A Redneck Weather Station

Looks like we are headed for some more bad weather today here in Mississippi. Predicting high winds with 10-15 degrees drop in temp within 15 minutes. Last week in America we had shootings, tornadoes, floods and Super Tuesday. Oh, my! I thought it would be appropriate to have some fun today and post a redneck weather station for our great outdoors!

Sir Winston's Visit

I e-mailed the pictures to Betty after they left and when she got back to Jackson she really liked this one, enhanced it and sent it back to me. Love it!

Betty and Bob

Betty said to get a picture like this, she knew she would be in for it...had to duck her head after she took the picture. CRASH!!

I love this picture she shared with me of Sir Winston!

Betty and Sir Winston taken in Nashville, TN

Yesterday we had a surprised visit from our friend Betty and her dog Gold-Rush Sir Winston Rock-of-Ages! Yes, that's his registered name. The day was so pretty that they took off for a Sunday drive to Vicksburg from Jackson to enjoy the day. She made several stops and came by to see if we were home and to show us her new dog. She had another dog like this one but he passed away almost a year ago. Here are some pictures that she shared with us and pictures I took while they were here. This is a sweetthing!

Town of Cochrane Mural Mosaic

LOOK CLOSELY BY CLICKING ON ANY PART OF THE MURAL - Cochrane Mural.

For those not living in the WEST, Cochrane is NW of Calgary and east of Banff, in the foothills of the Rockies ... This mural was unveiled last week at the Cochrane Ranch House. Each tile is 1 foot square and has its own individual picture. Each tile is by a different artist. All of them placed together form this huge mural.

You can click on each of the tiles to see them in detail. Totally amazing!

“Check out the horse's eye.”

Click here - Cochrane Mural

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Taylor Hollowell, 11, poses with his dad, Don, and his first deer he killed on December 23 at Willow Creek. The doe weighed 90 pounds. Congratulations Taylor. Nice harvest!

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Bailey McMillian, 8, harvested his first buck on January 5 while hunting with his dad, Levi, in Claiborne County. The 7-pointer weighed 185 pounds and had a 15-inch inside spread. Bailey made the 50-yard shot with a .243 rifle. Congrats to Bailey on his first buck!

Phones In Church

A man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes.

He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read "Calls: $10,000 a minute." Seeking out the pastor, he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to heaven and if he pays the price he can talk directly to GOD. The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Denver, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor. Finally, he arrived in Mississippi. Upon entering a church in Oxford, MS, behold - he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read "Calls: 35 cents."
Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor, "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country, and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I Could talk to GOD but in the other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call. Why?"

I love this part.............................

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in the South now......You're in God's Country. It's a local call."

American by Birth - A Southerner by the Grace of God!!!

Patches the Coolest Horse

What a horse....enjoy! :)

Vicksburg Filming

The Vicksburg Post featured Katherine "Kat" Bailess getting her makeup touched up by a stylist while shooting a music video, "Missin' Mississippi," at the Vicksburg National Military Park Monday. Bailess, who graduated from St. Aloysius High School in 1998, has had roles on "One Tree Hill," Gilmore Girls" and the film "From Justin to Kelly." Kat was born and grew up in Vicksburg and started entertaining as soon as she could step out on the stage. She took classical dance at age 4 and was dancing professionally by the time she was 11. Dance however, was not enough so Kat began voice lessons at age 14. During high school, Kat began acting as well. Naturally, Broadway beckoned, and what better place for an actor/dancer/singer?After attending many Broadway workshops in NYC and dancing with Ballet Mississippi throughout high school, Kat moved to NYC to attend Marymount Manhattan College on a Dance and Musical Theatre scholarship. While in school Kat continued to pursue her dream and went to study at the William Esper Studio for Acting. In New York, Kat danced in numerous theatrical productions, and began to act in film and television. After graduation, Kat moved to Los Angeles and immediately began adding screen credits in both television and film to her bio. She now resides in Beverly Hill, CA. You can go to her MySpace site and listen to her music and singing, "Missin' Mississippi." We wish Kat good luck in her acting, dancing and musical career. This is a sweetthing!

It's Fat Tuesday!

Mardi Gras Comments -

My Dad was born in New Orleans, LA. When he was about 9 years old, my grandparents moved to Vicksburg, MS, where my grandfather was a telegraph operater for the Illinois Central Railroad. I also remember going to the Mardi Gras parades when I was quite young in New Orleans. It was so much fun to catch the beads. The last parade I went to I was fortunate to see Dick Clark in person. He is such an icon now!

Diaster Bulletin for Area

Yesterday evening I received a diaster bulletin in my inbox. It stated that we are going to have strong winds, potential for large hail and tornadoes for today. A super cell ahead of the storm will generate tornadoes; as well as, along the squall line. Expect limbs to come down at the least. Expected to be worse than the Jan. 10th storm. Prepare for the worst. Because of humid, unstable weather this is not likely to be moderate. The worst will be North of I-20, Delta and further North but do not underestimate the potential for severe weather in our area. Stay alert by NOAA weather, local Television and radio as system develops.

Today it is expected to get up to 80 degrees here in Vicksburg. After the storm passes it will be in the low 50's. I have been in one F5 tornado in my lifetime and will never forget the sound or the destruction. I was 13 years old when it struck on December 5, 1953 and killed 38 people, including 5 children watching a movie at the Saenger Theatre. My mother was downtown in it but was fortunate she did not get hurt, but was shaken up pretty bad. She was working at the Jefferson Davis Hotel when the bricks from St. Paul's Catholic Church came through the back windows. The historical church was built in 1849 and was damaged beyond repair. Let's hope for the best that it want get as bad as they are predicting.

Deer Mount

Fossilman over at The Huntin Lodge bought this kit for his son Travis's buck. He said he liked it better than the old plaques with felt and caps. What do you think? Would you mount this on your buck?

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Tyler Morgan, 7, killed this spike on family land in Edwards on January 5. He made the shot with a .243 rifle. It was Tyler's first deer and he was hunting with his grandpa, Sonny Morgan.

Kyle Marshall Hall, 12, poses with this nice 9-point he killed on private land in Warren County on Christmas Day while hunting with his grandpa, David Logue. The 159-pound buck had a 17 1/2-inch spread. Kyle shot the deer with a .243 rifle from about 50 yards out.

Jason Stevens, 14, has plenty of reasons to smile after he bagged this 270-pound, 11-point buck on private land in Issaquena County. He made the shot with a .270 rifle. The buck had a 21 1/2 inch inside spread.

Vicksburg On The Hunt

Meghan Palmertree, 11, bagged her first deer on private land in Warren County. She took down the 170-poound, 6-pointer with a .22-250 rifle from about 50 yards out. The buck had a 12-inch spread.

Claire Gamble, 10, went hunting for the first time with her stepfather, Tod Dorbeck, when she killed her first deer with a .243 youth rifle. She was hunting at Bear Lake, LA, when she bagged this 140-pound spike. Bet it won't be too long before Claire gets back in the woods! Congratulations to both our young lady hunters!

Deer-Cat

Have a great weekend!

Mystery Bear Killing Solved

On January 19, 2008, I wrote a post of an endangered bear found slain in Sharkey County. In The Vicksburg Post yesterday it stated that it had happened 20 years ago. The body of the bear found on the side of the road in Sharkey County about two weeks ago had led investigators down an unexpected trail leading to what biologist Brad Young calls a "happy ending."

The corpse, which was spotted January 14 by a motorist along a dirt road near Rolling Fork, MS, turned out to be the prize from a Virginia bear hunt more than 20 years ago, according to a press release from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. The bear was presumably killed legally in Danville, VA, where black bears are plentiful and may legally be hunted during appropriate season, Young said.

If it was legally harvested, then he wouldn't be in violation," he said.

The full story behind the bear's fate decades ago is hard to know completely, simply because the hunter has since died. However, there's satisfaction in learning the body, initally believed to be a cub, wasn't an illegal kill in the Lower Mississippi Delta where the species is making a slow comeback.

"The guy killed it because he was going to make a bear-skin rug," Young said. "He kept it in a freezer and either forgot about it or didn't do anything."

The bear remained in the freezer at the hunter's house - as the home passed through other family members - until the current homeowner, whose name wasn't released, found the remains and took them from the freezer to the road side in August.

Young said, upon first sight, it was difficult to know for sure that it was a bear that was found. Although five months of exposure to weather, animals and decomposition had taken their toll, its skull and feet acted as determining factors. And, evidence of a bullet in the head began the investigation into who could have killed the animal, endangeered and closely protected in Mississippi.

But, MDWFP and U.S. Fish and Wildlife have closed the case on the dead bear.

"Our officers did a good job and conducted a professional and thorough investigation," said Seve Adcock, MDWFP chief of law enforcement. "We're please to have this resolved and the case closed."

Young, who monitors the movements of six bears with radio collars, said he, too, is happy with the way the case ended.

"It's good, I'm glad we got to the bottom of it," he said. "I'm glad it's not one of our local bears. It's a shame so much fuss was made over it, but at least it wasn't a local bear."

Mississippi is home to about 100 black bears. Killing a protected bear here could carry hefty fines and jail time.

The most recent case of a killed bear in Mississippi was in 2002, when Eric Wade Mobley of Grace was convicted of killing a black bear and dumping its reamins at a hunting club in Issaquena County a year earlier. He was orderd by a judge to pay nearly $10,000, perform 20 hours of community serivce and was placed on a one-year probation that also prohibited him from hunting.

Damon Scott & Bubbles

This is great! Turn up the volume, kick back and watch the show.............

Sports Arena

A picture of my step-granddaughter (Laura) that was in The Vicksburg Post yesterday evening for her achievement in the GymSouth Level 5 gymnastics team that finished third at the Winter Invitational at Courthouse Gymnastic in Flowood. From left, Monica Hughey (1st floor), Mary Kalusche (2nd bars), Maggie Waites (1st Bars), Jaelyn Young (2nd floor), Chandler Jennings (2nd beam), and Olivia Jennings and Laura Phillips (3rd floor). Laura is in the 5th grade at St. Francis (Elementary) School where her mother also works and teaches calculus at St. Aloysius (High School). Besides gymnastics, Laura enjoys playing golf and deer hunting with her Dad in the great outdoors. We are all so very proud of her. She is a sweetthing!

Four-Wheeler Accident

Kristine at Hunt Smart, Think Safety, wrote a column this past Friday, January 25, 2008 about Staying Safe on an ATV. Unfortunately, a young teen from Brandon, Mississippi died Sunday, January 27, 2008, as the result of a four-wheeler roll over at a hunting camp in Jefferson County.

The Vicksburg Post stated that Zachary “Zach” Beard, 14, died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident at about 2 p.m. on private land, a Jefferson County Coroner Bob Rollins said. Zach was a home schooled ninth-grader.

The vehicle hit an obstacle on a narrow riding path still wet from rain and ice storms over the weekend, Rollins said.

Survivors include his parents, Kenny Jr. and Mickie Beard of Brandon; his maternal grandparents, Lamar and Velma Shumaker of Pearl; his paternal grandparents, Ken Sr. and Faye Beard of Terry, and aunts and uncles. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness in Brandon under the direction of Ott & Lee Funeral Home.

It is so sad to hear about an ATV accident and that a loss of life has occurred. As Kristine said, “Riding an ATV can be a fun activity for friends and family to share with each other. Like any other activity, it can have its dangers, but, as with many other activities, if care is taken, and safety precautions are followed, your ATV ride can be a fun and enjoyable experience.”

Gator Pictures

A gator in Georgia that lived near a community....

Couple of gator pictures that fossilman posted at The Huntin Lodge yesterday. Picture here shows a gator in Texas. Yes, it's hauling a deer off in its mouth!

A Scenic Drive

Suzi, my youngest daughter, sent me this picture of her and little Emma taking in the fall foliage back in November of last year with her husband, Dennis. They made the two hour trip north from Fredericksburg, VA, to picnic and enjoyed a scenic drive on Skyline Drive located in the Shenandorah Valley National Park. The park has over 500-miles of hiking trails, numerous overlooks with breathtaking vistas and wildlife. You can traverse the entire 105-mile length of Skyline Drive in less than four hours. Our nation's capital is only 75 miles away from this spectacular wilderness park. Little Emma will be 1 year old in July and I'm looking forward to being there for her first birthday celebration! While visiting, I hope to make a trip to the Shenandorah Valley. This would be a double sweetthing!