From The Field

click to enlargenate AND have one more reason to not swim in the Trinity River.
These exclusive images of an elusive giant alligator gar sunning on the surface of the Trinity River were captured by cell phone from an undisclosed downtown Fort Worth TX hi rise office building. Witnesses describe the beast as a "monster" and "at least six feet long". Back to you Barry.

Mondays Missives

• Me, Z man and the dog attempted to sleep outside last night on the trampoline. Z was a little apprehensive at first but, he played with the flashlight a minute, handed it off to me, turned onto his side, sighed real big and went to sleep. All was well until some animal down near the pond started screaming bloody murder just as I was dozing off. A little while later a coyote started howling within 50-100 feet of us which startled me and set the dog off. About midnight I'd had enough wildness and we came inside.




• I know a baby is supposed to sleep on their backs with nothing in the bed that can cover their faces or wrap around their neck. I also know part of the job of a parent is to protect your children from themselves sometimes but, since Z man could first move on his own as soon as he is covered for sleep he grabs the blanket, pulls it over his own face and rolls over on his side- seems so natural for him.




• We went to the pond yesterday and started a fire camp- (daughters terminology) and listened to her read her assignment. I hope things like that mean as much to her and are as unforgettable to her as they are to me.




• She and I had a picnic there a couple of weeks ago, she still talks about it often.




• The pond had fish in it two days after the rain. I don't know how, there is nothing upstream and the guys who have stocked it before didn't put them there. There are also tiny toads there now that metamorphosed since the pond refilled everywhere. Life will find a way.




• Soon will be the time to clean out the flowerbeds for winter and figure out what to do with the leaves on the ground. A simple compost method. Get a 55 gallon barrel (metal or plastic, whatever your local junk dealer carries) preferably one with a hoop clamp at the top and cut the bottom off and place it in full sun after painting it flat black. Have a circular piece of wood, plastic or metal (the bottom piece you cut out of the barrel will work fine) cut small enough to fit down in top opening to mush down the leaves and whatever. Drill a few equally spaced holes on the side of the barrel to improve ventilation. As you put organic matter in the barrel wet it down well, place the round piece of material on top, put a cement block etc on for weight to compact for placing more matter remove when through filling to improve airflow. You'll want two of these barrels if you have a yard anywhere near an acre, large flowerbed, or trees etc. There's not a lot of mystery to this in spite of recipes and contraptions that seem determined to complicate this process. A variation of the above composter will in direct sun in North Central Texas heat the material placed in it too hot to touch and will reduce a surprising amount of matter very rapidly if watered well and stirred up occasionally. When ready to use the barrel can be rolled off the compost to allow handling there at the site or flipped completely over and placed on a handtruck to allow it to be carried to where it's needed.




• I just realized I've never seen a live comedy show. That should be corrected if Zack Galifiniakis appears in DFW.