WEIRD WIDE WORLD OF VOO

HOLIDAY HI-JINKS 2009

2010-01-06T10:36:00.001-08:00

MERRY AFTER CHRISTMAS

This will be a very short blog with just a few random photos of the holiday season as experienced by some of the inhabitants of weird wide world of voo.....

PRE CHRISTMAS

Madi prepares to decorate Xmas cookies.......... she also decorated her nose.

Finished product.....

Guests at the Farm Bureau office party, on Dec 18, seem to be enjoying the refreshments....

Spike enjoys big snow storm that occurred prior to Xmas.......

Lots of snow....

Snow at farm.......

Spike and Blade Runner.....

Blade finds snow.....

TUCKER CHRISTMAS PARTY DECEMBER 23

Madi at the Tucker Xmas party.....

Annie and a couple of her brats.......

The Wanks......

Sally was not invited......

Tag and Max......

Sarah and Brett.......

I took several photos of Mad Cow Griffin and this one turned out to be the best........

Wiley, Riot, and Lindsey.........

Spike befriends a homeless guy outside the party at a Provo soup kitchen......

Itty Bitty Martha and Milo....

Lindsey's engagement ring from Riot..... congratulations!!!!!!!!

Jackie gives a pleasant look to Costanza....... which he probably deserves.

Cat Woman, F Bomb, and The Wolf......

Jackie with grandkids...... Lucy and Jack

The Costanzas.......notice that Jackie appears to be feeling fine.

Little Ada and Little Martha in the middle a wine drinking contest that got totally out of hand.

Three more grape enthuiests....

Opie and Annie .....

Lucy, Hank, and Max

As usual, Brett and Curt were the life of the party....

Milo, Teeny Weeny Martha , and Mini Martha.......

We had to leave the party early to pick up the Leaf Eaters at the Salt Lake airport.... thusley, we missed Santa Claus and the kids talent show....

THE NEXT DAY

SLEIGH RIDING AT THE FARM

Snow covers the farm tent....

Three pals......Blade, Sally, and Spike...

Two sisters.....

Spike and Tag warm up in tent.....

Madi, A Man, Tulip, and Bubba get ready to roll...

Tag takes off....

Oil shows up with two of his grandbrats......

Wire Nut pulls some Tiny Terrors....

Tag on the line....

Madi gets strung along.....

Madi and Tulip...... crusin cousins..

Tag takes five..

Tag enjoys a hot cup of coffee by the camp stove.....

Lunch time.......

A-Man and mom take a break....

CHRISTMAS EVE AND CHRISTMAS DAY

Bubba is very good with the guitar and at vocalizing old rock n roll.....

Loot......

Sisters.......

Tulip models snuggy.....

Bubba feeling the effects of the "special" egg nog.....

Rocking with Bubba.......

Xmas Eve Dinner.......

Grams and Tulip.......

Toys for Tulip.....

Teen Teen and Tulip......

Tag in new shirt.....

Tag in new fishing vest.....

Xmas day..........

Buba and Wire Nut in their new Sox jackets........ definitely not to be confused with Becket and Ellsbury.

X mas quilts.... made by Zoobee.

Tiny Terrors in new fishing vests......

In front of tree...

Spike needs a vest too.......

Christmas cousins........

Terrific gift blanket from Oil Can.....

Xmas quilt made by Zoobee..........

Bubba appears to be blasted again.........

MORE SLEIGH RIDING

Day after Xmas......

Madi shows spike how it's done......

Wire Nut.....

Teen Teen.......

Madi....

Bubba......

A-Man

Tulip.....

Tag.....

A -Man.....

Tulip and Tag......

Tag....

Tag.....

Tulip and Teen Teen......

Tulip....

Getting warm... Opie holds her new baby. She is expecting another one in Februrary...

Back at the house and story time .... also thumb sucking time.....

A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY WITH OIL

Later in the week....

Geese at Palisade......

Rooster at the farm........

Deceased Coyote displayed by Oil Can. Oil shot this varment from the cab of his pickup without even rolling down the window. It was, honestly, over three hundred yards away and ready to pounce on a helpless lamb.

NEW YEARS EVE

Careful with that paw, Spike....

Spike is enjoying this....

Tulip loves ice cream....

Now it's Blade's turn to get some attention......

Once again, Bubba appears to be bagged and Teen Teen cuddles with Blade.....

We all went to bed early because we had to leave for the airport at 4:00AM the next morning. Another holiday season comes to it's end.

NEXT WEEK

BRAND NEW KNOTS FOR 2010

MORE FLY TYING TIPS

DOG TRICKS

SURPRISES

PRE CHRISTMAS JOURNEY TO THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT

2009-12-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS APPROACHES

HAVE YOU BEEN NAUGHTY OR NICE?

STRANGE BUT TRUE -- CHRISTMAS EDITION

A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME

A big part of my Christmas tradition is a duck hunting excursion through southern Utah with my good friend, Oil Can. This territory is where Oil Can was born and grew up. It consists of Piute and Garfield counties. Eventually the inhabitants of these counties had had enough of Oil Can and he was driven out. That's how Sanpete County got stuck with the Can.

The good citizens of Circileville, Utah, escorting Oil Can out of town.... about 1984.

Although Oil left his boyhood town on somewhat less than favorable circumstances,

he still has an extreme fondness for this area and goes back there often. I go with him at least once year for the hunting experience and also because it is a very beautiful and interesting area.

This year our hunting trip started out like any other, but little did I know that Oil Can's truck would turn into .......

.......the Wayback Machine.

THE STRANGE JOURNEY BEGINS......

It all started on a Saturday morning. Oil Can showed up early at my house. Spike and I were ready to go....

Cruising With The Can

Although most people who know Oil Can try to keep their time spent with him at a minimum, Spike really likes him and loves to go cruising with him. Even I have learned that a small amount of time spent with Oil is not all that bad, if confined to a limited basis........

We left Manti and headed south on 89. We, then, went through Siguard, Koosharem, and came to Otter Creek Reservoir. We, then, proceeded to the little community of Antimony.
(see above)

Oil's last friend from that area , Tom Wiley, gave us permission to hunt ducks on his farm....

It was on this farm that we first felt we had traveled back in time. Above is a very old, but classic, tractor.

Another tractor on the Wiley farm........

Finally, to the delight of Spike, we found a few mallards....

Spike retrieving a hen mallard....

Spike now has a greenhead.....

It was crisp cold day with snow covered ground.....

Spike takes his bird to Oil....

Pals.....

Oil and Spike

Two of my friends who are known by their fondness for posing.........

Spike never takes his eye of his prize.....

This pretty much ended all of the hunting on our hunting trip as we did not find anything else to hunt the rest of the day. We got back in the truck and headed south towards Black Canyon..

We stopped at the Antimony Mercantile for coffee and homemade pie...

The coconut cream pie was delicious........

I did not really eat all this. I just mainly drank coffee....

Back on the road on HW 22..........

Entering Black Canyon.......

An old pioneer house sits lonely along the road.....

The Antimony grist mill-- it has been closed down since the 1920s.

Old grist mill in Black Canyon.....

At one time most the grain in Garfield Country went through this mill....

Oil and his high school buddies went through the mill one Halloween night and he swears that it is haunted.......

HIGHWAY 22

Oil says this is the longest stretch of straight highway in the United States. It is definitely very lonely. After we left the Antimony cafe we did not see another vehicle for three hours...

Finally we came to the ghost town of Widstoe....

This sign marks the spot of an old Mormon ghost town named Widstoe along Highway 22.....

Widstoe school house......

Old truck......

Biggest remaining house in Widstoe....

The Mormon bishop must have lived here. Poor land and a lack of water led to the community's demise.....

Oil also claims this house is haunted......

Another old Widstoe dwelling.....

On we go down the road to the Widstoe Cemetery....

Widstoe Cemetery sign on HW 22....

The Widstoe Cemetery is located in a very beautiful spot with gorgeous pinion trees...

It is also the number one cemetery in the US for plastic flowers per capita grave......

It is common to find photos on the grave stones. Many people who had relatives from Widstoe chose to be buried here even though they never lived here.

Many of the people buried here were known by Oil Can...

Lots of plastic......

Oil knew this couple.....

Some graves had individual fences........

That's not Bigfoot.... it's the pride of Piute County.

This is the number one most popular grave based on plastic offerings...

Another headstone photo..

Bird house and wreath...

Plastic dog with broken nose.....

Plastic cow......

Bird house....

Plastic cowboy boots.....

Voo and Spike ponder the meaning of life while surrounded by death....

Smallest grave marker which simply said BROWN on it.....

An old carton of Coke.....

A family bench.....

A soldier.......

We left the cemetery after about a half hour and headed down the road...

Back on HW 22 and a pretty drive further south. Lots of ponderosa pines and finally the junction at Bryce Canyon. Instead of going to Bryce, we headed West on HW 12 and then turned right on HW 89 towards Panguitch.

On the way to HW 89 we went through a beautiful place called Red Canyon. We went through two big tunnels and it proved to be very scary for Oil and Spike....

Approaching a Red Canyon tunnel...

Coming out the other end......what a relief.

Red ledges....

Red towers........

Red Riding Hood......

Back on 89.....

We stopped in Panguitch and had coffee with old friends, Glen and Barbara Leach.

Oil Can's mother was from Panguitch and he knows everybody in town. Many people living in Panguitch still know Oil Can but are careful not to advertise that fact.

Bird houses at the Leach house in Panguitch.

On the road again....

We thought we were headed back North on 89. All at once we weren't too sure....

Suddenly Spike's hair started to stand on end as we passed this road sign..

Could it be that we were actually headed south on Hells' Highway, 666, instead of North on 89?

Even Oil's hair started to stand up on his head when came to the sign post up ahead........and our next stop.....................

I initially spotted an old tractor which immediately caught my attention. At first glance I thought it might be a candidate for " Voo's Tractor Of The Week." Oil Can was driving and went by the tractor before I could get a photo of it but something caught my eye and I asked Oil to turn around. Sure enough, when we pulled up to the tractor we couldn't believe our eyes.

Sitting at the wheel of the old tractor, right before our eyes, was the dead farmer who owned the tractor. He had been dead for a long time.

(see below)

This old boy had long since plowed his last furrow on this old three-wheeled tractor...

Low and behold, next to the ghostly tractor sat an old steam roller holding the long
dead body of , what we presumed, was the farmers wife.

(see below)

Mrs. Dead Farmer on the steam roller from hell......

Sitting between the tractor and steam roller was a riderless motorcycle. The really weird thing was the fact the bike was standing up by itslef with no visible means of support.....

I am not sure, but I would would swear that looking out of the corner of my eye, the dead farmer raised his right hand towards us. Oil saw it too. I glanced over at Spike and his back hair was standing straight up.

We also thought we saw Mrs. Dead Farmer turn her head towards us......

All at once the old tractor fired up and started to run. At that point we decided to get the hell out of there. Spike had already started the truck as Oil and I jumped in. Away we went, down what was apparently, hell's highway, looking for an exit from Garfield County's version of The Twighlight Zone.

Spike driving us away from the Garfield County's ghost farm....

As Spike was driving us away, my camera happened to be aimed at the rear view mirror and I accidently snapped a photo. When I looked in the view finder, this is what I saw in the back seat of our truck......

When I turned around ....... it was gone.

We were very glad to get out of Garfield County...............

Next stop on 89 was in Piute county at the actual birth place of outlaw Butch Cassidy.

Butch's home home lies at the extreme south end of the pleasant city of Circleville. The home has been raveged by souvenir hunters. Every brick of the fire place and chimney has been stolen. All the floor boards have been pulled up and looted also.

Butch Cassidy

This is the home in Circleville where Butch Cassidy grew up. It has been occupied throughout the years until only recently.

We, then, journeyed through Oil's home town--- the town square.

Nativity scene at the city square....

In many cities across the USA natativy scenes are not allowed any more. Not so in Circleville...

Located next to the nativity scence is the absolutley nicest war memorial I have ever seen in the entire state of Utah.....

Circleville War Memorial

There have never been more that 400 people populating Circleville. Like all other small towns across America, it is amazing to see how many men served their country from these little towns in times of conflict.

A few of the names......

Above you can see the name of Harold Authur Gottfredson. This is Oil Can's dad who passed away several years ago. Unlike Oil Can, Arthur was one of my personal heros. He was a shinning example of what Tom Brokow called the "greatest generation." Arthur grew up on the family farm in Circleville where he excelled in athletics and was also an excellent scholar. When WW2 came along Arthur enlisted in the Navy and served for over two years as a gunner's mate on a destroyer in the Pacific theatre. Arthur was in the heat of battle many times and saw considerable action. After the war he returned home, with no complaints, and carved out a very successful life as a star athlete at Utah State University, farmer, educator, world traveler, and family man. He was always very kind and gracious. With the exception of Oil Can, he and his wife, Jean, raised a terrific family of two boys and two girls. He was a leader in his church and his community. He never forgot who he was or where he came from. He was loved and respected by all who knew him. He and Jean are buried in the Circleville Cemetery.

Soldier statue at memorial....

Always on guard....

Spike looks in awe.....

Circleville is like many small towns in southern Utah. The economy has not been good. Many stores have closed down and many old homes have been abandoned.

Old home in Circleville......

Old Circleville house....

Old store in Circleville......

Northwest of Circleville is Oil Can's farm. It consists of about 5 acres and a very good well.

Oil looking over his spread.....

Someone, probably one of Oil's wronged girl friends (and there are many), had burned down part of his corrals and stolen some metal gates. The crime remains unsolved in Piute County.

Continuing our journey south on 89 we came to a farm house outside of Junction that is well know for it's Xmas decorations....

Mrs. Sudwicks is well known for her plastic representation of Christmas.

The number one house for exterior illumination in Kingston, Utah....

Abandoned service station on the way to Junction. Oil says it closed down because it was robbed so many timess..

Definitely self service.......

North of Junction is there cemetery.....

Oil says it's the uglest cemetery in Utah. It is very unusual with the rock terraces and absolutely no grass......

Old house on the way to Marysvale...

Wild turkeys on a street in Marysvale.......

Another abandoned service station.............

Christmas decoration in Marysvale, UT

Marysvale was also the home town of movie actress Marie Windsor.....

(below)

Marie Windsor was a sultry movie star of the 1950s ..........

Marie Antonete was queen of France and is no relation to Marie Windsor.....

Marie Osmond was a heavyweight dancer and is no relation to Marie Antonete.....

On with the tour....

Old courthouse....

Old store....

Old cars.......

Old truck.....

Old jail.......

And finally, a fond farewell to Piute Country.................

Old gas station at Big Rock Candy Mountain....... and then it's back to civilization.

MANTI AT DUSK

We arrive back into the hustle bustle world of Manti at sundown. We are already looking forward to next year's trip to southern Utah and a step back in time.....

Until next time.........

Next week:

TULIP AND THE LEAF EATERS ARIVE IN MANTI FOR CHRISTMAS

TUCKER CHRISTMAS PARTY

CHRISTMAS EVE

CHRISTMAS DAY

THANKS FOR TUNING IN.........

.....voo

WEIRD WIDE WORLD OF CHRISTMAS TREES +DECEMBER NEWS BULLETINS

2009-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

MERRY ALMOST CHRISTMAS

WEIRD WIDE WORLD OF CHRISTMAS TREES 2009

A Christmas tree is defined as a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom of erecting a Christmas tree can be traced to 16th century Northern Germany.

A Christmas tree in 1848

Around 1900........

Around 1950............. this is similar to the ones I grew up with.

An outdoor Xmas tree at the Rockefeller Center in NY.

An artificial indoor tree......

A real indoor tree.......

Besides these traditional trees, there seems to be an infinite number of other types of Xmas trees...

Outdoor tree with a few too many hot lights......

Zoobee's tree decorated by the Tiny Terrors...... including....

Santa on a Mallard.....and....

Spike's stocking hanging next to the tree......along with..

Voo's......

Manti, UT

A beer bottle tree like the one in Riley's apartment......

Provo, Ut

Kristin stands next to the Farm Bureau Christmas tree

with it's skull lights and one ornament....

Manti, UT

A pink Christmas tree??????

A Tiger Woods Christmas tree.....

Another outdoor artificial tree......

A white flocked tree ...... very popular in the 1960s.

A black flocked Christmas tree, very popular with my sister, Lil Lois. Notice the unique skull arrangement....

Los Angeles, CA

A colored glass tree...

A Kramer Tree

My good friend Kramer in Vermont often forgets when it's time to take down his Christmas tree....

Burlington, VT

A Polly Tree

Santa Fe, NM

Note: My nephew, Scroge Marconi, is such a tight ass that he won't buy a real tree. Instead, he makes his lovely wife, Polly, wear this Xmas tree outfit, stand over presents in a corner on Christmas morning, and watch their darling children open their "gifts" that they had to pay for themselves.

A really ugly tree....

A weirdly lighted type tree...

Here is a tree decorated with a very small woman that looks like Michelle Pfeiffer...

A Red Neck tree like the one in the front room of Randy Griffin AKA Officer Dangle AKA Mad Cow....

Lehi, UT

This tree is made entirely of tinsel...

Here is another 1950s tree belonging to movie star Julie Adams......
(movie star in "The Creature From The Black Lagoon")

Here is a tree that is exactly like the one I had while attending Utah State University with Jim Petersen in 1968. However, this tree may be standing up a little better than ours.....

Another beer bottle tree like the one in Wyatt's apartment.....

Provo, UT

A very bright outside tree......

Former Miss Manti pageant winners decorating the Manti City Xmas tree....

A Jacques Cousteau Xmas tree.....

The Cat Woman's wine bottle tree.....

Seattle, WA

A perky little tree with red trimmings......

Jayne Mansfield stands on a stool, hoping to not fall over forward, as she decorates the top of her Xmas tree in 1957.......

My own personal favorite......

An outdoor Xmas tree at Oil Can's house.....

Ephraim, UT

A pac-man tree........

Marilyn Monroe tree ornaments.......

F Bomb's Xmas tree...........
Seattle, WA

Little Martha erected and decorated this tree after a night out with the girls. I think Vespa Queen, Double Clutch, Tina Turner, and The Soup Nazi must have helped her.

Provo, UT

President Obama's tree......

Washington, DC

Another outdoor tree at Oil Can's........................

Ephraim, UT

Stainless Steel Stabile wanted to be a little different last Xams and ended up doing this. This is also the way he installs bathtubs.

Berkeley, CA

A tree from the 1940s.....

As you can see, Xmas trees are like snow flakes, with no two being exactly the same. As long as you have one, that's what counts.....

DECEMBER NEWS OF THE WEIRD

NEWS FLASH ...NEWS FLASH.... NEWS FLASH

CHRISTMAS RIVALRIES GET OUT OF HAND

DATE LINE: MANTI, UTAH

Two brothers, who are normally the very best of friends, have crossed the line into insanity this Christmas season. At least, one of the brothers did. Andy Cox is a mild mannered, well liked, church going, and respected businessman in Manti, Utah. He is also a very kind family man and pillar of the community. His brother, Karl, is almost as good. Every year they try to outdo each other in, what used to be, a friendly rivalry concerning outdoor Christmas decorations. This year, Andy became infuriated when Karl's house seemed to be getting most of the compliments.
Their houses were decorated very similar with one exception. Karl's house displayed a very unique and attractive star on the front of his roof. Not to be out done.......

ANDY COX WENT GRISWOLD..

(see below)

The Andy Cox home

NEWS FLASH -- NEWS FLASH-- NEWS FLASH

DATELINE: EPHRAIM, UT

Contrary to recent newspaper headlines around the nation, Oil Can denies that he has ever had an affair with Tiger Woods. Mr. Can was quoted as saying "These are a vicious pack of lies and slandering statements that have no ounce of truth in them what so ever. My imppecible reputation as a leader in the community and a big wheel in the school distract has suffered
irreparable damage."

Tiger Woods refuses to comment.....

Oil Can during happier times......

MR. AND MRS TIGER WOODS

The day after Thanksgiving.

NEWS FLASH --- NEWS FLASH - NEWS FLASH

DATELINE: LOS ANGELES, CA

Joyce Eliason AKA Lil Lois has come forward insisting that her name and number are on Tiger Wood's cell phone. As many readers know Ms. Eliason is a sponsor of this blog, a quiz judge on this blog, and a frequent quiz winner on this blog. She is quoted as saying "I gave the best years of my life to that sleazy little bastard and the son of a bitch won't even return my calls."
Mr. Woods has refused to comment....

Ms Eliason

NEWS FLASH--- NEWS FLASH----NEWS FLASH

DATELINE: POINT BARROW, ALASKA

Santa may be a little slower making the rounds this year. He has one less flying reindeer to help pull the load. Yes, you heard correctly. Santa's faithful reindeer, Blitzen, was recently "harvested" by ex Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin. Mrs. Palin was quoted as saying, "Sure I knew it was Blitzen, but, I am out of work, have many mouths to feed, Bristol is knocked up again,and my lazy ass husband, Todd, can't hold down a job. Besides that, I truly believe that killing reindeer is what Christmas is all about."

Blitzen's obituary will be published in the Arctic Messenger this coming Tuesday.

SARAH BLASTS BLITZEN

Piper Palin, Sarah Palin, and Blitzen (deceased).

That's all the news that is news till next week.

Christmas Wreath Rita says......

"There are "barely" 10 shopping days till Xmas...."

Next week ...... Xmas surprises

......voo

SPIKE'S NEW FRIEND - SOME XMAS LISTS

2009-12-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

" Hi everybody. Spike reporting here."

"Recently I have had the honor of entertaining a new friend at the house I occupy with the Voo family. My new friend is a female Lab (bitch) named Braiden AKA Braid AKA Blade. Voo likes to call her Blade. She belongs to Voo's good friend, Nate Brandon. As you might know, Nate is recovering from a motorcycle accident and Blade is living with us for a while during Nate's rehab."

Blade is much younger than I am and I'm teaching her to
sit, stay, come, fetch, beg for table scraps, and chase cats.

We went for a long run yesterday looking for cats. The two photos above show Blade in the sit position. This is the first time she has actually sat still in over two weeks.

Blade is a very attractive bitch.......

I really enjoy having someone to run with and hang out with. At least I thought I did....

Blade on the couch...........

Me on the floor.......

"What's wrong with these last two photos? This is obviously not working out the way I intended."

.....Spike

VOO'S ALL TIME FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

NUMBER ONE

CHRISTMAS VACATION 1989

This movie speakes for itself....

A visit from cousin Eddie is very similar to a visit from Oil Can.

NUMBER TWO
BABES IN TOY LAND AKA MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS
with Laural and Hardy
1934

Laural and Hardy are workers in Santa's work shop.

My friends and I used to watch this movie every Xmas season on an old RCA black and white TV on our living room floor at 402 North Main.

It was, and still is, one of my all time favorite Laural and Hardy movies.

Toyland.....

NUMBER THREE

A CHRISTMAS STORY 1983

Costanza still wears pajamas just thike these.

One of the big attractions of this movie to me is that it takes place at a time that was pretty close to my own. Our winter coats were like those in the move. The schools desks were the same. The department store Xmas windows loooked the same. The big department stores in SLC were decorated the same. I too sent for the Ovaltine decoder ring. Every boy in Manti wanted a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. The magic age to get one for Xmas was 8 years old.

VOO'S LEAST FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIES

All the other Christmas movies ever made.............

VOO'S FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONGS

1. Blue Christmas ----- Elvis

2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas------Frank Sinatra

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas--- Ella Fitsgerald

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ----- Diana Krall

4. Sleigh Ride ----- The Ronettes

5. Let It Snow ----- Karl and Joanne Tucker

Voo's Least Favorite Christmas Songs

All the rest......

That's it from The North Pole of Utah.

Tune in soon for more Christmas cheer.

.....voo

THANKSGIVING 2009

2009-12-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

THANKSGIVING IN UTAH 2009

Thanksgiving Day is pretty much defined as a harvest festival celebrated primarily in The United States and Canada. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks to God for the harvest and express gratitude to others for our many blessings........"WRONG, CRANBERRY BREATH!!!!

TO THE MEN CITIZENS OF MANTI, UTAH, THANKSGIVING IS A WEEKEND OF HUNTING!!!!"

Thanksgiving morning finds Spike and Sally running in the field with one thing in mind ....... fetching pheasants.

Sally returns from a long retrieve with a nice rooster.

My good buddy Marconi and his lovely wife, Polly, came to Manti for Thanksgiving primarily just to hunt. The above photo is of Marconi and his little buddy, Tagalong Cox.

Milo Rowen is ready for action along with other members of the Tucker contingent.

Wire Nut and his Tiny Terrors prepare to take to the field.

Spike retrieving.

Ready to hand off his prize.

The Wolf Clan after a successful day in the field. Milo, who up till now, has been somewhat less than impressive, made some outstanding shots. Wiley and Riot did likewise. Not to be outdone, the Wolf also added to the bag limit.

Chloe takes aim at a target while Riley gives advice.

Tiny Terrors taking aim at targets during a lull in the action.

Oil and Spike take a break in the hunting camp tent.

Back working the fields.

Little Dude.

Sally with another nice retrieve.

Big Dude and his pointing little buddy, Buzz Saw.

Buzz and Dude, among others.

Big and Little Dude with their daily take.

Spike

ditto.....

Marconi and friends chowing down lunch at the camp table.

TIME FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER

After the hunting was over, we journeyed to American Fork for a terrific dinner as the guests of Milo and Hailey AKA Minny Martha Rowen. Most of the family was there and it was a fantastic dinner.

Lem, Little Georgia, Little Ada, Mona Lisa,and Marconi pose at the table.

Milo and Shellie, The Cat Women, join the table.

More posing...

The Bomb Family
F Bomb and Cat Woman

It appears that Cat Woman may have had a little too much cat-nip.

Marconi carves the two turkeys that were so fabulously prepared by Little Martha in her world famous double oven kitchen.

Some of the Tiny Terrors load up on good grub.

Cat Woman and Little Martha tear the Rowan house apart trying to find the cork screw.

Mini Martha did an excellent job as hostess to the dinner. Maybe the smartest thing she did was arrange a table in a separate room for the Tiny Terror brats.

Mona Lisa Rowen gives Marconi a lesson in how to chew his food properly.

Later at Lem's house it's time for family photos. Where is Costanza?

The Wank family.

The Wolf Family.

Thanks to Little and Minny Martha and their families for such an outstanding Thanksgiving dinner and experience.

BACK IN MANTI

Sunday night and time to make gingerbread houses.

Tiny Terrors pose before their creation.

COOKING WILDLIFE WITH RANGER BOB

Howdy folks. I have a special treat for all of you readers this week. Yeah, that's right, real special. I have a guest chief who is none other, than the world famous Chef Marconi from Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had Chef Marconi flown in directly to the Manti International Airport for the purpose of demonstrating his prize winning method of cooking wild pheasants.

As you know, earlier in the week we harvested a few pheasants at Voo's farm. After cleaning them and boning them we ended up with an impressive pile of meat.

The first step in the recipe is to butterfly the breasts (after taking hours to dig out the BBs and feathers). Then pound them out to a very thin rectangle.

The second step is to saute some ingredients to roll up in the pheasant breasts. Chef Marconi used bacon bits, onions, mushrooms, cheese, celery, and secret herbs and spices. He cooled this mixture.

Marconi's lovely assistant, Polly, prepares an excellent side dish of roasted garlic potatoes.

When the mixture is cooled and the breasts are ready it is time to.........

stuff the breasts. After the stuffing is placed in the center of the breasts, carefully roll and tie the roll into a neat loaf.

The rolls were then browned and poached in a special pheasant broth created earlier in the day.

This pheasant roll was sliced and served with the potato side dish and this tasty cauliflower side. A large green salad rounded out the meal and added color.

Here is a photo of the pheasant rolls ready to serve.

Wirenut digs to the best pheasant dinner he has ever tasted.

Madi would rather have had chicken strips.
Chef Marconi had a hit. He is ready to submit his new creation to Martha Stewart soon. Everyone at the dinner had a wonderful time. We all owe the Marconies a big thanks.

IMPORTANT NEWS BULLETIN

Spike will be in starting his western tour next week promoting his new autobiography

"Spike
Going Rouge
An American Life"

He will be signing copies of his book at bookstores, pet stores, and city pounds throughout the intermountain area. Check your local paper to see when he will be in your town. Yes, the lines will be long, but be sure and take the time and effort to chat with Spike, shake his paw, and purchase the fascinating story of this most remarkable canine.

Next Week

Preparing for a Blue Christmas .... NOT

THANKSF OR TUNING IN

.......voo

GUNS R US -- SPIKE SCORES A DOUBLE - - DON'T BE LATE TO THE DINNER FOR NATE

2009-11-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Not too long ago it was time for the 2009 Ducks Unlimited Dinner in Provo. This year it was hosted by the Dude and a couple of the Tiny Terrors were fortunate enough to attend.

Above, Maddi deposits tickets into a raffle bucket hoping to win a prize.

As you can see there are a lot of tickets in the bucket.

My good friend, Windmill Andy, concentrates hard to make sure he spells his name correctly on the silent auction.

Wolf and Little Martha are in attendance and keep the wine steward busy.

Oil Can and Windmill Andy enjoying life. Windmill underwent serious heart bypass surgery earlier this year and is now doing fine. He has had a strenuous recovery period and we are all glad to see him back on his feet and spreading his normal good cheer.

Little Dude sits by Oil Can. Oil Can is very happy whenever anyone is willing to sit by him in public.

Big Dude has a wicked smile on his face.

Alex is called up front to pull the winning ticket out of a bucket. The winner gets a new shotgun.

And the winner is........

The Dude!!!!!!!!!!

Note: This gun and another that the Dude won will be given away along with many other items at a fund raising dinner which will be highlighted later in this posting.

In the next drawing, Maddi wins a BB gun.

Right after that, the Wolf wins a 22 rifle and graciously gives it to Alex.

Wolf and the two Tiny Terrors....

As Aunt Kristeen and Aunt Joanne always say, a family that shoots together stays together.

All in all, it was a fun filled dinner and we all look forward to the next one.

SPIKE SCORES A DOUBLE

What exactly is a double?

In baseball it is a two base hit.

In fishing it is when you and your buddy each have one on at the same time.

It can also mean you are fishing with two flies and have a fish on each one.

In bird hunting it is when you shoot two birds quickly with consecutive shots.

And in the world of dogs it is when you tree two cats up the same tree at the same time.

In all of Spike's life, he has only been able to do this once.

(see below)

It happened the other day while we taking Spike on his daily run AKA known as the cat treeing run AKA known as the Costanza run.

Oil Can spotted a cat and we let Spike out of the the car. Suddenly there was another cat and before we knew it, both cats were up the same tree.

Spike looking up. It was a very proud moment for him.

Both cats looking down. It was a very embarassing moment for them.

After watching these intelligent impaired felines for a few minutes we left them in peace..

Spike was especially proud of his latest, possibly once in a lifetime, achievment.

About six weeks ago, as many of you know, The Dude's son in law, Needles Nate, was involved in a motorcycle accident. He suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injuries. Although Nate had good health insurance he is still in need of financial help for the long recovery process. The Dude and some of his friends are hosting a fundraising dinner on Nate's behalf. It will follow the same format as a Ducks Unlimited dinner with auctions and raffles. If possible, please try and attend, donate a prize, or buy some raffle tickets. Nate, his wife Kendall, and their daughter, Ashlyn are a terrific young family and will really appreciate any help you might be able to give. It also will be a very fun filled evening.

Log on to their blog at:

http://www.nateandkendallfundraiser.blogspot.com/

Thanks to all for tuning in. Next posting will be a report on Thanksgiving weekend.

.......voo

FISH AND PHEASANTS - - NOT MUCH ELSE

2009-11-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

MORE FUN UNDER AUTUMN SUN 2009

Fish and Pheasants

The bi-annual bi-sexual Manti guys fishing trip was held this year on the third weekend of October and a good time was had by all. The Manti guys were special guests this year of our good friend, Road Kill AKA Gordon Knudson. Road Kill (RK) has a cabin located in Island Park, Idaho, and we had the privilege of being his guests for several days of excellent fishing and male bonding. Accompanying me were my moderately good friends Uker Shand, Newbee , and last but certainly least, Oil Can. We hooked up with RK in Tremonton,Ut. and convoyed up to Island Park. RK and his wife Patti have a terrific log cabin that we really felt privileged to share.

Newbee and Uker

(below)

Always in a delightful mood......

Oil Can and Road Kill are always in a gay mood....

RK's cabin..........

The Great room of RK's cabin which also includes three bedrooms and six beds.

Dining area.........

Uker and RK relax after a hard day of traveling.....

As most everyone knows, fishing is serious business. We planned to fish Henry's Lake one day with fly rods and fish the Madison River with spinning rods the next day. Planning a fishing excursion requires much thought, careful organization, and implementing the correct procedure...

Planning session number One.........

Planning session number Two......

Planning session number three........

Resting from our planning sessions......

Finally it is time to execute the plans and go fishing........

In the phot0 above I am hooked up with a five pound trout on Henry's Lake. You will notice the gentleman standing next to me. His name is Olaf Oddbjord and he is a retired Norwegian fisherman. I often take him with me to net my fish.

I slowly bring the huge trout close to the boat as Olaf prepares to secure it. Meanwhile, the boat driver, Newbee, skillfully attempts to not run over my line.

Olaf is successful in securing the fish for me....

As a reward for his good netting skills, I allow Olaf to have his photo taken with me....

It may not have been a five pounder, but it was close......

Later that day.....

Newbee nails a nice Cutthroat while trolling.......

As you can see, the fish in Henry's are large sized. Oil wishes that he could be the same...

Uker nabs another nice Cut while trolling........

We wouldn't allow Oil Can in our boat, obviously, so he was forced to rent this pontoon. He did very well, however, and is seen above holding a nice Cut that he caught off a leach fly.....

Dude Boswell stopped by long enough to take this photo of me.....

After some late night planning at local watering holes we went to bed and rose early to take on the mighty Madison River near Quake Lake.....

Below is a nice Brown that I fortunately landed early on in the day....

As you can see it was very cold..........

Releasing a Brown Trout......

Road Kill poses....

Road Kill did very well for his first time on the Madison and caught several nice fish like these pictured above........he is an expert at Henry's Lake.

Oil Can hooked a nice Brown Trout and while taking his own photo,as he so often does, managed to get the hook embedded deeply into his finger.

Oil with a nice Brown on the Madison....

This is not a pleasant photo to look at. Oil was very brave and attempted valiantly to remove the hook.........to no avail. Finally in an act of desperation, Oil flagged down another fisherman who happened be a surgeon. By that time gangerine had set in and the surgeon was forced to use his pocket knife and amputate Oil's arm, right there on the bank of the Madison..........

Being the trooper that Oil is, he continued down the river while fishing with only one arm.

We all had a great experience on the trip and really appreciate the great time that RK showed us. After two thrilling days of fishing it was time to head home. In so doing, we went by a very cool place named Mesa Falls.

Mesa Falls

Mesa Falls

Back in Manti and back to work. Spike was glad to see me because he knew that the pheasant hunt was soon coming up.

In order to get rested up for the pheasant hunt, Spike took a daily nap. On the day before the pheasant opener he took his nap at the office with Wanda Marie Gordon, one of the office assistants....

PHEASANT OPENER 2009

Spike with a rooster....

Spike and another rooster...........

Lunch........

Another rooster.....

Another rooster.............

While were were busy hunting, Tag used his skills and trapped 5 pheasants with the same rope he used to trap me at the cabin...

Tag with both hands fill of tail feathers....

THREE TIRED HUNTERS

Working the fields....
The first weekend proved to be very good. Everyone in our party got at least one bird....

Second Saturday........snow.
Preparing to work some corn........

Matt gets his first pheasant ever....

Snowy retrieve for Spike....

Matt, Spike, and Grandpa Kay.....

Another retrieve.....

Rooster in the corn.
The second Saturday proved to be even better than the first. We had eight hunters and each hunter got his limit of two birds.......

Back at the Dude's lodge in Fayette AKA Fort Fayette, the Dude begins preparing lunch after a fun day of hunting.....

The Dude's big brother, Chris, helps in the kitchen. Chris has a great little pointer named Zoe. Zoe is very proficient in pointing out game birds and full bottles of wine for the benefit of Chris.

Slummin at the Dude's....

Braidin Aka Ravan orders a Bud Light at the Dude's bar....

Somehow a Canadian Goose was able to get into the lodge through an open window. We eventually lured it into the hallway and out the front door.....

Hunting buddies......

Spike and Voo...

Speaking for Spike and myself, autumn is our favorite season of the year. We hate to see it end. Fishing and hunting and spending time with friends and family during September,
October, and November cannot be beat. The next big event is The Ducks Unlimited Dinner in Provo and then Thanksgiving. It is also Marconi's birthday, Nov.15, and Karl's T's birthday on Wednesday. Best wishes to both of these fine gentlemen........ especially Karl. The Marconis will be here for Thanksgiving.

Also I have received several comments from quiz winners who have been fortunate enough to win Lumpy Dick. My quiz sponser, Little Lois, has had several containers of Lumpy Dick delivered to people throughout the inter-mountain west. I, myself, received a special gift of Lumpy Dick and it was fabulous. Tammy Moore is the most recent recepient and shared her treat with the entire staff at the Manti Telephone Company. It turned out to be a big hit. Oil Can is sulking because he really wants some and has never qualified to win any. Thanks to Little Lois for sponsoring the quiz and providing excellent prizes to the winners.

More fun coming soon..... voo

OCTOBER POTPOURRI 2009

2009-10-30T07:42:00.001-07:00

FINAL DAYS AT FERRON 2009

Spike trolling with Newby. Spike is on the left.

Spike ready to pounce.........

Maddie, leader of The Tiny Terrors, is shown here practicing her roping. She hopes to be a cowgirl when she grows up...........

Alex is also a skilled jr. roper........

While his siblings were roping imaginary animals, little brother Tag, with his devious little mind, was busy setting a devious little rope trap........

The trap is set as Tag begins to hide.....

Tag lays in wait for some unsuspecting dofuss to fall victim to his dastardly plan........

While all this was going on I was preparing to fish. I had my insulated wader pants on and was looking for my waders. Someone or something seems to have hidden them from me.....

Little did I realize that I had stumbled into the lair of a Tiny Terror. The trap was sprung before I could even realize what happened......

Down I went as the little devil tightened the rope.....

Before I knew it, I was being dragged down the hill and tied to the back of the boat. Tag was going to go trolling and I was going to be the bait. I finally worked myself free from the ever tightening knot and managed to flee into the trees. When the coast had cleared I found my waders, grabbed my fishing rod, and got the hell out of there.....

Son-in law, Andy, AKA Wire Nut, nets a nice Brookie at the edge of Spike Island....

Wire Nut is framed under fly rod with trout on the line....

Spike is retrieving one of the last fish of the year at Ferron....

Spike brings it to shore.....

He then changes his mind, takes the fish out into the lake, and turns it loose as a final gesture of good will to the 2009 trout community of Ferron Reservoir.....

Wire heads for shore for the final time this year.....

Back at the cabin, Tag tastes a treat......

Father, son, and loyal companion Sally.......

Final night at the cabin...

Back in the valley, Spike retrieves a Mallard......

Spike with his prize.....

View of the farm from the South end...........

Lowlight of the month for Voo..

I lost a bet to my good friend and deranged Yankee fan, Jennifer Bigelow. She bet me that the Yankees would win more games this year than the Red Sox. In losing the bet I had to wear a Yankee jacket and cap for one full week. The above photo is of me in my office. I put a sack on my head so no one would recognize me.

HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES 2009

The Wire Nuts and family had a pumpkin carving outing before Halloween and here are some results.

(see below)

Finished masterpieces...

Three ready for the porch....

Dwight Schrute from "The Office"...

A Black Cat.........

Tiny Terror carvers and their works of art...................

The other night when I couldn't sleep I got up to watch the weather channel. After a couple of hours, I got bored with that and got thinking about the neat pumpkins that the Tiny Terrors had carved. I decided to give pumpkin carving a try. By morning I had several creations that I would like to show you readers.

(see below)

Evil cannibal pumpkin.................

Ghost Busters..............

Another cannibal............

Lady Liberty..............

Evilness in the third dimension.........

Killer scarecrow......................

Oil Can's favorite..........

Toothy...........

These two remind me of Marconi and Polly............

This is a recreation of what Costanza does on every Fourth of July............

This one didn't turn out well at all....

A mouth watering burger....

Mr. Obama............

Bright and haunting.......

Costanza, again.................

More cannibals...........

Jack The Ripper O Lantern

Mr. Wrinkles......

Mr. Skull Face.....

Anyway, I really enjoyed carving these pumpkins and I think I will have a pumpkin carving contest next year instead of the traditional Halloweeen quiz...

............voo

OUTDOORS WITH RANGER BOB

HOW TO CUT DOWN A TREE PROPERLY

It is always important to cut a big notch out of the tree on the side where you want it to fall.

After it has been notched correctly, you then cut towards the notch from the other side. When the cut gets near the notch, the tree will fall in the direction of the notch. It works for me, almost every time. I, now, have my own tree removal business.

......Ranger Bob

(see below)

I was just a little bit off on this one and the falling tree did a slight amount of damage to the roof of the house. The roof can be easily repaired and the owners will not need to worry about the tree blowing down on their house in the next wind storm.

.....Ranger Bob

Cutting down tress is a really tough job.

To get it done right, just call Ranger Bob.

I'll aim it just right, I seldom do goof.

But once in a while, you might lose a roof.
....Ranger Bob

Call Ranger Bob at 1-800- KAH-BANG

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"There are three things you can do in baseball. You can win, you can lose, or it can rain."

.....Casey Stengel

Thanks for tuning in. Voo has left the building..............

HALLOWEEN QUIZ WINNERS

2009-10-28T10:44:00.001-07:00

HALLOWEEN QUIZ WINNERS

Joyce Eliason AKA Little Lois

FIRST PLACE

90% CORRECT

Little Lois did excellent with 46 correct answers. She did not cheat or use any outside help, as is so common with Oil Can. Lois wins a box set of 50 horror movies and a years supply of orange and black Lumpy Dick pudding.

Costanza AKA Costanza

SECOND PLACE

76% CORRECT

Constanza also did very well, considering his relativly low IQ and the many distractions that encompass his life. Also a Happy Birthday to Costanza, Oct. 21, from all of our staff at this blog. (Voo and Spike)

Costanza wins a $10 gift certificate to Candies On Main.

Tammy Moore

THIRD PLACE

67% Correct

Tammy did great by answering 34 questions correctly. This is the first time she has entered a voo quiz and did remarkably well. Tammy wins $11 gift certificate to Candies On Main and a week's supply of Lumpy Dick pudding. She also wins a new 2010 Farm Bureau Calander, two Farm Bureau key chains, an auotgraphed photo of Spike, and a private tour of Graceland West. Tammy actually won more stuff than the second place finisher because she is better liked than the second place finnisher.

Kristen AKA Train Wreck

FORTH PLACE

63% Correct

Kristen did very well also considering the limited amount of time she had to spend on the quiz. Kristen wins an all beef taco from Millers Drive In.

Thanks and congratulations to all who entered

Correct answers are posted under the comments section of the quiz.

And, oh, by the way, sleaze ball Oil Can attempeted to enter the quiz after all the answers had been posted...........

Thanks again to all who entered.

.....voo

VOODOO'S HALLOWEEN QUIZ

2009-10-07T18:28:00.001-07:00

Meet the girls staffing the shop at:
Lil Lois' House of Horrors
"Eager to Serve"

Lil Lois (AKA Joyce Eliason)

The Halloween Quiz is sponsored by:
Lil Lois' House of Horrors

Shop with me for the latest in Halloween Party ideas.

How to decorate your house with live Bats...
Frozen Mice on a Stick....
Human Jack O Lanterns for your porch...
Turn Your Electric Vacuum Into a Flying Broom.....
Naughty poetry.....
Crow Feather Popovers....
Black Cat Casserole.....
Creepy Curtain Designs.....
Human Skull Bookends....
Edgar Allan Poe Punch.....
Night lights made from monkey skulls....
And much much more......

Last chance to order and ship in time for Halloween
Order at:
jeliaso@pacbell.net

Early Bird orders receive two for price of one!

VOODOO'S EVIL HALLOWEEN QUIZ

SPECIAL NEWS BULLETIN

The Boston Red Sox were eliminated from post season play yesterday after blowing a two run lead with two out in the ninth inning against the Angels. I don't want to talk anymore about it.

............voo

ON WITH THE QUIZ..........

This quiz is specifically designed for my second favorite nephew, Costanza. He has never possessed the mental capacity to even enter any of the other Voo quizzes and I want to give him a chance to finally be somebody. Any of you that know Costanza also know that he loves Halloween and old horror movies. I would be surprised if anyone can top him. We will find out just how good Bill Payne is on this subject. Prizes for this quiz are outstanding and are listed at the end of the quiz. Good luck to all......

1. What is this actor's real name?

2. Name five different actors who portrayed Frankenstein in the movies.

3. This fine actor got all wrapped up in his role. Who is the actor?

4. One of these guys ended up in a wood chipper. The other had a favorite restaurant. What was the restaurant named?

5. Who do these Halloween finger nails belong to?

a. Wanda Marie Gordon

b. Flash Gordon

c. Gordon McCrae

6. Who is the actor wearing the sunglasses?

7. What movie did this transformation take place in?

8. Where did this big pod come from?

9. What was this hot TV babe named?

10. Who was this quirky director?

11. Size occasionally does matter. Name the movie.

12. No, this is not Oil Can's Junior Prom. Name the movie.

13. Name this actor who appeared in over 100 movies.

14. Name the movie.

15. What was this actor's father named?

16. Name the actor.

17. Name the actress standing by Steve McQueen.

18. What county did this actor come from?

19. Name the actor.

20. Name the actress.

21. What was the eventual downfall of the creatures inside this earth invading object?

22. No, this is not Marconi. Name the movie.

23. Where did this guy like to hang out?

24. Name the movie.

25. Name the movie.

26. Name this actor.

27. Name this cutie.

28. Name this actor.

29. What was comical about the costumes worn by the invaders from mars?

30. Name this scream queen.

31. Name this actor.

32. Name this actor's son.

33. Name this actress.

34. Name the actor in the foreground.

35. Name the actor.

36. Name the actor.

37. What are these two gentlemen looking for?

38. Name the charactor.

39. Name the actor.

40. Name this scream queen.

41. Name the movie.

42. Name the movie.

43. This evil and wicked blond recently attempted to kidnap Spike. Who is she?

a. Shreeder

b. Train Wreck

c. Frittze

d. Talula

44. Name this scream queen.

45. Name this actress.

46. What role is she best remembered for?

47. Name the movie.

BONUS QUESTIONS

48. What radio announcer is best remembered for saying: "The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant?"

49. What president said "I am not a crook."

50. The mother starred in a horror classic. The daughter starred in another horror classic about twenty years latter. They appeared together in another horror film shortly after that. Name the mother and daughter.

a b c

51. Which nose belongs to the werewolf?

END OF QUIZ

PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES PRIZES

1. Box set of horror movies from Amazon.

2. Some candy apples.

3. A week's supply of black and orange Lumpy Dick.

Winners will be announced on Halloween day 2009.

send answers to jeliason@fbfs.com

Good luck...............

voo

Note: The comment section is now working. The skull background was great but no one could comment. Voo would rather have comments than art.

SPIKE'S BIG WEEKEND

2009-10-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

DUCK HUNT OPENING DAY 10-03-2009

...........by Spike

Probably the most fun day of the year for me is the opening of the duck hunting season. This year was no exception. I went hunting with my pal, Voo, Wire Nut, his two dysfunctional brothers (Draino and Karl), Judge McIff, and McIff's grandson (Matt the Cat). The group, also, included my good friend, Oil Can. Most people who know Oil Can really don't care for him too much, but he has always been real nice to me. He takes me for coffee every morning and finds cats for me to tree. He is fun to hunt and fish with, too. He has even let me do the dog paddle in his hot tub. Some of the usual hunting companions were not there. The Little Prince was on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, The Wolf and The Dude were fly fishing in New Mexico and Rambo was supposedly "hunting elk". Hop Sing was practicing stunts on his four wheeler. Actually, Hoppy is still recovering from his accident and will definitely be with us next year. The others, I am not so
sure. They were all missed................. but not that much. I especially did not miss those obnoxious Petersen Labs. They are always making incredibly long retrieves, blind retrieves, double retrieves, triple retrieves, responding to hand signals, responding to whistles, etc. I don't need to go through all that happy horse shit. I don't need some candy ass rube in an Orvis hunting coat, white gloves, and six whistles hanging around his neck signaling me where to go and what to do. If a bird is down, I will find the son of a bitch. I will promptly bring it back to the person who shot it down, which is usually Voo. That is all there is to it. Case closed.
I have included a few photos of me (I hope not too many) in this essay. I hope you enjoy reliving, with me, one of the greatest days of the year.

(photos courtesy of Oil and Voo)

This is me with decoys in the background. They were set up the previous day by the decoy bitches, Voo and Wire Nut.

Waiting in the blind for some action.

The hunters were constantly taking my photo.

Resting on Voo's knee.

I think I hear a Mallard. McIff can't hear it because of his ear flaps.

Oil Can shares some food with me. This makes me happy because Oil never shares his food with anyone else.

Oil went for a walk and scratched down a Canadian goose. On his way back to the blind I ran out to greet him and carry his goose back to the blind for him. Oil is the one to the far left. However, politically, he is to the far right. When Glen Beck cries, Oil cries........ but I like him anyway.

Showing Oil the way back to the blind.

Always on alert.

Checking out the duck decoys.

They look good to me.

Oil takes aim...................

I think he got one.....

Marking the downed bird.................

Bringing it back to Oil................

Matt takes a shot.............

I think it was a miss........

Andy AKA Wire Nut and his Yellow Lab, Sally are hidden in the tamarack. It was Sally's first hunt and she did real well. Unfortunately for Sally, she was in a blind with the Receders (all three brothers have slightly receding hairlines). Not only that, they are also kind of a bunch of clusters. Sally showed very much patience in trying to please them and their confusing commands.

I have a knack for seeing the in-coming ducks before anyone else.

I think Voo got this one.....

Another one bites the dust.

Believe it or not, the Receders knocked down a goose.

It was a heavy son of a bitch.....

I was huffing and puffing when I got back to the blind...

Sally is after a mallard in the water.

Sally with her prize...

The receders begin to leave their blind.

Karl has had a good day.

Draino did likewise....

Draino with his day's work.....

I am still on alert.....

Matt is alert too......

Here comes a mallard.......

Another successful retrieve..............

I am the only one looking in the right direction...........

Showing Sally how it's done............

A mouth full of down and....

a rump full of burrs...........

Oil has had a happy day.

Group pose........

Posing

Me, Sally, a bunch of ducks, one goose, and a couple of dorks.

A couple of McIffs. ....

A couple of Tiny Terrors..........

I know that there might be some readers who are anti-gun or uncomfortable with the killing of wild game. You readers rest assured that none of these birds were harmed in any way. After the last group photo was taken, they were all released back into the wild, just like releasing fish. Instead of catch and release this is called shoot and release.
(see photo below)

Voo took this photo of the ducks flying away right after we released them.

After I got back to Manti and rested a while, I headed up to Ferron with Voo and Zoo.

The fun never ends if you live in Manti.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK
(below)

It was cold and had been snowing a little bit. When we got on the other side of the mountain we came upon a wrecked Forest Service truck. Luckly, no one was hurt. The driver had gotten out of the truck on skyline drive without setting the brakes. The truck then proceeded to coast backward off of a cliff and ended up close to the dugway we were driving on. It had a four wheeler in it and all kinds of other stuff which was scattered all over the hill side.

Looking at wreck from the top of the mountain.

When we got to the cabin, Voo built a fire in the stove for Zoobee and we decided to go fly fishing.

It was very cold and windy. Voo is not a great fly fisherman. He is not even a good fly fisherman. But I must give him credit. The dumb bastard is persistent. Because of the bad weather, we were the only ones on the lake. It didn't take long to get hooked up once we got to Spike Island.

A nice brook trout......

A nice rainbow.........

Another rainbow........

After about an hour and a half, Voo's fingers were frozen and I was shivering all over. We had landed 8 nice fish and kept four of them. The others were released, just like we released the ducks. It was time to head back to the cozy warmth of the cabin.

Catch of the day.

I was so exhausted after a full day of retrieving birds and fish that I laid down by the stove and did not move for the rest of the night. I dreamed of all the things I had had in my mouth that day... including drake mallards, hen mallards, spoon bills, gadwalls, teal, Canadian geese, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Cutthroat trout, a frisbee, a steak bone, Oil's cookies, a stuffed bear, and water. Thankfully, no one in our group was hunting elk.

We awoke the next morning to a snow and wind storm that had totally destroyed the carefully arranged patio furniture on our deck. It had been arranged based on a design we purchased from Lil Lois. Now we will have to consult her for another design. Her designs are the best.

After a great breakfast and restful morning, the weather started to turn really bad and we decided to go home.

On the way down we came across two sheep camp wagons that had jack knifed and gone off the road.

The road was straight ice and we slid quite a bit before we made it down the dugway.

Zoobee was so nervous that she insisted I finish driving us down the mountain. This I did with no problem.

I had a great weekend and am now looking forward to the pheasant hunt next month. Thanks for tuning in. I hope I didn't bore you with all those photos of me, but you must admit that I am much more photogenic that the other milk duds I was hanging out with.

.........Spike

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf arf.

......Rin Tin Tin

QUIZ WINNERS

2009-10-01T19:27:00.000-07:00

PRE HALLOWEEN QUIZ WINNERS

FIRST PLACE

JOYCE ELIASON AKA LITTLE LOIS

83% CORRECT

Lois wins a ribeye steak dinner for two at the world famous Sno Cap Lanes by correctly answering 45 out of 54 quiz questions. This is a fantastic score.

CONGRATULATIONS LOIS !!!!!!!

(Note: Steak dinner prize at Sno Cap Lanes must be used before October 31, 2009.)

SECOND PLACE

OIL CAN AKA OIL CAN

80% CORRECT

Oil Can receives a $10 gift certificate at Candies On Main for correctly answering 43 quiz questions. He really gave Lil Lois a run for her money. Had he been a little smarter, he may have won.

CONGRATULATIONS OIL !!!

THIRD PLACE

BILL PAYNE of Los Angeles, CA

54%

I am not sure that this is what Bill looks like (see above), but I was unable to get a photo of him and I just had to guess what he looks like. Bill did an excellent job considering that he is a purest and did not google any of the answers. Thanks for entering the quiz, Bill. You are the proud winner of one quart of Lumpy Dick. You will receive your prize in the mail.

CONGRATULATIONS BILL!

There was no fourth place winner because no one else entered the quiz. The Dude said he had some answers but did not make an official entry because he didn't want to come in fourth and have to ride with Curt Wankier on Curt's tractor.

I was disappointed that more people didn't enter. I quess the intellectual capacity of those living back east was totally overwhelmed. Other blog readers scattered across the western states, as well as those living in Utah also must also have felt IQ impaired.

Anyway, thanks to you three fine people who did enter. I appreciate it very much.

PRE-HALLOWEEN QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Bud Abbott was the comedy team straight man. In those days the straight man always got top billing and a larger percentage of the money.

2. Brook trout.

3. The Werewolf, 1956. Filmed at Big Bear Lake in CA. (Not the Wolfman which was released in 1941)

4. Dick Stuart...... home run hitter for the Salt Lake Bees and Boston Red Sox in 1960s.

5. Jack Dempsey --- heavyweight boxing champ of the world in the 1920s

6. Monument to Manti vets who served in World War One

7. Monument is located at Manti City Park.

8. V 1 Buzz Bomb ....... German guided missile used in WW2.

9. USS Nautilus ..... the worlds first nuclear submarine in about 1955.

10. Little Lois AKA Joyce Eliason

11. Jim Thorpe .... Native American voted the worlds greatest for first half of 20th century.

12. Buster Crabbe...US swimmer who won gold in Olympics....later played Tarzan and Flash Gordon.

13. Admiral Rickover ....... architect of the modern American Navy

14. The Grizzly

15. Sugar Ray Robinson.......... former middleweight champion boxer

16. Buddy Rich ----- jazz drummer in many of the big bands

17. Pol Pot --- mass murderer

18. A

19. Nautilus ....... from the movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea .... about 1954

20. Peggy Lee

21. Mel Blanc

22. Bugs Bunny and many many cartoon characters.

23. General Omar Bradley ...... American general in WW2

24. Jack Larsen

25. Jimmy Olsen ......... appearing weekly 1950s TV show titled The Adventures Of Superman

26. Jimmy Foxx

27. Mickey Hartigay ...... husband of Jayne Mansfield

28. Lon Chaney Jr .. best remembered as The Wolfman .... 1941

29. Diana Krall ...... excellent jazz singer and musician

30. Jack Pierce...... applied makeup to all of the old Universal movie monsters

31. Wilhelm Keitel ....... German general and Field Marshal in WW2

33. Hanged as a war criminal in 1946

34. General Curtis LeMay ....... US Air Force ..... WW2

35. France .... WW1 and WW2

36. Guy Madison ... actor in 1950s

37. Gordon Scott...... movie Tarzan in the 1950s

38. Cory Allen

39. Rebel Without A Cause

40. Died when his car went over a cliff doing a "Chicken Run" against James Dean

41. Black Lab

42. Rainbow Trout

43. Official watch from the Mule Deer Foundation

44. Mike Collins..... pilot of commend module while Armstrong and Aldin walked on the moon

45. Clarabelle The Clown

46. He was a regular on the Howdy Doody TV show in the 1950s

47. A seltzer bottle

48. Bruce Cabot

49. King Kong .... 1933

50. Buster Crabbe ... again

51. Brian Piccolo .... star running back along side Gayle Sayers for the Chicago Bears

52. Died of lung cancer in 1970 at age 26 ..... never used tobacco

53. Ma Barker .. . notorious outlaw in the 1930s .... gunned down by FBI

54. Sky King ... TV star on Saturday mornings in the 1950s

NEST WEEK

Spike with have a photo essay on the 2009 duck hunt opener.

.......voo

VOO'S PRE-HALLOWEEN REALLY HARD BITCHIN QUIZ THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HALLOWEEN

2009-09-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

THE PRE-HALLOWEEN QUIZ

Welcome blog readers. Today we are presenting a really hard bitchin quiz. Actually, to people of my generation, it is quite easy. To others who are younger or don't read or are intelligence impaired (most of my followers), it might prove quite difficult. My sister, Joyce, should do quite well if she can tear herself away from creating Lumpy Dick. My other sister, Joanne, should do good if she can figure out how to turn on her computer. Self centered non -readers like the Wolf, Costanza, Marconi, Dial Tone, and Merrill Ogden will probably do quite poorly. F Bomb and Stainless are both very intelligent but are easily distracted. Piper and Willow are spending their college years in an alcohol induced coma and will probably not score to highly. Kramer's dad should do quite well, although Kramer himself doesn't pose much of a threat. Jackie is capable of doing great but is still sulking because of her pervious failures. Oil Can will find a way to cheat, being the sleaz ball that he is. While the Dude does not look to intelligent, he ususally scores well on these quizes. Prizes will by anounced at the end of the quiz. Anyway, here goes:

1. Why were Abbott and Costello not called Costello and Abbott?

2. What kind of fish is this?

3. Name the movie.

4. Name this slugger.

5. Name this athelete.

6. What is this?

7. Where is it located?

8. Name this weapon.

9. What is this boat named?.

10. What famous patio furniture arranger arranged this patio furniture?

11. Who is this?

12. Name the actor/athlete.

13. Name this sailor.

14. Name this fishing fly.

15. Who is this?

16. Who is this?

17. Name this politician.

A. B. C.

18. Which foot does not have a shoe on it?

19. Name this boat which is pictured upside down.

20. Who is this singer?

21. Who is this entertainer?

22. What is his alter-ego named?

23. Who is this soldier?

24. Who is this actor?

25. What role is he best known for?

26. Who is this slugger?

27. Who is this blond dancing with?

28. Who is this lycanthrope?

29. Name this singer.

30. Who made a living by applying makeup to this guy?

31. Who is this soldier?

32. How did he die?

33. Name the actress.

34. Name the soldier.

35. What army used this helmet?

36. Who is this handsome guy?

37. Who is this actor with the Voo- like body?

38. Name the actor.

39. What movie is he best know for?

40. How did he die in that movie?

41. What breed of dog?

42. What kind of fish?

43. What kind of watch?

44. Who is it?

45. Name the clown.

46. What was his TV show called?

47. What was his favorite weapon?

48. Name the actor.

49. Best remembered in what movie from the 1930s?

50. Name the swimmer/actor.

51. Who is this?

52. How did he die?

53. Who is this?

54. What was this guy called?

FIRST PRIZE = Ribeye steak dinner for two at Sno Cap Lanes.

SECOND PRIZE = $10 gift certificate at Candies On Main.

THIRD PRIZE= One quart of Lumpy Dick

FOURTH PRIZE = A ride on Curt Wankier's tractor.

I will announce the winners when I decide that the contest has ended.

Good luck to all.

..................voo

TULIP TIME + FERRON FROLLICS + MANTI HAPPENINGS

2009-09-09T14:32:00.001-07:00

JOYCE ELIASON AKA LITTLE LOIS WINS AGAIN

Joyce Eliason, prominent blog sponsor and quiz judge, won last week's "Donna Quiz."
There was only one other entry which explains the complexity of the quiz, or else the total lack of interest in the quiz. Which ever, Joyce came out the winner. She will receive a small smoked ham of my choice. Thank you, Joyce, for taking the time to enter the quiz and exhibiting your highly ethical, unbiased, impartial, and intelligent expertise in choosing the rightful winner.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOYCE

My phone range at 1:37 AM last night and it was my good friend Kramer from Vermont. He said he couldn't sleep and asked me if anything new was going on in Manti. I said, "You bet, there are several new and exciting things taking place right now in our fair city." I included some of the most exciting in a picture feature below:

New paint on church tower....

The Center Ward church building is currently getting a new coat of paint on it's steeple. This steeple is actually higher than The Old North Church in Boston.

The steeple is so tall that you actually need binoculars to see the very top.....

New building for class rooms under construction at Manti Elementary School.....

Manti's Main Street was recently re-surfaced and painted with new lines.

New army truck for the Manti National Guard........................

There is a new fan light in my office.

There is a new Red Sox poster on my office door.

There are new flowers on the steps of the County Courthouse.

There is new sand at the Manti City Park vollyball courts.

Fritze has a new shirt.

As you all can plainly see, there are plenty of new things going on in Manti. If you want to live life in the fast lane, move to Manti.

TULIP TIME IN TREE TOWN

My granddaughter, Tulip, lives in Vermont and recently started her first year of school as a student in Kindergarten.

Getting ready for school.......

Making new friends. .....

Why isn't she wearing her Red Sox back pack?

Play time....

The bell rings.......

Walking home from school....

All of Tulip's family and friends in Utah really miss her and wish her the best in the new school year. She will be in Utah at
Christmas time and we all look forward to that.
Rock on Tulip......

THE UNITED STATES OF SKULLARTICA

SHIRT OF THE WEEK

Modeled by Oil Can

Meanwhile, while Tulip was attending public school in Vermont, her Tiny Terror cousins from Manti were sluffing school and fishing at Ferron.

Lane's big catch of the day......

Alex holds a big one......

Alex makes friends with his catch before turning it loose........

Goodbye Mr. Trout......

Lane with a mouth full of chewing tobacco.........

Maddie is happy as a trout smacks her lure......

It's a double as the two oldest Tiny Terrors display their twin captives. We did a quick DNA exam of the fish before releasing them and discovered that they were brother and sister fish. What a coincidence.

Lane grabbing some shade while in deep trolling concentration.....

Time to head back to the cabin after a successful day of sluffing school and nailing a few trout.....

FLY FISHING WITH SPIKE

All photos courtesy of Oil Can.............

Spike hanging on and waiting for a bite........

Hooked up.......

Beautiful autum day on Ferron............

Mr. Brooke Trout and Mr. Spike meet each other......

Time to release the Brooke..........

Spike would sooner grab it than let it swim away.....

Another hook up off the shore of Spike Island........

Anticipation........

Tight line..........

Still tight........

Spike wonders if the fish will ever be pulled in........

A fish is released and Spike tries to grab it under water.......

A very nice Brooke ........

Spike eying his catch of the day.........

A great afternoon was had by all......

One last trout and it's back to the cabin for steaks, potatoes, home made bread, peach cobbler, ice cream, JD, and other heart friendly foods to be shared with friends.........

Nothing is finer than a weekend at at cabin with Spike and family or Spike and friends. This even includes Oil Can.

SHARK TOOTH SKULL OF THE WEEK

(see below)

I couldn't sleep the other night so I got up looking for something to do. I stumbled upon a box of balloons that were left over from the water fight on the 4th of July. I started blowing some of them up and before long I had created the object as pictured below.

I thought it looked quite formitable, but within 10 minutes Tiny Terrors, Maddie and Alex and their BB guns, had completely destroyed it.....

FIRST SUPERMAN COMIC 1938

Looks like Superman is pissed off at General Motors.......

EVIL LOOKING SEMI OF THE WEEK...... from Russia

OUTDOORS WITH RANGER BOB

HOW TO MEASURE THE HEIGHT OF A TREE

METHOD 1

While standing under the tree hold a stick 3 or 4 feet in length in a vertical manner at arm's length. Grasp the stick so that the length of the stick above your hand equals the distance from your hand to your eye (your hand should be at eye level). Next, slowly walk backwards from the tree, staying level with the tree's base. When the height of the tree appears to be the same as the length of the stick above your hand, stop. You should now be sighting over your hand to the base of the tree and, without moving anything but your eye, sighting over the top of the stick to the top of the tree where you have stopped. Measure the distance from that spot to the tree and you have determined its height.

METHOD 2

Get your chain saw, cut the tree down, measure it with a tape measure...

....Ranger Bob

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR SEPTEMBER

It's the good/evil sister's birthday on 9-11...

Stretch run for the Red Sox.....

Karl T. gains strength and begins skate boarding.....

Little Martha uses both ovens for the first time....

Chicago Bears are picked to win division.....

Oil Can pays for coffee....

Hoppy bowles a 300........ using total scores from three frames....

Canal Walker attempts to walk in canal and discovers it is full of water...

Bubba attempts to juggle live cats while riding unicycle....

Andy Cox remembers to take his lunch pail to work.....

Train Wreck doesn't get married....

Talula shows up for work on time.....

Shreader doesn't have a baby.....

Marconi finishes remodel job on his bathroom....... started in 1987

Stainless Steel Sabel actually stops a leak in a pipe.....

F Bomb doesn't get lost on his way home from work....

Curt Wankier performs stunts on his tractor at the Utah State Fair....

Costanza elopes with his regional sales manager......

Obama is impeached for encouraging kids to stay in school......

Milo is disqualified as Alpine Country Club Champ when cork is discovered in his driver.

Mrs F Bomb is discovered selling cats to the bioligy department at Washington State

Piper and Willow Circolia join the Republican party of NM and campaign for Sarah.

Opie AKA Robyn Cox continues to grow but still manages to fit into her class room.

Jackie Wankier wins a quiz......

That's it from here.

Thanks for tuning in.

............voo