This summer has rocketed past....it has been a busy time, but not unmanageable, quite unlike the spring. We've had mild weather compared to the rest of the state, with plenty of rainfall here and several summer days when the temperatures never passed 80. That's quite a difference from our good friends to the south, where they still reside in a serious drought with more than 80 days when the temperature climbed beyond the century mark this summer.
We've traveled a fair amount this summer, but have been able to spend some good time at LL,2, where I dedicated way too much time to improving the place and building things. We built an outdoor kitchen and rock patio to cover the dirt courtyard and re-built a sagging cedar plank fence. I added two stories to a pretty cool treehouse and used some big cedar posts left over from building the house to create a fun swing set for the grandpeeps. The two youngest ones spend four days a week here and Debbie dedicates her entire life to them for that span. She is spectacular with little cheedren...and they are good for her, too.
In terms of work, I dedicated lots of time writing and editing the Sept-Oct issue of Pond Boss, preparing for the upcoming Pond Boss conference at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Missouri and taking care of my clients...as well as managing Pond Boss and Texoma Hatchery employees. It's a fun life.
Baby Jentry spent her 1st birthday with us and we had a big party for her. We had family and friends from all over. It was huge fun...for a first birthday.
I hauled the Queen Debbie to Nebraska not once, but twice this summer for dental work with Dr. Bruce Condello. Don't ask, it's a long story. Aw, heck, go ahead and ask. I'll tell you about it some day. It's a cool story. But, Lincoln, Nebraska is still 9 hours north of here, no matter how we make the trip. Along the way, as we went through the heart of Kansas, we saw this huge field of giant sunflowers. That's where this shot came from.
In early August, I headed to San Antonio to meet up with Darren Simon and make a personal appearance at the Purina Mills Dealer Expo. We met up with dealers from all over the nation and got to teach them about pond management and fish nutrition.
Then, in late August, I headed off to King Fisher Society's Richmond Mill Lake and Jim Morgan and friend Dave Buhler. Invited Darren Simon along so he can see what a full-fledged feeding program is about. Here's Darren....
A five pound plus feed trained bass, growing lights-out at Richmond Mill Lake. If you want to learn about King Fisher, go to
http://www.kingfishersociety.com 
Even though fishing was a bit slow in the heat, Darren caught lots of bass.... I wanted to see them to get an idea how well they have grown over the summer.
This is the most fascinating lake I have ever worked with. This mat of grass is a natural floating island. There are grass shrimp and tiny fish all over the underside of this mat. Plus, it attracts fish all around. Great cover, great habitat.
I've had the honor and pleasure of spending quantities of quality time with the two youngest grandchildren. Nolan loves to fish. He tagged into a nice little bluegill recently.
Later that morning, he caught this fish....much larger. Still can't convince him to take his fish off the hook, but at least he'll worm a hunk of nightcrawler on a bream hook.
We have a pretty cool spot for these grandkids to enjoy and learn.
I can't post without showing off something biologically cool. Came across this centipede this week. Darn thing was at least 5 inches long. Colorful, but it has two pinchers at the end of its face and uses them to bite and inject venom. It's similar to a wasp sting, but I wasn't interested in finding out about that sting first hand. I caught the creature, put it in a plastic bag and studied it with young Nolan. Then, we released it...it eats bugs, so can't be all bad.
This story will probably make you sit back and reflect a little bit. Last fall, I got an email from long time friend, Betsy Freese, editor of Country Living magazine and star of the show of the same name. She wanted some words about how to build a beach beside a pond, so I let her know how to do it. In turn, she gave us a comp subscription to Country Living Magazine. Well, the January issue cover story was about Milk and Honey Farms. Those good folks raise Great Pyrenees dogs. Well...since I travel a bit, Debbie has been wanting a big dog to protect her in my absence. She started communicating with Sarah, of Milk and Honey Farms. Debbie decided she wanted a puppy. On Valentine's Day last February, I asked my bride what she wanted for that special day. I was thinking flowers, chocolates and a nice dinner out with good wine. But, no......she wanted a puppy. As she explained, I was a bit more than puzzled. She wanted a puppy fathered by Asher, from Milk and Honey Farms. So, she wanted me to ante up $100 for a deposit on a puppy that didn't exist.
I obliged.
Then, I found out that Milk and Honey Farms sits about 40 miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. We would be driving to Minnesota for a dog.
Well, Dakota was born July 2 (the birthday of Debbie's late son, Jimmy). With destiny in the windshield, we headed to Minnesota at the end of August, met up with Bob and Sarah, collected Dakota and headed home. Oh, yes, we did stop in Lincoln, Nebraska to meet up with Dr. Condello and finish Debbie's crown while we were at it.
What a great puppy! Dakota is full of energy and a joy to be around. He was the largest of the litter and is an intelligent puppy. Debbie is ecstatic with him. I like him, too.
As we were making our way to Minnesota, I got a call from good friend, Steve Brigman. Steve is the man who got me the gigs on TV with Bass Edge. Steve is a highly respected outdoor writer and communicator whom I met through the Texas Outdoor Writer's Association while he worked for the Paris News...a small town newspaper. Steve moved to Missouri about ten years ago. Steve's younger brother, Jeff, lives in Frisco, Texas and was recently diagnosed with a rapidly advancing cancer. Steve, the loving brother, wanted to take Jeff fishing in farm ponds and knew that I spend lots of time taking care of small waters. He asked if I knew anyone close to the DFW metroplex who might allow he and Jeff to spend a few hours fishing....like they did as kids growing up in Texas. The two just wanted to spend some time together, catching bream and bass and maybe a catfish.
I thought about several clients who would gladly host them, but as we talked, I knew this was an opportunity laid in front of us by God.
They had to come to our house...no doubt.
This unselfish big brother, with his terminally ill younger brother, could easily spend a few hours here, at LL,2.
Both Debbie and I will tell you it was probably the most meaningful thing that has happened here and we were honored to be witness to it.
Jeff is weak and had to rest every few minutes, but Steve was right there, by his side, loving and caring for him. They caught plenty of fish and relived a piece of their childhood. There were tears, there was laughter and there were prayers...plenty of prayers.
Jeff caught a couple of nice channel catfish and I was more than happy to skin and fillet the creatures and cook them on the grill.
Watching Steve care for and love on Jeff was one of the most heartwarming scenes I can remember seeing in years.
You know, we live our lives and fight our fights every day. It's not always common to have the honor of being involved in something so deep as two brothers loving each other in ways that these two do. Please, as you lay down to sleep tonight, say a special prayer for Jeff Brigman and his brother, Steve. Jeff is fighting a tough fight, but Steve gets to live on with his own fight. They both could use a word to the man upstairs.
