM me the price. I make a lot of preserves but that relish looks better than anything I have made.

Well, I was big (ya, ya, I'm not saying that way, well I might but?) and my name was Cliff. So, not being too creative Big Cliff just seemed to be a good fit. (I'm horizontally challanged ok)

I have been trying to hire some help and I'm having a hard time finding anyone. This Saturday, Aug. the 16th, I could really use some help. If you have experience in doing interlock (or want some experience in doing interlock)! Your attendance would be most appreciated. We will supply lunch (cold cuts type sandwiches) and supper,(probably Swill Challet) a fire in the evening by the lake (we will supply non alcholic refreshments but you are welcome to bring your own) spouses and children and welcome, fishing off the dock for the kids (but a parent must be present with the kids at all times)! Start time 9:00 am, If I can get 10 people to help we should have most of the work finished early afternoon, the rest of the day is ours to enjoy. If you can commit, please let me know. 10 helpers + families is about all the room we have so the first 10 to commit will be the limit. (there will be a draw for a day of fishing (2 people) on Sturgeon Lake compliments of Big Cliff for all that attend).

Sad indead, he was one of my favorite actors!

I have had the pleasure of sampeling some of Bruce's wares and boy are they good!

Once it "finds it's fuel" as you put it, does it seem to be ok on the top end (other than slower). I am just wondering if when you adjusted the low speed you leaned it a bit too much. I would try turning the low speed jet back out about 1/8 of a turn and see if that improves it.

When we were down in PEI last year I went out on a charter $45.00 for half a day, they supplied everything and we had a really good time! We caught mackerel and cod and got to learn a lot about the local fisheries. If you can, try to find someone that will take you out digging clams, we spent the better part of a day doing that and learning about the different kinds. Then we went back to our hosts house had steamed clams and made a big pot of clam chowder. The one thing we didn't get to do was harvest oysters, we were going to but our trip got cut short because of the storm that destroyed our boathouse. Don't expect to get any deals on lobster while you are down there, I beleave most of the zones in that area are closed right now. You can probably buy live lobster hear for about half of what we paid down there last year. Apart from that, just enjoy your trip!