So little boat traffic, so much acreage,,,,

That was taken mid-lake:  some wind chop, some long rolling fetch, but waves?   notsomuch,,,

I may have seen 4 boats, maybe 5 but no less than three,,,  Only one was NOT a bassboat.  The bassboats don’t make much wake, even when flat out haulin’ass.  So no dancing water fun for Dio,,,   That’s alright, I got enough to feel the goosing in the hindquarters and that was enough to get my fix in. 

Water in mid 60’s still; warmer below than above.   That can get a body killed if things go sideways and y’ain’t prepared for it.    I was in wet suit top and bottom, spray skirt and PFD,   *

and sweating my ass off.   The outside of the wetsuit was dry when I got to shore; the inside was sweatlogged.  I went for a swim to wash the stink out before heading to get the Buffalo and change out.   Not sure a drysuit would have been any better, maybe worse.   At least with the wetsuit, the sweat can get out.

Where that pic was taken, was a 1/4 mile to shore in any one direction.    I was just sitting there admiring the glimmer of SOL bouncing off those wavelets, blinding at times, the breeze out of the SxSE that smelled of leaves, pine and clean water.   No boat exhaust, or not enough to twig my senses.

AND QUIET.   OMG so quiet.    I could hear the music from a wedding party at the nearest subdivision, and that is over 2 miles away from where I was floating.

Days like this, I hook into that Ground and Center FAST.    By the time I piddled around to the take out, I was so calm and relaxed, I could have laid my head on the deck and taken a nap.

F*@K the Politicos.   They have ZERO clue where the real power of life is.  Or maybe they do know and try like hell to keep us distracted from it: Maybe it’s something thier lizard brains can’t grab and hold onto, so they, in jealousy, fight to keep those of us that can, away from it.   And if I could find a way to make Kayaking pay (and I have an idea, but playing that card close to my chest right now) I would NEVER leave the water, except to travel between waypoints.   Tired of being that wage slave, tired of the games of a society rigged against the little guy, and DEFINITELY tired of the politics.  (politics is why I knew I would never make the Corps a career,,,More the meritocracy mindset, than kissass /brown-noser/backstabber.)

It doesn’t have to be hard,,,,,    Nope, sure doesn’t.   Today sure wasn’t.   deep breath, slow exhale, satisfied with my ‘balance’ right now.   Much needed day.

Domestics day tomorrow, and possible takin’ Da to look at a new to him truck.   Leaving the day open for whatever on that note.

Live

Learn

LAUGH

LOAD.

* And I always carry a grab bag of stuff ‘just in case’: emergency sleeping bag, fire starter, etc.   Hypothermia is no joke, and those temps could get a body deep into it in short order.

yeah, ME, having a fit of depression,,,  

Not what started it but some of the reasoning behind it.   Yah, those that are still saying we have ‘fair and honest elections’ need to open their fucking eyes and see that all the shenaniganss are fucking THEM as well.  Those that desire power don’t give a truck about you or your desires, they only want MORE and MORE and MORE, and you are the vehicle that gets them there: along with every damned tombstone in the US.

The time of year helps not at all.   I always take a meloncholy turn when the leaves fall.

And more than once, the thoughts of shutting this blog down have broached my forebrain.    Lots of reasons, most stemming from the fact that I rarely have much to add to the fray these days.    Ever since Gerard passed on, and BIll Buppert went Dark, my writing has become more the personal thing.    Gerard was the only ‘Big Name’ blogger that communicated (email and once via phone.) with me on the regular.    Francis does through comments (here and at his place), BIll never has, though I do know one piece I wrote was mentioned in one of his essays (so I know I was being read by him).    2012, the year my blog was injured by nefarious peeps and has never recovered.   And admittedly, I pretty much gave up at that point.    Too much infighting, black hat actors, and dog eat dog attitudes from most.  When one was found to be a ‘glowie’, instead of rallying forces, the majority ran for cover to protect themselves and left the target exposed.    No solidarity of principles, even though all harp on ‘principles’.

Live and let live.

and slowly but surely, the blog morphed into a kayaks and kittehs blog, with the occasional philosophical/political bend.   And my walls have grown taller, trust but verify has become Verify and maybe trust, and friends are scattered amongst the weeds of the world and can be counted on one hand.  NOT JUST the blogger friends, but IRL ones.

For an introvert, thats not that horrible.  BUT, I am a borderline introvert, sometimes called an Ambi-vert,,,   I still need some social interaction on the regular.  (Some, NOT A LOT, and usually need a day or three to recharge my batteries before I can continue.)  I miss people over time, and the loss of Gerard and his insights is weighing on me today.   A voice I could really use to hear at this juncture of history.   (thanks to The New Neo for keeping his essays alive.  You’re doing damned good Jean!)

Want a trouble free future?  Why did you show up in space-time if you didn’t want trouble? (Richard Bach, Messiahs handbook)

This is all illusions, but damned persistent Illusions,,,   It gets hard to tell the difference between reality and illusion, when your avatar is your vehicle and interface in this play.    And that there are billions other avatars running around this illusion adding thier input, really mucks with things,,,,

Time to get the boat wet, get my ground and center going and try my damndest to not let the little shit get so deep under the skin.   Like splinters (fiberglass splinters are the worst) they irritate and demand so much attention, the details of everything else take hindteat.   I need to get out there and find, and pull, some splinters.   They are festering and thats a no good.

Live

Laugh

LEARN

LOAD.

as in, rained out, go homes,,,,

fines, can do.

did some weedeating: too wet to mow, but the linetrimmer works just fine (if you don’t mind getting a little wet in the process,)

Today is one of my “i hatez peoples” day.   No need to elaborate on the why of that, dood that bent me over KNOWS, and I just may ‘oopsies, I forgot to pick you up for work’ come Muhnday (no name needed, y’all know whom I am speaking of.) 

Probably won’t, because I am actually a pretty decent person, but hell will be delivered upon someones front braincells,

Not holding my breath that the lesson will be learned though.   Some people won’t learn, even when hit upside the head with a twobyfour.

Anywhoozzzz,,,,,   Tomorrow is going to be lake day, CHURCH DAY, ‘Dio gets his head and soul back in order’ DAY,     Made plans with Brudda B for the following Satyrday as HIS Ground and Center day.   Gonna be good to see my Brudda again, and I know he NEEDS time on water,,,   He’s been dry for far too long this year.

But tomorrow is MINE! dammit!!!   Trees are about bare of leaves now, probably mucking up all the little bays on the lake, but thats just fine.   The smells of autumn are in the air and while I don’t ‘like’ this time of year, the smells do have a calming effect on the psyche.    Like today, Leaf smell, rain smell: kinda makes one wanna put up a hammock and take a nap.   (and I may yet,,,)   Tomorrow, those smells will include the smell of WATER from the cleanest lake in KY.  (I can’t describe how CLEAN the smell is, but even Sis noted it when she came up to visit last and we made water time.)  

I’m trying to not let the outside political world get under my skin.   Things are flaky as hell out there, and I am just waiting to see which boot falls first.   AND for those that are still calling people like me “Conspiracy freaks, we have clean elections in the US”   Please,,, just don’t even comment.

Thats one county over from mine.   I haven’t heard anything here in Knox Co, but they may not need to cheat here as there are many that still ‘vote like daddy’,,, and couldn’t read well enough to know otherwise. (just check that big blue button and alls good,,,,    sigh)

And thats just here,,, the stories are rampant about various tactics being done across the spectrum.  

Gonna voat anyway, and I am going to wait (and I hope others do as well) for that particular day.   Hit ’em sideways with millions of voats so they have to scramble the cheat codes and blow the numbers wide open: make it so obvious, a dead blind man could see it from the otherside of the moon.

no, don’t have a good outlook right now and its showing in other aspects of my little world.   THAT is why I am going kayaking tomorrow, hell or high water, freezing temps or burning rays of SOL, I will get some miles under my keel and let the brainium have a day off.

Keep watch, if you see a story of corruption DO NOT CLICK OFF IT UNTIL YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED THE ARTICLE.  Keep record of the steal so they can’t gaslight us again.   We ain’t krazy, and don’t let them drive you to such.

Live

Learn

LAUGH

LOAD.

In a way, this is a letter to our “Leaders Pretend” (we pretend they are leading somewhere,,,,).  Its sorta personal, but I think there are many in this country that will feel an afinity to what I am about to write.

I’m a simple man,  I like simple things, can be amused easily, and just want to be left alone to pursue my simple life.   I like my steak and eggs, Bacon, simple fair for lunch (with bacon strips), and meat and potatoes type dinners (with bacon somewhere in that mix).   I found that whatever dietary measures were suggested by “TPTB”, I always felt lethargic and tapped out, so I started playing with what worked for my body, completely ignoring the ‘suggestions’ of PAID experts.   What I eat works very well for me, and I have been losing weight, and my recent bloodwork shows a super nice balance of good and bad cholesterols (must be all those olives.)  I like a cold beer after mowing my lawn, a shot or two of GOOD bourbon with friends, and the smell of food being grilled over open flames and smoke.   Simple pleasures for the simple life of a simple man.

I like a simple life,,, Do the J.O.B. thing to keep me in my toys and needs, keep the truck running, and playing at being human when I am not being the wage slave.   I like my time in nature, and that means I need to be certain that my homestead is in good order while I am gone.  Simple things, right?   Techy toys are well and fine, but what gets me a dopamine rush is GOOD TOOLS.   A good tool will last a lifetime or more and makes doing the J.O.B. thing much easier,,, or at least not as taxing as dealing with crappy tools that break things.  Simple tools,  Simple man, Simple needs.

Simple does not make me a patsy or milquetoast that deserves to be walked over.    Like my meals, bread and butter of the world: simple people keeping the lights on, the world fed, and the trucks running on time.

Go ahead, Fuck with us and find out.   We know how much you have been stealing, not just money, but our rights, our voices, and our futures.   We, the simple people of the world do NOT need you, but you most assuredly NEED us.    Stop fucking us over, listen to our desires, and stop stealing our futures and those of our children.   IF push comes to shove, you won’t like the simple mans game plan.  

Its a simple one.   YOU WILL DIE.   and yah, you’ll probably get more than a few of us as well, but we will have died on principles, not as in your case: Long delayed justice coming.

LIve

Learn

LAUGH

LOAD and keep one in the chamber,,,,

And no, NOT blackpilled either,,,,  Go read that one, especially those that keep harping that VOATER FRAUD ain’t a thing.   Give me a damned break, please, that shit has been going on for longer than I have been alive.  Farther back than the JFK/LBJ shift-a-palooza in Texas to make sure JFK won and there wasn’t a deadlock on the Presidential race. (look it up, don’t wanna find the linkies this AM.)

Tired of the shit, shit so damned obvious to anyone with a couple of braincells,,,,  

The best advice: the very last paragraph in Sarah’s post, 

“Now stop listening to this mad woman and go make your preparations. Because win or lose, the next three months are going to be a stone cold bitch.

Go.“

yeah, that!    live learn laugh LOAD,,,,   And I have been.   Also observing, documenting, downloading (to save from the memory hole) and PRAYING.

Spent three hours on the porch last eve, kitteh in lap, sun on face, Meditating on the future.   All I came up with was “we are gonna see shit change, but no  one can say in which direction, WITH ANY CERTAINTY.”    Some are freaking out about that “literally Hitler” aspect, and I can see it IN BOTH SIDES, and y’know what?   Doesn’t matter, thats how history rolls,,, we are gonna end up with a megalomaniac eventually and there is no way around it (it’s hardwired into social systems )   So if we can’t avoid it, lets embrace it and run full tilt boogie at the tilting board of history and GET THIS SHIT OVER WITH AND BEHIND US.  

I’d rather it be in my time, because the if it takes much longer, the younger Gens are in for a shit storm and have no basis of good education to fall back on to recover.   There will be MUCH lost if we lose now.   Just ask some under 25YO questions about how this “Republic” is supposed to work and you are in for some vauge answers if not outright shoulder shrugging and waffle-worded garbled mess of ideology.  

Think about what it takes to make a toaster, and if the kids today could replicate that without needing to re-invent the wheel.   (may be exxagerated for illustrative purposes, but I personally feel that exxageration is only a little off, not wildly so.)   Hell, people of my generation are sorely lacking in much of the basics, and the only reason I am aware of the lack is because of 12 years of digging for my own knowledge.  AND, I know I have HUGE gaps in such: I am aware of some of my ‘unknown unknowns’

shit!   gotta get to work

LLLL    more laters.

I feel that I grew up in the greatest musical period of all time,,,  The wisdoms that were passed on, (and still accessible),,,,,

For those that think DIE is a good thing.

I grew up in a time when the Unions were losing strength, and this song relates my feelings towards unions still.   Not a fan, do not reccomend the things.   Didn’t buy into them when I was working the sound gigs, don’t buy into them now.  Think a large part of our problems and the divisiveness we experiance are in no small part driven by unions.   I can illustrate how unions have driven corporate interests overseas, and while some would say thats because of greed; well, the same could be said of those union members wanting ungodly amounts of money and absolute protection from termination, without offering much in return.     Meritocracy!!!    Not Seniority,,,

Verse 1]
Days grow shorter and the nights are getting long
Feels like we’re running out of time
Every day it seems much harder tellin’ right from wrong
You got to read between the lines
Don’t get discouraged, don’t be afraid
We can make it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay

[Verse 2]
The Good Book says it’s better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin’ in my pockets, I got nothin’ up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart
Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you’ve got to do
[Chorus]
Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute, every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It’s your only way

[Verse 3]
All your life you’ve been waiting for your chance
Where you’ll fit into the plan
But you’re the master of your own destiny
So give and take the best that you can

[Verse 4]
You think that a little more money can buy your soul some rest
You better think something else instead
You’re so afraid of being honest with yourself
You’d better take a look inside your head
Nothing is easy, nothing good is free, but I
I can tell you where to start
Take a look inside your heart
There’s an answer in your heart

[Chorus]
Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute, every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay
Every moment of your lifetime
Every minute and every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

Doesn’t verse 1 sound like what we are dealing with these days?   Some things never change,,,,,

This is what I grew up on,,, Any one wonder why I am so damned introspective?   

Can’t go home, it ain’t there: but the music I grew up with carries forward in my head heart and soul, and I can still pull it up for strength when I need it.

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOAD

and maybe dance a little while you are  going about your days,

one whole weekend without paddling something/somewhere.

and My shoulders are BITCHING, HARD!!!

Sounds counter-intuitive, no?

My paddling is my R&R for my shoulders; its why I use a Greenland paddle over the Euroblades.  The paddling ‘pattern’ is different and a whole lot less strain on shoulders, getting most of its power from the core muscles,  even using hips and legs to add power to the boat while ‘hooking’ into the water.

A week of punching holes followed by a $h!tty job on the ‘stead, and today, domestic duties, to include (hopefully) the last battle against the weeds.  Had to mulch up all those damned leaves that are littering the place.

Next week, I expect the trees to be barren of leaves.   They are coming down fast now.

the Kold is starting to be felt, I may be channeling the polar explorer before long,,,,

At least this year, I have the gear for it.

clocks ticking out there.

My bodies clock is too.   “Gettin’ old ain’t for pussies” Rusty Smith.  

Fact!   A paddling guru of a sort, Ken Whiting, just posted that he is in Kayak-y Hiatus INDEFINITELY,,,

Reason: Blown out shoulder joints.   Ken is prior WW competitive kayaker, and probably puts as many miles on boats as I do my truck on the weekly (if not more)

I don’t want to be there, but I have a feeling that at some point, I will need some reconstructive surgery on the starboard appendage.   Port side seems fine (could be masked by the ugh I feel in the starboard side.)

And it ain’t from kayaking,,,   Its from swingin’ hammers after doing something stoopid at the gym many years back.    Got so bad I had no grip at all for two weeks: couldn’t lift a 22oz framing hammer, let alone the 3# hammer my job at the time required.  

As I said, the kayaking thing seems to help, but the rest of my working conditions don’t.   And I would say that given the right conditions (rough and tumble) kayaking would/could tip me into the same state that Ken is at.  Sadly, the rough and tumble is where the joy is at: more the open water rough, but getting to where I sorta like the WW stuff too, UP TO A POINT.   Its the whole chasing flows thing that drives me batshit,,,  Lake waves can be found with wind (and boats), not flow rates.

I ain’t no spring chicken,,,   and the milage is adding up.  sigh

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOAD.