HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

   Today my oldest son turned another year older. He is 22 now. It seems like just the other day we brought him home from the hospital. All new and tiny and sweet baby smelling. Now he's big as I am and rough and hairy and grown.

   Funny thing is I still feel like I'm 22, instead of the real 48 years I have on me. The time sure flies by. I remember only yesterday I was the one hurring home from work and racing to clean up, change clothes, and hurry out the door on a semi-all night date. Now I'm the one waiting up to make sure he gets home safely.

   I don't mind being at home with my wife and baby boy on weekends, when I'm not hunting, while my older son is out on the town. But what is strange is both of the boys seem to be out growing us. I'm sure this is nothing new. I must have done the same thing when I was that age. But back then I still wanted to do things with my Dad & Mom. My boys hardly stay around us, and when they're home they stay in their rooms, only coming out for meals and restroom breaks.

    I guess this must be what my parents felt like when I started growing up, must be what all parents go through. Time sure goes by quickly.Things happen that can keep you from being able to do everything you would like to do with your kids. Hopefully as they grow up they will understand that you tried to do everything right when they were little.

   All you can do is try to teach them and love them, then back off and hope for the best. Maybe one day they will need you as much as you love them.

Happy Birthday buddy.

Love Mom and Dad.

J.C. Coleman

IT'S BEEN A GOOD HUNTING SEASON!!!

   It's been a great Fall hunting season! This is my favorite time of the year and this season has been very productive. I got lucky and I already have 2 wild hogs and 5 deer. Thanks to a little hard butchering work I have around 800lbs of meat in my freezers and we still have over 2 months left to hunt !

   I also brought out my largest buck this year. A 170lb 9 point buck. He had a 17 & 1/4 inch inside spread. He definitely is going on my wall. I already put his head in the taxidermy shop.Earlier in the season I also got a nice 7 pointer. He was a younger deer but still anice buck and will sure be tasty.

   I hunt in two states and belong to a hunting club. I also hunt public land, and private farms. This allows me to have a chance at several deer to try and fill my freezer so I can feed my family. When I butcher my deer I make hamburger, sausage, jerky, cube steak, & butterfly steaks.A little elbow grease and my freezer gets full.

   The hogs ain't bad either!!!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

ME & GENE AUTRY, BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

   Saturday was opening day of muzzle loading season for deer. It was great to be back in the woods with my old smoke pole. I built a 50 caliber Hawken from a kit several years ago. I carved out the stock, and made all the parts fit. I drew a deer's head on one side of the butt stock and a jumping bass on the other side. I added a few turkey tracks and put my name on the stock.  I named the gun " Old Iron" and I burned all of this into the stock and stained it. Not a bad job even if I did do it.

   It's fun to try and go back in time and live, even if only for a little while like our ancestors did. I grew up reading about Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett now I can hunt like they did. Well sort of. They didn't have a portable deer stand to climb up a tree with, or a 4x4 four wheeler to haul them deep into the back woods.

   Saturday and Sunday found me in the woods way before daylight trying to get the drop on an unsuspecting deer suitable for my table. You see I love to hunt, but I feel like the mountain men of yesteryear when I go afield. I want the adventure, and a trophy. but I'm primarily trying to put aside enough meat to feed my family through the coming year. This is the only time I can do this, so it's also very serious business. Also I need to obey the game laws and try to trophy manage our deer herd as our hunting club wants us to do. That's alot to think about as a deer is walking or running by you in 3 to 10 seconds time.

   I saw a bunch of hogs and a few deer Saturday but I either couldn't get a shot or they were too little to shoot. On Sunday morning a nice 100 lb. doe walked up the ridge I was sitting on and offered me a good shot. My old 50 caliber barked loud and down she went. I loaded her up on the 4 wheeler and headed back to camp. My old 4 wheeler filled in for the pack mules of yesteryear the mountain men had. I was loaded down pretty good. Me, a 100 lb. deer, my deer stand, hunting gear and gun quite a load for a 24 year old bike to haul. It did a great job! We all got out fine.

   Today the real work of hunting begins. Yesterday I had to drag the deer out of the woods and put it on the 4 wheeler, take it to camp, skin and gut it. Today I must begin the process of butchering all the meat. In the next couple of days my little doe will become sliced tenderloins to wrap aroung jalipenos with bacon strips, butterflyed steaks, hamburger meat, cubed steaks, sausage, and deer jerky. Quite a lot from just one deer. We get the meat and the dogs get to gnaw the bones. Nothing is wasted.

   Soon I get to feast on the healthiest meat God ever made. Venison! Hopefully this will be the first of many deer this year. We need several to feed us till next year . If I can get lucky and get a few wild hogs as well, I believe we will have enough till next hunting season comes around again.

GOOD HUNTING.

Jim Cobb Coleman.


  

  
  

WEEKEND WARRIOR

   Look at all the pretty flowers growing all over my backyard. Their little vines are spreading out and taking over everything. They are almost as bad as kudzu. Soon I will get out there, weed eater in hand and take care of them, but not right now. It was a busy weekend as usual. Deer season is in and my Mom's birthday was Sunday. We stayed pretty busy.

   The local forester is running amuck on our hunting land. They are cutting and removing some 300 acres of woods. It has totally changed the lay of the land. If you had a deer stand on the property you had better marked it with orange flagging tape if you wanted it to not be destroyed by the heavy equipment working on the land. They don't slow down or worry about what they hit as some of our members found out the hard way.


   It was nice to get to the woods again after a week of "civilization". I needed the peace and quiet of the forest. I climbed into my deerstand twice this weekend and saw a few deer. All were in killing range but a good shot never presented itself. No matter, they will come back, and this weekend starts the muzzle loader season. Hopefully one will walk by this Saturday.

  
   Sunday was my Mom's 74th birthday. We came home from the woods and got Mom a ice cream cake, and picked up supper. When we went to put the candles on the cake we discovered we didn't have a number 4. So we wound up with 7 3 1. It stood for 7 & 3+ 1 = 4. After all as long as we're all together and love each other, it really doesn't matter what's on top of your cake or even if you have one or not.

   Happy Birthday Momma!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

COME ON FALL

   Even old Cissy girl is ready for fall. Seems like time we pulled out some decorations and put a couple of bales of hay and pumpkins on the front porch Cissy picked out her spot to enjoy the sunset. I don't blame her at all. There's a spot under my big oak tree that's looking pretty good to me too!

PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE

   Finally! The finished product of my European mount of the 8 pointer I got last hunting season. This was my first time trying this procedure, but it won't be my last. I think it turned out quite well . Total cost was under 25 dollars. I even got a little plaque engraved with the date I harvested the buck.

   This past weekend I got to go bowhunting for the first time this season. It felt good early in the morning, but warmed up quickly. Fall temperatures are still a long way away. It was great to climb a tree again. My shooting lanes I cut looked good, but nothing co-operated and walked by.The forest is still green and bright. I need some cold weather and strong wind to change the color of the leaves and blow them to the ground.

  

  
   I know my time will come, and soon I hope. For now all I can do is be patient and keep on practicing. Soon enough I will wake up one morning to smoke coming out with my breath. That chill that runs down your spine and shakes you to the core. On that magic fall morning the leaves will helicopter down to the forest floor in an autumnal cascade of reds, yellows, and oranges. The old trails and new paths will come alive with the soft footfalls of heavy hooves and hopefully my arrow will find it's mark right behind the shoulderblade in the sweet spot of the heart. Legends will fall to make room for future kings to reign, and meat, fur, and horns will come home to Bullfrog Bottom once again.

   Past, present, and future hunting is a way of life. A legacy that goes back to the time of my ancestors who had to hunt to survive. To myself who lives to hunt and just spend time in the woods, and hopefully to be passed down to my children, and my children's children. It is a way of life.

   It is my life!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

LOOKING FOR CHANGE

   With this big storm front crawling across the country right now I'm looking for a change. Mainly a change in the weather. I'm really tired of hot weather. I'm tired of sweating all day, every day.

   They say after the rain a cold front will pass down on us and begin to cool us off. It's about time. September is over half way gone, we need some relief. I need October, bad! I need to smell smoke drifting slowly out my chimney from the oak wood burning inside. I need to see the orange glow of the flames and our Boston terrier sleeping in his bed in front of the hearth.

   After a long timeof working there seems to be no response at all, as usual. Do I continue? Do I stop? Sometimes I wonder what's the point? Like everything else I touch , It seems like it is a waste of time if no one ever notices.

   I wish things would change.

Jim Cobb.

I WONDER...

   The time has come the walrus said to talk of many things. So now I wonder.

   I wonder if summer will ever end ? It's September now in dixie, and the temps are still in the 90's, and boy is it humid. I wonder if soon fall will kick in and finally cool us off ? The leaves are slowly starting to turn yellow, but I'm ready for orange and reds.

   I wonder if deer season will be productive this year? Last year was a blessing, I never saw so many deer before. Hopefully this year will be better. My family needs as much meat as I can harvest to feed us next year.

   I wonder if life is moving too fast ? My son's have grown up over night it seems, they act like they no longer need the old man anymore. When just the other day I was the one they couldn't wait to run to and jump into my arms. My sweetheart doesn't act as sweet as she used to, there again there was a time I thought I warmed a heart where now it seems one grows colder each day. Dads doing well, but I fear tomorrow when the day may come when he no longer knows me by heart.

   I wonder am I growing older and colder myself, or do I just think too much ? I don't like change! Too much has changed in the last several years and not for the better. Friends and family are gone and life won't be the same without them.

   I need to slip back in time. Back to when the world was right. Back to when I was 22. 22 was a very good year. I was free to live, life was steady and secure. All the people you knew and loved were still right next door, or just a phone call away. You could see the light bounce in their eyes when you saw them and hear the love in their voices when you talked to them on the phone. Life was a joy then.

   I wonder what happened to all of us since then and how do you ever get back there? Can you ever get back that feeling of 22?

   I wonder....?

Jim Cobb.

IT WAS A GOOD WEEKEND , TATER !!!

   This past Labor Day weekend was great! All except for the fact that my boys had to work, and they couldn't be with us. Our air conditioner at home is down and we are currently waiting for the repair man to find time in his busy schedule to come and fix it. If he doesn't come by tomorrow, I'm going to go buy a window unit or 2 and forget about him. Early Saturday morning we loaded up the truck and trailer, and headed down to the hunting club for the weekend.

   Our weather is still very hot and extremely muggy. You become soaking wet with sweat by just going to the mailbox. Needless to say we enjoyed the AC in the truck on the way down. It has been a long hot week. By the time we got down and unloaded the supplies, food, ice chests, and 4 wheeler, we were pretty hot and tired.

   The good thing is that my AC in the camper works GREAT! We cooled off, took a couple of showers, and put on our Alabama game shirts and got ready to watch some football. We watched stacked games on tv. Two tv's sitting on top of each other, we watched the Bama and Auburn games at the same time with my cousin "Hawkeye".  Like I said , it was a great weekend, Bama won, Auburn lost, we stayed cool and got some rest.

   I also got to do some work around my deerstands. I marked the new trail leading into the stands, and macheted my way through the woods to open up the trail. I took my chain saw and removed a few trees to open up some shooting lanes.The woods are getting ready for Autumn. You can see it and feel it in the air, early in the morning and late in the evening. It's coming, it's just taking it's own sweet time.Some leaves are falling already, and some are just beginning to turn yellow.

   Late in the afternoon we fired up the grills and cooked us some delicious protein. A Boston butt was slow roasted on the grill, along with a stack of hamburgers and some boneless chicken. Tacos were prepared in the camper . We may not have everything we need in camp, but we always eat good.

   "Big Mama" needed the AC most of all this weekend, you see she is borderline asmatic, so she did alot of catching up on her chick-flicks while I was rambling around the woods on the 4-wheeler. At night we enjoyed a camp fire to help and try to run off the mosquitos that were trying to tote off the small children in camp.

   All in all we had a great time.One of our neighbors near the club was rolling up hay in his pasture. It reminded me of all the great times coming up from here on till the end of the year. Archery season opens next Saturday, college football is wide open now, soon mums, pumpkins, and hay bales will take over my front porch, and all the friends, family, and holidays we've been looking forward to seeing will be here.

Hang on, it gets rowdy from this point on!

I hope you get to enjoy it as much as I plan to.

   Jim Cobb Coleman.

P.S.---ROLL TIDE!

BACK AGAIN I HOPE

   Just when I thought it was safe to write again, a thunderstorm came and a flash of lightning fried our router and modem. We've been down ever since.

   But all's well that ends well! NOW, IT'S TIME !!!!! Fall is just around the corner and I can't wait. This Saturday The University of Alabama kicks off it's football season, and archery deer season starts in three weeks ! Slowly the leaves are beginning to turn yellow and a few are starting to fall. The days are getting shorter little by little, and Cracker Barrel restaurants already have their Christmas tree up. Fall is surely just around the corner.

   Down at the hunting club a logging crew has arrived and they are removing trees on around 300 acres. It should open up a good bit of land for hunting that hasn't been hunted in years. The work crew has widened the logging roads but their equipment has made the roads a lot more muddier especially since we've been getting rain about 3 times a week. It should make for an interesting season.

   I know I speak for my whole family when I say we can't wait for cooler weather. The temps here are still in the 90's. It's definitely the "DOG DAYS" of summer. We're ready for mums, & pumpkins, & falling leaves, and a fat doe easing through the woods at 20 yards. ROLL TIDE !!!

   Welcome to Autumn!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

BUSY , BUSY , BUSY !!!!

   I know , I know , I haven't posted anything new in a long time.  I'm sorry. I've been very busy , and we've had some computer issues lately. It has been running so slow that when I got a chance , late at night to write , the computer was soooo slow I couldn't access the site and finally gave up and went to bed. Hopefully that's all straight now.

   I've been involved in re-training to go back to work ( part time ) with the Bullfrog Bottom School Board to drive a school bus once again. I still have all the necessary endorsements on my CDL, I just needed a recert. class. For the last few weeks I've been driving a bus all over the Bullfrog Bottom community practicing procedures and just getting the feel of the bus back again. I finished my testing yesterday and passed with flying colors! Now I just wait for school to start in a few weeks.

   I've been going down to the hunting property and doing some scouting and brush clearing for the upcoming hunting season. I recently acquired a new piece of property to hunt this year and found some great sign on it. With a little bit of pruning I believe it will be a great place to hunt this fall. It has a lot of deer and hog sign on it.

   Going along with my year-long project of how to live and save money and survive as cheaply as possible on your own, I recently purchased a very needed piece of equipment. To access all of the areas on our hunting land I needed a ATV.  4 wheelers and UTV's have gotten very expensive!!! I know guys who have paid double for a ATV than I did for my first car. Prices range from 4 to over 10 thousand dollars. A poor man can't afford something like that just to creep through the woods on to help get a deer out with.

   The way I went about finding my ATV was to look for a used one. There are a lot of good deals out there on used ATV's right now. In todays economy, people need money. If someone can't afford to go hunting they don't need a 4 wheeler sitting in the garage taking up space and slowly dry rotting away. Sometimes , someone will get a new one and no longer want their old one. If you look around good deals can be found.

   I had been looking for a couple of years for a good , cheaply priced 4 wheeler. Finally I came across what I was looking for. A used, well kept, good running, cheaply priced 4 wheeler. My cousin "Hawkeye" heard about someone who had one for sale. I called the man and we made a deal. After meeting and an inspection of the ATV and a test drive. I became the new owner of a 24 year old $500.00 ATV. 

   Yes it's old , and needs a little work done on it. BUT !!! It's in great shape and runs very well. I drove it all over our 2,500 acre hunting property and it performed perfectly! Once I do the few repairs I know I need to do on it I'll have an almost new vehicle.The man I bought it from is in my hunting club and had just purchased a new UTV. He no longer needed this one. Within an hour of purchasing my ATV , he called me on the cell phone and I had to help pull his new UTV out of a sink hole. The 24 year old ATV never got stuck all weekend long!

   Bargains are out there. You just have to be patient and hunt for them. Like I've said there's more than one way to skin a cat. The money I saved by buying a used 4 wheeler will help me on other items my family will need and hopefully help me put more meat in my freezer and on my table for years to come.

   Keep on hunting! ( food & bargains )

Jim Cobb Coleman.

HUNTING PREP. WORK

   Man am I wore out! These weekend excursions are killing me. I finally came home Sunday night around 9pm just to get a rest!

   We worked the whole weekend in camp and deep in the deer woods trying to do what's necessary to ensure an enjoyable hunting season coming up in a few months. It was late Friday night before I arrived in camp. Except for unloading the truck and trailer, not much else got done that night except some friendly conversations around camp.

   Early Saturday morning, after a good breakfast of oiled sausages, grits, and coffee, we first got to work leveling my new deck in front of my camper. My cousin "Hawkeye" and I dug the footings under each 4 x 4 post under the deck and placed a concrete paver under it. Even though we got an early start, the temps quickly climbed up into the mid 90's. We were soaked in sweat in no time, and thanks to having to crawl under the 8 x 16 foot deck I soon was covered in wet dirt.

   After the posts of the deck were securely on the pavers and the entire deck was leveled we ducked into the camper to cool down and take a quick Coke break to try and cool off for a little while. Next we loaded up the ATV's with tools and building materials and headed back in the woods to start to build a shooting house for "Hawkeye".

   "Hawkeye" was going to build a 18 foot tall shooting house. He fabricated a 6 x 6 foot house to go on top of the platform we would build in the woods. The platform would be made of 4 x 4 posts, tied together by 2 x 8's and 2 x 6's. The floor of the house would be 3/4 inch plywood that would later be covered by carpet. We came prepared. We brought a vendor tent so we could stop and rest in the shade, a shop fan, and a Honda generator to power all the tools. We had our camp chairs and a full ice chest to help and keep us hydrated. BOY did we drink some water and gatoraide!!!

   We worked a little while, and then we would take a rest. It was too hot to try and bulldoze our way through the job. Slowly but surely it started taking shape. We got around half of the stand built by evening time so we called it a day. We knocked off around 8pm, we were whipped!

   That night we cooled down, showered off, and cooked a good supper on the grill. We had B-B-Qued pork tender loins and baked beans for supper. It was good, but it was around 11:30pm by the time it was done. We ate and literally went to bed.  

   The next morning we had a little more pork for breakfast. We were aching from all the work we did the day before but still had another full days work before us. Other members of the club were also down for the weekend to work on their areas. A new member came over and asked how the construction was going and offered to help us finish it up. He had his 2 teenage sons down with him and a teenage friend of his son. Together we headed back out and made short work of the rest of the job. This new member saved us probably 4 or 5 more hours of work in the hot Alabama sun. By staying and helping us he delayed himself and his family from going home. This man lives 3 hours from hunting camp. He really just wanted to help and be a part of our club. Our hats are off to him and his boys. We look forward to when we can return the favor and help them out. This is what true sportsanship is all about. It takes good people to make a good hunting club.

   All that's left for "Hawkeye" to do is a little painting , build a proper set of steps to get in the stand with, and lay down carpet on the floor. This job is basically done. It took two trips to break down the worksite and get all the tools and equipment back to camp.

   After another cool down break in the camper, we loaded up on the ATV's and headed back into the big woods in search of a new area for me to hunt this winter. I located a beautiful hardwood bottom covered with plenty of white oak trees and plenty of deer and hog sign. The rolling hills were lit up by the hot sun shining through the dark green leaves of the oak trees. I can only imagine for now how beautiful this will look come fall of the year when the dark green leaves will have changed to amber, ocre, and crimson.

   A quick scouting mission tells me where the animals are crossing, and a quick scan of the tree line lets me see which oak tree I need to hang my portable on come September! Very little pruning will be necessary to open up a few good shooting lanes. This spot seems tailor made.

   Now that all of our chores are caught up for this weekend, we headed back to get ready to head home ourselves. It was after 9pm by the time I got home. It was a full , tiresome weekend, but we got alot accomplished. During the weekend we saw a few turkeys and a bunch of deer, and that's a big part of why we do what we do. As hunters we just don't kill animals in the winter, we live with them all year long. We love these animals, alive in the field and on the wall and in the freezer. And whether or not we kill something we really live just to be in the woods with them. Nothing beats the view from a deerstand.

   I hope you get to enjoy it too!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

WHAT A WEEK

   It is amazing how fast a week can fly by! Last weekend was full of work down at my hunting club property. I planned on an enjoyable week. It was hectic!

   The days flew by. Filled with work, running errands, trying to help out with my Mom and Dad, gardening, and general duties around the farm. It's been tiring.

   Dad is doing well, he is still weak, but strong enough to keep everyone else on there toes trying to keep an eye on him! Most days this week I dropped by after work and spent 4 to 5 hours a day visiting with him. The more we talk, the better he seems to be, and the better he seems to do at night. The better he rests at night, the more rest Mom can get. When I;m over Mom can get a break and sneak off and rest.

   The garden is doing well, I picked a good mess of produce the other day. We have a good supply of Roma tomatoes, okra, banana peppers, and Mortgage Lifter tomatoes. Hopefully we can make some tomatoe paste and have some fried okra and green tomatoes.

   We had a death in the family this week as well. Our Momma goat " Daisy Mae" died the other day. Apparently the victim of a snake bite. We noticed a swelling on the underside of her jaw, but could see no signs of injury other than the swelling. It went down a few days later and she was eating well the whole time. Then one day I didn't see here. The next day I went looking foe her and found her behind the barn. She will be missed. We raised her since she was a few months old. She was around 5 years old.

   Jim Cobb Coleman.

 

WEEKEND WORK

   Trying to prepare for next hunting season is a lot of work. It is a never ending battle fighting the jungle of briars and brush that's overtaking the trails and crossings through the woods near my hunting stands. Not having a fortune of money to go and rent some heavy equipment to do my dirty work for me, I must resort to a chainsaw, weed eater, and limb lopers and a lot of sweat and muscles.

   It looks like a wall of brush, but after a few hours of whacking away at it you can start to see a little headway. The side effects are a tired achy body covered in sweat and brush clippings, and a good old blister. The upside is the area is looking better and maybe it will be manageable between now and the start of the season.

   There are other stand locations that need attention as well. A couple of new stands need to be put up. Since I am on DAY 9 of my year long experiment, why not apply it to deer hunting ? A home made deer stand will still cost some money, but not as much as a commercially made one, and it will definitely be made out of better material.

   A lot of people are talking about bartering these days as I way of getting things you need. I have been able to acuire some things I need by salvage. It is amazing what people throw away these days. Even things that could easily be sold to someone is trashed. We have become a disposable society. It is too much trouble to bother with, so people just throw good things away.

   Recently I found building materials, paint, tools, and appliances that only need a little cleaning up. A recent find was a complete wooden deck that had been abandoned. All it took was a little muscle to relocate. Salvaging beats paying for it all day long. Just another way to save money and fend for yourself.

Jim Cobb Coleman.

GATOR DRAWING

   Did I feel lucky? NO I DIDN'T!!!

   Well the drawing for the lucky folks who will get to gator hunt in the state of Alabama this year is done. Needless to say, I didn't get my name drawn! AGAIN! This is twice I have applied to get the chance to go gator hunting with no luck. My cousin didn't get drawn either.

   Oh well! We tried. It is probably a good thing we didn't get drawn anyway. My wife would probably kill me if I brought home one of the 15 foot gators I fish around. I don't know where I would put a full body mount either.

   Better luck next year!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

DO I FEEL LUCKY?

   Well do I? I sure hope so. Anyway I'll find out for sure tomorrow when the lottery drawing for this season's Alabama gator hunt is over. By lunch time the drawing will be over and everyone will be notified by E-mail whether or not they will get to hunt this year.

   I know it would be a grand adventure! Imagine slipping onto the waters after dark on a hot summer night in search of a large pair of glowing red eyes, and 800 to 900 lbs of angry, hungry attitude. Yea that's right if we go, we're going after a big one. As big a one we can find.

   Since my cousin entered too, we stand a better chance with two of us in the running. No matter if only one of us gets drawn, the other one can go and help. It will be fun either way. Maybe we can get drawn and come away with some good meat and some great memories.

   We'll see tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

FAMILY TIME

   Yesterday I didn't get a chance to write a post for this blog. Please excuse me. I had to take the day to spend some time with my family. My Dad had a couple of  Dr. appointments to go to. He's not able to drive anymore and he is very weak on his feet. So I got to go and play chauffer and help where I could.

   It was nice to get to drive Dad's Crown Vic. Although , for it to be a big car it sure is hard for a big old boy like me to fold up and try and get under the wheel. NO LEG ROOM! In between Dr. appointments we stopped at a local store so Mom could do some grocery shopping. While she shopped, me and Dad grabbed a seat and a frosty root beer and talked awhile. He couldn't relax for fear that Mom was spending too much money! Some things never change.

   Everything went well at the Dr.'s offices. By the time we got home, they were wore out. I heard this morning that they got a good night 's sleep. If Mom can get Dad to stay up a little later at night I believe he will be able to sleep all night long, and she will be able to get a full night's rest as well.

   On a different vein, it's day 5 of my year long experiment. It takes alot of money too survive these days. It's a never ending struggle just to make it from day to day. I am doing as much as I can, and researching new ways to make more daily, but days like yesterday make you stop and realize what's most important. Right now making money is not important.

   Family is.

Jim Cobb.  

EXPERIMENT- DAY 3

   As I have said in the past, I am a hunter. I hunt because I love being in the woods. To live like the Indians did. To outwit my prey, and to feed my family. I love every aspect of the hunting lifestyle. I try to use everything of the animals I take.

   Last hunting season I was lucky enough to take a nice 8 point buck. The cost to mount the head by a taxidermist is around 400 dollars. That's a lot of money in today's tough economic times. So I decided to do a European mount. A European mount consists of the naked skull and horns attached to a board, cost around 20 dollars . BIG DIFFERENCE!!!

   I know not everyone is a hunter, so this method of saving money wouldn't work for everyone. But to us guys who do, it will allow us to have the difference in money to be able to go towards other things, and that's the name of the game.

   Earlier I began the process of mounting my deer skull by boiling the skull. Yesterday I bleached the skull to help in whitening it. After that I drilled a small hole into the back of the skull so it could be attached to the board it will be mounted on. This is my first time doing this , so it has been a learning process. Sure I made mistakes along the way, and I will improve on what I'll do the next time. But, I did the job at a fraction of the cost a traditional mount would have cost and I got done with it a lot quicker than it would have been by going to a taxidermist even if I paid them to do a European mount.

   I don't think it turned out too bad for my first try!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

ONE PLUS ONE = FISH

   One- If you go out to your worm bed and rake back all those leaves that have accumulated on your back two acre hardwood bottom since last year, you'll find a good supply of big , fat , juicy wigglers!

   PLUS!!!

   One- If you collect all those big , fat , juicy wigglers and throw them into an old tin can, you can take them and try to make a big ole fish bite tomorrow ( he said Saturday evening ).


   EQUALS= FISH!!!! (A.K.A.= SUPPER)

   This is my Dad . Two weeks after getting out of the hospital from having pneumonia. He's 77 years young! He was so excited about going fishing today he got up at 12:00am this morning ready to go. He caught 3 bass averaging around 2 &1/2 lbs a piece.  What a way to spend the morning!

   "Big Momma" got in on the action too! She tore up some big ole bluegills on those big old wiggle worms we raked up last night. Sure, we could have bought them at the bait store, but we saved 2 to 4 dollars by getting them ourselves. Those worms, used properly, brought us home 5 big bluegills and 3 largemouth bass. I came home this morning and cleaned and put up around 8 lbs of fish in our freezer for us to eat later.

   Since this is DAY 2 of my experiment let me say that even though it was just a fishing trip, it still worked out as a way to save money and fend for yourself. By going fisshing with home raised bait, I didn't have to spend any money. By catching and cleaning my fish, I put food up to feed my family later on down the road. Not to mention the fun we all had spending time together as a family!

   Take a kid fishing, maybe they'll get hooked for life!

   Jim Cobb Coleman.
  
  

EXPERIMENT- DAY 1

   Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of a year long experiment to see if I can practice what I preach about trying to be as self sufficient as possible. To not only feed my family and take care of their needs, but also make a living raising the money we need to live on.

   Of course everything went wrong right off the bat. I woke up to the news that our pantry had been over run with ants. This meant my new morning routine was cancelled until the problem at hand was fixed. This took hours. The pantry had to be cleaned out, and sprayed for ants, then re-sprayed, and then wiped clean. Then all the food staples had to be restocked in their proper places.

   Now that the morning was gone, I had to go over to my Mom & Dad's to stay with Dad while my Mom had a beauty shop appointment. My Dad is doing better since he got home from his stay at the hospital, but he is still weak. The main thing is he wants to ramble around like he used to do and he is very unstable on his feet. We're afraid he will fall and hurt himself.

   Since all of my plan didn't get implimented, I did try to do as much as possible even on a small scale . A way I know that anyone can bring some money home is to pick up aluminum cans. They are everywhere if you look for them . The problem is, most people drive right by them. To stand a chance to really get enough to be worth your while you have to get out and walk.  A good way to lose weight!This is also great excercise!

   I drove into town yesterday and watched the ditches as I rode along. When I started seeing a few along the shoulder of the road I pulled over, cut the truck off, and walked a little while and picked up what was lying there. A couple of stops like that and soon I had almost a whole garbage can full. If you check around the town you live in I am sure there are public parks, ballfields, and car washes. All of these places have public garbage cans. If you add them on your "can route", you'll be surprised how fast the amount of cans you can gather each day will add up. The last time I sold cans I got 80 cents a pound, it does add up if you wait until you have a good amount of cans before you go sell them.

   On Fridays I save some money on bread by going to our local "dollar store". A lot of things are a bargain at the dollar stores, but some are not. You have to compare the size amounts on the packages. But our local "dollar store" has a bread man who shows up on Fridays and brings brand name buns, and breads that normally sell for2 or 3 dollars for 1 dollar. Yes they are fast approaching the expiration sell by date, but I have never gotten old bread. If you plan on eating it that week it has always been just as soft and fresh as any I've paid full price for at the grocery store. It's a good way to save a few bucks you can use for some thing else.

   For anyone coming late to my party , (and shame on ya'll) , I grow a garden every year. The more you grow, the less you have to buy. It doesn't take a couple of acres to supply a lot of food for your table. You can literally grow all you need in your own backyard. I grow tomatoes and yesterday I picked some red and green Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, the red one are for BLT"s & sandwiches, and the green ones are for fried green tomatoes. We also grow Roma's for tomatoe paste.

   It sounds like alot , but all of my garden is only on less than a 1/4 acre. My tomatoe patch is only a couple of rows. But, we haven't bought a tomatoe all summer, and we won't probably the rest of the year. Throw in a few rows of peas, butterbeans, okra, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and egg plants and you got yourself a garden. It only takes 30 minutes to an hour a day and you can save a fortune at the grocery store.

   Oh well that was the good part of yesterday. On to today! More later as the day progresses.

Jim Cobb Coleman.

  

BULLFROGBOTTOM FARM INVADED

   Sometime in the night Bullfrog Bottom Farm was viciously attacked by a maurading army of "piss ants". Luckily there was only one casualty my box of cheerios. But, as we speak I am plotting a retalitory strike.

   Due to this unforseen emergency, my plans for my year long experiment on modern day survival in our fallen world had to take a slight delay. But only long enough for me to clean out the pantry and kill a lot of ants.

   We have had extreme temps. lately and a lot of severe thunderstorms that have sent the ants indoors looking for food and shelter. A minor set back in my plans. In a hour or so I plan to hit the streets to start my day.

   More later, now to battle!!!

Jim Cobb Coleman.

AN EXPERIMENT FOR A YEAR

   Starting tomorrow I will embark on a year long experiment to start practicing what I preach. I have dreamed most of my life of being able to farm, hunt, and fish for a living. To basicly be able to survive and make a living by myself without having to go anywhere else for my money.

   I've also had enough of going into a store to give them my hard earned money and being treated like I owe them something because I chose to shop there. They don't keep their shelves stocked half the time, they over charge what the products worth, and most times the products are not good for us or they are poorly made with low quality parts and workmanship. The other day I bought a T-shirt with an American flag on it that wasn't even made in the U.S.A. Enough is enough! Our economy is failing, we need to find a better way to live, supply our needs, and save money that we will need for other things later on.

   Another issue troubling America is our health. We have become a nation of sickly folks. There is no P.E. in schools anymore. Our children spend most of their time in front of a video game, our a computer the majority of each day. Anyway we can get out of physical work we do. There is nothing wrong with resting, but somewhere along the way you have to do something to rest from. Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer kill millions every year. A little excercise could go along way toward preventing some of this. Eating home grown and raised food would be an improvement to many folks considering ths horror stories in the news today of what they are putting into our food.

   So starting tomorrow join in as I start practicing what I preach and document the daily grind and changes I'll be going through to see if I can be as self sufficient as possible and still survive. I'll try to show ways I've figured out to earn a dollar and stretch a dollar. I too have gotten out of shape since my boyhood days of playing ball.I need to shape up hopefully to prevent the health pitfalls of old age. In the morning my new workout regime begins. Since I'm not a millionaire, everything I do will things anyone else can do. No money required, & no gym memberships. What we have to shop for we will try to avoid the big stores as much as possible, there are other ways to get what we need. The more options we have the better it is for us.

Come check out how the poor folks live, it might be better for you than you think.

Jim Cobb Coleman.

TRUE LOVE

   Ain't nothing free in this world but true love and home grown tomatoes!

   Black eyed peas, banana peppers, cayenne pepper, and a few Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are fairly cheap too! Just a little sample from today's trip to the garden.

   Jim Cobb.